EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitAnti-Racism Titles Are All Over the List of 10 Most Challenged Books in 2020While 2020 marked an inflection point in the nation’s awareness of issues of racial injustice, it also quickly…ByIshena RobinsonPublishedApril 7, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'Cosmology Is Black—It’s Blackity-Black': The Root Presents: It's Lit! Explores The Disordered Cosmos With Chanda Prescod-WeinsteinReal talk? The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton and I consider ourselves to be pretty smart people—but…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedApril 2, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitPageTurners: The Lyrical, the Literal and the Literary Worlds of Black PerformancePerformance occurs in a myriad of ways, from spoken and written poetry to taking the stage, to playing a game of…ByBella MoraisPublishedMarch 31, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'She's a Kiki and a Good Time': The Root Presents: It's Lit! Studies the Book of Bevelations With Bevy SmithWhen’s the last time you had a good kiki? With our social lives deeply lacking during quarantine, many of us have…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedMarch 26, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitPageTurners: Fighting With Fact and FictionIt seems as though authors this week are gearing us up for some sort of fight. Whether it be of the fictional kind…ByBella MoraisPublishedMarch 24, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitVoices of Harlem: Jermaine Dupri Joins Rémy Martin and the Harlem Writers Guild on a Poetry-Inspired CollaborationThe relationship between poetry and music is intrinsic. While all music isn’t lyrical and poetry isn’t musical, it’s…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedMarch 22, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'I’m Just Like a Kid in It Myself': The Root Presents: It's Lit! Explores a Fresh New Chapter With Karyn ParsonsNow, this is a story all about how one life got flipped, turned upside down...life after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedMarch 19, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitPageTurners: Finding Historical Perspective In Literary WorkHere’s my take: books that are about history—fiction or nonfiction—guide us in the decisions we make about setting…ByBella MoraisPublishedMarch 17, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitBedtime Stories, Stringer Bell-Style: Idris Elba Announces Multi-Book Deal With HarperCollins Children's BooksHe may be a former “Sexiest Man Alive,” but never forget that Idris Elba is for the children. HarperCollins…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedMarch 16, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'I Care About Making an Impact': The Root Presents It's Lit! Retraces the Footsteps of Ida B. Wells With Michelle DusterWhat does it feel like to be heir to a renowned legacy? For Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells, it…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedMarch 12, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitVery Smart Books: VSB's Damon Young Is a Thurber Prize Finalist, Brittney Cooper Scores 7-Book Scholastic Deal and Deesha Philyaw Wins the Story PrizeY’all already know that here at The Root, we like big books and we cannot lie. Accordingly, we love big book news…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedMarch 12, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitPageTurners: Dear Black Women, You Are MagicHere’s the thing about new books: They are the catalysts that inspire readers to try, do, and feel new things.…ByBella MoraisPublishedMarch 10, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitPageTurners: We're Talking Literary Icons on International Women's DayIn celebrating women’s history this month, we should be putting special emphasis on the women who pioneered the…ByBella MoraisPublishedMarch 8, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitPageTurners: Traversing the Literary Worlds Holding Us DownYou know that feeling when you pick up a book for the first time and think, “yeah, I’m going to read this in all of…ByBella MoraisPublishedMarch 4, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitDr. Seuss’ Estate Pulls 6 Books From Circulation Due to Racist Imagery. Conservatives Predictably Throw a Temper Tantrum Over ‘Cancel Culture’Another day, another instance in which conservatives find yet another meaningless battle to wage in their ongoing…ByJoe JuradoPublishedMarch 2, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's LitPageTurners: The Literary Journey of Black VoicesBlack history has been passed down from generation to generation through storytelling. Stories of religion, trauma,…ByBella MoraisPublishedFebruary 26, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'Love Is the Strut. Hate Is a Stumble': The Root Presents It's Lit! Salutes the Black Bottom Saints With Alice RandallIn case you haven’t noticed, “Black joy” has been our theme for Black History Month 2021 at The Root—and as the…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedFebruary 26, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'No Revolutionary Act Is Without Risk': The Root Presents It's Lit! and Charles Blow Dance With The Devil You KnowCharles Blow hadn’t planned to write a manifesto on reverse migration. In fact, the New York Times columnist and…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedFebruary 19, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'Writing to Make a Difference in This World,' Roxane Gay Launches a MasterClass“You don’t need to be brave when you’re writing; you need to acknowledge that you’re terrified—and do it anyway,” so…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedFebruary 18, 2021
EntertainmentIt's LitEntertainmentIt's Lit'I Was Just Consistently Blown Away': The Root Presents: It's Lit! Honors Four Hundred Souls With Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. BlainIt’s been just over 400 years since the unintentional founding of Black America—when “20 or so odd Negroes” in…ByMaiysha KaiPublishedFebruary 12, 2021