It wasn't supposed to end like this. We were supposed to be a three-person team until the end. But sadly, we lost "Meats." That's right, Yesha "I Like Meats" Callahan has taken her 15,000 Twitter followers and gone home. Stop crying! She's still alive and kicking and dominating page views on The Root. And while my plan all along was to become a solo act, I didn't want it to happen this way. But she's gone and there is nothing we can do about it.
Truthfully, I think our rapid success was too much for her. I know that she has more followers than Full Force, but that isn't the point here. The point is, we were going places and she didn't want to come with us. And that's that. In life, there are things that are out of our control—Abraham Lincoln's untimely death comes to mind. Just know, Yesha Callahan, should you ever want a place to chat about meat-truck experiences, Twitter tales or entertainment news, we are here for you.
This week we tackle Colin Kaepernick's leveraging his position as an athlete to bring the Movement for Black Lives to the attention of those in a position to institute change.
In doing so, Kaepernick might be wrestling the wokest-athlete title from Carmelo Anthony with his stance against "The Star-Spangled Banner." This week, as America's song played, Kap took a knee. On the show, Danielle Young took a side, declaring her undying love for Jesse Williams, but acknowledging that the 49ers quarterback is working his way into her heart with his righteousness and his natural.
Speaking of naturals, Rachel Dolezal won't just naturally fall into oblivion. As such, she's slated to headline a natural-hair rally. Yep, you read that right: The white woman who was born to white parents and later donned blackness like a pair of ill-fitting FUBU jeans will be a featured speaker at the rally because, of course she is. Since stepping down from her post as the president of the Spokane, Wash., NAACP, she has been making a living as a braider because she can't stop.
Ownership is important, and because Patti LaDanielle is too modest to admit how she owned the internet with her hashtag #BlackBoyJoy, I walk readers through how #BlackBoyJoy came to be. (Hint: Danielle Young, aka Patti LaDanielle, started it.)
We tread lightly around allegations that Derrick Rose and two friends gang-raped a woman in 2013. The details are disturbing, but you can read them here.
Ever seen this small little show called House of Cards? What about this tiny movie called Hunger Games? Of course you have. And because you have, you're mad impressed that Unique Views, aka the little podcast that could, landed Mahershala Ali. You heard that right—let the jealousy set in. Ali stops by to talk about stereotypical black roles, his new movie, Kicks (in theaters Sept. 9), and Patti LaDanielle shamelessly hits on him because she's not above it.
Check out episode 9:
Stephen A. Crockett Jr. is a senior editor at The Root. Follow him on Twitter.