June 2009
115 posts
Blipsters' Bust →
What do Sa-Ra Creative Partners reveal about Blipster culture?
SA-RA Creative Partners’ new release shows what’s beneath the skinny jeans. (Hint: Not much.)
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Why Shelby Steele Is Right →
What Does Obama’s presidency Cost the Black Community?
To get elected, Barack Obama had to downplay the importance of race. But should black Americans buy into that deal?
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A Reversal to the Right →
Supreme Court Rules on Ricci v. DeStefano
The Supreme Court rules in favor of the white firefighters and shows that its willing to make its own law.
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Shameless Joe Jackson →
Joe Jackson Dishonors Michael’s legacy
Is Michael Jackson’s father tainting the late singer’s legacy with his public antics?
jimi.izrael
The Jackson…
Court Rules For White Firefighters in New Haven →
Court Rules For White Firefighters in Affirmative Action Case
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court overturns ruling backed by Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
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Obama’s Perfect Pitch on Iran →
Obama’s Iran Stance is Just Right
The president’s critics think he’s either meddling or missing in action. In fact, he’s doing it just right.
spencer.rammy
Sanford and Sonned →
Why Mark Sanford is Like Kobe Bryant
Why Mark Sanford is like Kobe Bryant.
david.swerdlick
South Carolina’s governor is a plain-vanilla public…
The King of Pop's Peculiar Reign →
Noteworthy events from the well-publicized life of Michael Jackson.
Noteworthy events from the well-publicized life of Michael Jackson.
washington.post
Shaq in the Court of King James →
Shaq and Lebron to Team Up on the Cleveland Cavaliers
Shaquille O’Neal in Cleveland tightens the Cavaliers’ grip on the Eastern conference title.
martin.johnson
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Chasing Michael Jackson →
Michael Jackson and His Complicated Relationship With the Press
My cat and mouse game with the King of Pop.
teresa.wiltz
My cat and mouse game with…
The Album That Saved Pop Music →
The Thriller is Gone, Michael Jackson Dead at 50
Michael Jackson’s Thriller was such a phenomenal financial success that the breadth of its musical achievement is often…
Michael Jackson Memories →
Michael Jackson Memories
Remembering our favorite moments from the King of Pop.
TheRootContributors
Remembering our favorite moments from the King of…
He Made Us Dance →
Michael Jackson’s Untimely Death at the Age of 50
There will be plenty of time to speak to what the King of Pop wasn’t; his bizarre lifestyle and the rumors that haunted him….
Long Before 'Thriller,' Jackson Shattered Racial... →
Long Before ‘Thriller,’ Jackson Shattered Racial Barriers
Before politics took a more defiant tone, it was music that black America offered to mainstream society as a kind of…
We Still Need the Voting Rights Act →
Charles Ogletree: We Still Need the Voting Rights Act
This week’s win for minority voting rights in the Supreme Court is cause for celebration, but also a reminder that…
Is Toronto Exploiting Caribana? →
Caribana hits Toronto on July 14, 2009. Is Toronto exploiting Caribana?
Caribbean folks will flock to the festival for parties, barbecues and parades, sure to have lots of fun…
The Music in Spike’s Message →
Do the Right Thing @ 20: The Music in Spike’s Message
Twenty years later, what does it mean to ‘Do the Right Thing’?
tnimixtape
Twenty years later,…
Spike's Woman Problem →
Do the Right Thing @ 20: Spike’s Woman Problem
Looking back at Do the Right Thing’s infamous ice scene and Spike Lee’s love-hate relationship with his female characters.
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Who's on Tap in the NBA? →
Brandon Jennings or Stephen Curry? Who’s on Tap for the NBA Draft?
With this year’s draft, we will get a good idea of which teams are going all in for next season and which…
You’ll Never Eat Chicken McNuggets Again →
How Food, Inc. Will Convince You Never to Eat McDonald’s Again
An ‘Inconvenient Truth’ of the food movement, a new documentary lifts the veil on the food we eat, and it ain’t…
Conversations with Henry Louis Gates Jr. →
VIDEO: On the Record with Henry Louis Gates Jr.
The Root’s Editor in Chief interviews the brightest minds and most influential figures in science, literature and popular…
Where There's Smoke →
President Obama’s Press Conference on Health Care Reform
Everything you need to know about President Obama’s press conference.
dayo.olopade
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(Traditional) Fathers Don’t Always Know Best →
(Traditional) Fathers Don’t Always Know Best, Obama on Father’s Day
The notion that kids can’t develop properly without a biological father was a lie when Dan Quayle asserted…
Court Saves Voting Rights Act and Itself →
The Voting Rights Act Stays Intact: Court Saves Voting Rights Act and Itself
By preserving a key component of civil rights law, justices avoid huge harm to the legitimacy of…
An Intimate Look at Hip-Hop’s Jihad →
‘New Muslim Cool,’ A New PBS Documentary, Premieres June 23
‘New Muslim Cool,’ a new PBS documentary, shows how young Muslim Americans in the post-9/11 era are deepening ties…
Black Men And Baseball →
fathers and son and baseball
My dad taught me to love the game, but for him a big part of the attraction was the idea that the pioneering stars of his generation offered a…
The First Couple’s First Flick →
Barack and Michelle Obama’s First Date Gets Politicized by Do the Right Thing?
