Opinion
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Bad and Boujee: Atlanta Takes the Title of America's Blackest City
The readers have spoken, and they’ve named Atlanta America’s blackest city! In our utterly unscientific but completely black-ass poll that capped our monthlong series in which we challenged writers to explain why their city deserved the title of blackest city in America, Atlanta collected slightly more than 21 percent of the votes (the second highest…
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The Friend of My Enemy Is … Van Jones?
I like Van Jones. I like Van Jones in the same way I like Cardi B, Barack Obama and grits, which is to say I like the idea of Van Jones. I’ve agreed with a lot of his commentary on CNN, and I support his efforts on criminal justice reform, most recently as CEO of…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: The Racism Vaccine
Today’s mailbag only contains two pieces of mail. I just wanted to point that out up front before someone asks for their money back. It’s not because we’re running low on hate mail. It’s because we are running low on new kinds of hate mail. In the two years that we have been responding to…
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Where Is America's Blackest City?
How do you define the blackness of a city? For Black History Month, we challenged writers to explain why they think their city deserves the title of blackest city in America. And man, did they rep their cities hard. So now, we’re asking you, our readers, to vote for who made the strongest case. Here’s…
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The Definitive List of Get-Out-of-Racism Free Cards
Last night, during a run, I looked up and enjoyed the view. The stars sparkled against the backdrop of the cloudless indigo night sky, allowing me to easily identify the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt. According to white people, I am now an astronomer. Although I have resisted applying for Neil Degrasse-Tyson’s job, people who…
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The Whole Black Church and Me
One of the first sermons I ever preached was titled “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” In it, a very young and naive preacher, emboldened by an atmosphere that allowed impenitent homophobia to go unchecked, uses the language of revulsion to articulate why he believed same-sex relationships were wrong and not in line with…
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Brooklyn's Blackness Is Strongest Because of Its Rich Diaspora Influences and Deep History
Black people from Brooklyn are mad proud of where they’re from. Some confuse it for arrogance, but if you grew up here it’s hard to find energy anywhere that can match it. Yes, the borough does boast hip-hop greats and is the setting for cornerstone Spike Lee films. But those aren’t the sole reasons we…
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Why Everyone’s Talking About Reparations, Explained
Hello again, Racist Baby! What are you doing here? Wait … Who told you Jesus is coming back? And why would he only come back for black people? No, Racist Baby. Those people aren’t talking about Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, they’re talking about black reparations. Reparations is “the making of amends…
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For Us, By Us: Newark’s Blackness Doing It for the Culture, the Politics, the People
Newark is so black that during the Great Migration, folks thought it was “New York,” got off the train, and stayed. True story. Newark so black they gotta mayor named Ras, a royal title in Amharic, and you know how black people love grand names (also see: NWK native Queen Latifah— who named herself). New-Ark,…
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New Orleans: Where Blackness Was Born
This year, America will commemorate 400 years when the first slaves were forced onto this land in 1619. When considering the experiences of our people in this country, I can only think of one city that can tie together all our attributes: history, music, cuisine, influential leaders, cultural landmarks and information that is unique to…