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Stop Apologizing, You Ain't Sorry

Janelle Harris — Wed, 31 December 1969 7:00:00 EST

Insincere, politically correct apologies have to stop, Janelle Harris writes in a piece for Ebony.

Let’s say, hypothetically, that you and I are sitting at adjacent tables in a nice restaurant in Philly or Charlotte or Dallas any city of your choosing ... As I get up from my table to head to the ladies’ room, I breeze easily past you, smile hello, and then, for no clear or easily explicable reason, hoist my foot into the air and very quickly, very intentionally drill it down onto the top of your foot. In my killer stilettos.

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Obama's Day, May 25: Daily Briefing

The Root Staff — Wed, 31 December 1969 7:00:00 EST

THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FORFRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press.

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Vibe Magazine's Cover: No Real Role Models

Demetria L. Lucas — Wed, 31 December 1969 7:00:00 EST

The Root contributing editor Demetria L. Lucas argues in a blog post at A Belle in Brooklyn that no one at Vibe magazine really thought that Kandi and Evelyn were "your new role models."

I laughed when I saw the VIBE cover featuring Tamar Braxton, Kandi [Burruss], Evelyn Lozada, and Chrissy Lampkin all sporting f***-me heels and boobs pushed to gravity defying heights. It wasn’t the image, it was the coverline. “Meet Your New Role Models” -- a declaration, not a inquiry -- is everything. It’s graphic genius. Shade at [its] best. The problem is, I think that went over most people’s heads.

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11 Black Cultural Events on Memorial Day

Joshua R. Weaver — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:20:00 EDT

Need long-weekend leisure? Here are some choices, approved by The Root, that go beyond the barbecue.

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On Blacks and Fat: Chef Aaron McCargo Jr.

Jenée Desmond-Harris — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:21:00 EDT

(The Root) -- Obesity is more common in African Americans than in other ethnic groups. But when it comes to black people and weight, that's where the agreement seems to end. Is food the culprit? Is exercise the solution? Is there even a real problem to begin with, or should we be focusing on health -- or even self-acceptance -- rather than the number on the scale?

Against the backdrop of a first lady's mission to slim down the nation's kids, black celebs getting endorsements after shedding inches and a booming weight-loss industry, The Root will publish a series of interviews with medical professionals, activists and fitness enthusiasts that reveal the complexity of this issue and the range of approaches to it.

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Black Women Have Beauty Standards, Too

Tami Winfrey Harris — Wed, 31 December 1969 7:00:00 EST

Clutch magazine's Tami Winfrey Harris pushes back on the notion that anything goes when it comes to African-American women's bodies.

One undercurrent to the recent hyper-focus on black women’s bodies has been the idea that while the majority culture has strict beauty standards, black folks just don’t give a damn. In our own communities, black women’s bodies -- whatever they look like -- are A-OK.

*side-eye*

Not sharing the majority culture’s beauty standards is not the same as not having any at all. The black community has its own standard for what women should look like. It’s not more relaxed and it can be just as oppressive as the more mainstream standard.

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'Gordon Parks: 100 Years' Debuts in NY

Joshua R. Weaver — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:09:00 EDT

Gordon Parks -- the prolific photographer, filmmaker, composer and writer who died at age 93 in 2006 -- would have turned 100 this November. To commemorate his life and artistic achievements, the International Center of Photography in New York City is displaying more than 50 of Park's most memorable pieces in its newest exhibit, "Gordon Parks: 100 Years," which includes Emerging Man, a 20-by-13-foot photo mural set in 1952 Harlem.

Parks' other photographs documented the civil rights era and America's struggles with racism, urban and rural poverty and politics.

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Egypt's Voters: 'We're Making History'

Jenée Desmond-Harris — Wed, 31 December 1969 7:00:00 EST

Egypt's voters say, 'We're making history': Vote counting is under way in the historic presidential election that pitted stability against the ideals of the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's rule. Read some of the voters' stories here.

50 Cent's take on gay marriage and straight male "little buns": The rapper is all for marriage equality, but he now thinks heterosexuals will need protection from threats including elevator bun grabs.

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USA Today Lays Off 5 Black Sports Staffers

Wed, 31 December 1969 7:00:00 EST

5 Black Sports Journalists Laid Off at USA Today

Five black sports journalists were laid off at USA Today on Wednesday, staffers told Journal-isms.

They are: G.E. Branch, assignment editor; J. Michael Falgoust, NBA reporter; Gene Farris, web and video editor; Gary Graves, motor sports reporter; and Dixie Vereen, design editor.

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Detroit 7-Year Old Found Hanging

Jenée Desmond-Harris — Wed, 31 December 1969 7:00:00 EST