Barack Obama has Spike Lee to thank for the first time he got to touch Michelle’s knee. So why…
Quiet On Iran →
Why Obama is not trash-talking the mullahs
david.swerdlick
Conservatives are taking premature shots at the president even though there’s still plenty of time for…
Is Minnesota Getting Ready to T-Off? →
Are the Minnesota Timberwolves Getting Ready to T-Off?
Despite his disastrous decade and a half in Minnesota, coach Kevin McHale is leaving behind a team that has a chance to…
No More Mr. Tough Guy →
Showing Your Sensitive Side on Father’s Day
Black men need their swagger and their game, but on Fathers’ Day it is worth remembering a little vulnerability is not the worse…
Fit Dad vs. Fat Dad →
Getting Fit for Father’s Day and Beyond
Being a healthy role model should be part of the job description of being a good father.
alicia.villarosa
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The Root's Do the Right Thing Trivia Challenge →
The Root DTRT20 Do The Right Thing Triva Game
Think you know everything there is to know about Mookie and his Bed-stuy crew? Prove it!
TheRootStaff
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Tough Love From the Father-in-Chief →
President Obama’s Tough Love for Black Dads on Father’s Day
Barack Obama, whose father abandoned him when he was barely two years old, has come out swinging on male…
Senate Apologizes for Slavery →
U.S. Senate Apologizes for Slavery
No, this is not an Onion Headline. Six months into Barack Obama’s presidency, the ultimate good ol’ boys club quietly comes clean and seeks…
Do the Right Thing Party Kit →
Do the Right Thing Party Kit — Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Your Favorite Spike Lee Joint
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of our favorite Spike Lee joint.
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Is Black Music Worth Celebrating? →
Saving Black Music Month: What Wynton Marsalis Has to Say About the State of Art in America
In the age of Auto-Tune and ringtones, devoting a month to the influence of black…
A Road Trip Worth Taking →
‘Away W Go’ Starring SNL Star Maya Rudolph Shows Off the Comedians Acting Chops
It’s no Revolutionary Road, but Away We Go, Sam Mendes’ latest comment on coupling, is a funny,…
R. Kelly Gets Schooled →
R. Kelly’s New Mixtape Remixes Songs by Drake and Lil’ Wayne
With his latest release, R. Kelly couples his same old thang with new-school tracks, proving, yet again, that the R…
Jada Hits Primetime →
Jada Pinkett-Smith and TNT’s ‘Hawthorne’ revive a rarely visited subgenre of TV hospital drama.
TNT’s ‘Hawthorne’ revives a rarely visited subgenre of TV hospital drama. And…
Troy Davis Must Not Be Executed →
Troy Davis Must Not Be Executed
Wrongful convictions of black men have become commonplace. But conviction of Troy Davis in Chatham County, Georgia is one of the most egregious…
Hope for a Credit Card Victim →
How to Make Every Credit Card Mistake and Still Survive
I was the prey in the predatory lending crisis. How to make every credit card mistake and still survive.
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What Single Women Can’t Learn From Michelle →
What Single Women Can’t Learn From Michelle
Five things to consider before the next man passes you by.
david.swerdlick
Barack and Michelle Obama…
How I Paid Down $50K In Debt →
Getting Out of Debt Without a Government Bailout
Credit cards nearly landed me in bankruptcy. But bailouts aren’t for me. I took a pass on iPhones, flat-screen TVs and fancy…
A Ring on Every Finger →
Lakers Win & Phil Jackson Is the Best Coach in the NBA
Phil Jackson is the best coach in the history of the NBA, and we didn’t even need this last Lakers title to tell us that….
Bound Men →
Should Shelby Steele Retract His Statement?
Why black conservatism has so much explaining to do and why it’s already lost.
joshua.griggs
Shelby…
Where’s the Pride in Pride Parades? →
Gay Pride Month: Where’s the Pride in Pride Parades?
In a politically important moment for the gay community, thongs and theatrics don’t cut it.
cord.jefferson
The Speed to Steal →
Baseball: Is This The End of the Steroid Era?
The sudden jump in stolen bases confirms that speed has returned to baseball. And the rise may also signal the end of the steroid…
Femi Kuti Live! →
Femi Kuti Starts His North American Tour
A conversation about his family’s musical and political legacy, and his thoughts on the radical future ahead for the Obama generation. …
What Ever Happened to The Wiz? →
The Wiz Hits the New York Stage with Ashanti, Dawnn Lewis, Tichina Arnold and Orlando Jones
The musical that brought flavor and funk to Oz is coming back to New York.
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The Harlem That Was →
Photographs of Harlem by Camilo José Vergara
Photographs of New York’s most interesting neighborhood in its most neglected age.
CamiloJosé.Vergara
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