The Root Summary/Background:
A Salon article provides a look into Encarta Africana, one of Gates’ major publishing forays before heading theroot.com. In a piece Salon editors chose as one of the best of 1999, Craig Offman reported on the management style under Gates. His verdict: “a case of bad management by admittedly neophyte corporate executives,” plagued by tight deadlines, poor pay and disgruntled staff, who at one point chastised Gates for the not hiring enough blacks.
The article quotes Gates’ response: “Affirmative action? I’m Mr. Affirmative Action. You think I’m not all for affirmative action? But look, what we hire here are qualified people, people who can do the work. White people can do this work, and black people can do this work.”
Letters Salon ran in response to the piece provide some perspective. One writer, a former manager for Encyclopaedia Britannica, says similar problems are normal in encyclopedia publishing. “Encyclopedias have always been deeply commercial ventures disguised in academic garb, and print encyclopedias were often as rushed and badly managed as Encarta Africana.”
Reactions to The Root :
Interview Reactions:
Errol Louis, a columnist for the New York Daily News
“I have high hopes for The Root. It can succeed if Dr. Gates doesn’t let his writers get too flip, snarky and self-referential, which is a common discursive style in university circles and among bloggers, but fatally off-putting almost everywhere else. Readers value earnestness, passion, timely information and good storytelling. Gates knows this, which is why every project he touches has turned to gold. Hopefully The Root will do the same.”
DeAngelo Starnes, columnist for ebonyjet.com
“I didn’t agree with the assessment that The Root was a pioneer. At the risk of sounding biased, I think ebonyjet.com is covering that ground just well. I’m sure there are other sites that do the same. David Mills’ UndercoverBlackMan is innovative and that’s just one cat holding it down. Our Stakes Be High debate has an edge that The Root probably won’t touch given its corporate sponsor.”
Q: What other issues and features would you like to see on The Root?
“I’d like to see some success stories on the genealogical tip. I’d like to see a roundtable of young and older Black thinkers hammer out issues similar to what Dave and I do on Stakes Be High on undercoverblackman.com. No hostility. Healthy disagreement and, hopefully, agreement. Come up with a plan to help Black folks come up. Hopefully, The Root won’t turn out to be Black infotainment. Black people have been the best entertainers the world has seen. How about some movers and shakers?”
Gayle Pemberton, Chair of the African American Studies Department, Wesleyan University (Connecticut)
“My sense is that The Root is not reaching out to whites, but trying
to go beyond the glossy and utterly superficial Johnson family
publications of Jet and Ebony. Black Enterprise, another important
magazine, obviously has a more limited range. The Root may try to
help inform African Americans of important news concerning the black
diaspora worldwide. That would be good. The bloggers did nothing
for me. “
Shola Edenekan, editor of New Black Magazine
“Dr Gates is that rare breed in academia – a business-savvy celebrity. The Root could be very relevant in pushing the black perspectives onto the mainstream. And with Barack Obama confounding pundit expectations about the legitimacy of his candidacy and the perceived capacity for non-blacks to support his campaign, there’s a need for highly articulate black men and women, who are actually armed with some quantitative and qualitative data to express the opinions of the community. This is not new of course, there are black publications already doing a very good job as per this, they include www.seeingblack.com, www.blackamericaweb.com, www.thenewblackmagazine.com etc.
But the big question is; will Black folks, even educated ones like yours sincerely, feel comfortable with a project financed and promoted by the Washington Post? What happens when the editorial content contradict the Post’s own policies? I think the quest should not be for us to create a Black Slate but Black publications that seek to tackle issues facing today’s Black folks, such as homophobia within the black community, the death of affirmative action, the widening chasm between middle class blacks and our poorer kinsmen etc.
I know that we keep hearing from our liberal friends that in these days of Obama’s one America, we should not be thinking in term of race, but race still determines a lot of things in America and Britain; getting a job, where you hang out, your life expectancy etc. So, black publications are still relevant in telling their readers how make the most of the opportunities available to them, as well as how to navigate the system to their advantage. Will the New York Times run a good story about booming business in Africa for example, instead of war and HIV AIDS. Will the Washington Post deal with the fact that you rarely see black faces on mainstream female magazine covers or the aspiration of the Hip-Hop generation? These are just some of the issues we deal with in addition to various bread and butter issues that the average reader, black or white, is concerned about. “
Dean Olsher
Radio Journalist (former NPR correspondent)
Host and creator of “The Next Big Thing,” a weekly radio features magazine
“I don’t see it as segregationist. I do see it as a failure of integration. It makes perfect sense to me that blacks feel underserved by the media and therefore want to fill a void. What’s so disappointing is that the void exists in the first place. I objected when NPR created talk programming aimed specifically at black audiences because it was the very definition of a ghetto. Management explained it was done because predominantly black member stations asked for it. The request would never have been made if NPR’s flagship shows adequately reflected black America in the first place.”
Awam Amkpa Director of Africana Studies, New York University:
“I find the idea of the web-site quite interesting and most necessary. Let me go the heart of your question: is it necessary and is it segregationist.? Firstly, as long as social mobility, class and full and effective participation in American society is racialized, any medium that helps cultivate black communities in their heterogeous and proactive sense is urgently needed. Such communities and their intersections with structures they must transcend to be full members of the American nation, cannot be taken for granted, when we do, we only produce coerced communities of victims. Rather we want voluntary communities where people are able to name, stabilize and resist inequities on one hand, and use such obstacles as challenges that must be transcended–hence the need for such a forum. The development of political bases by all manners of groups cannot be segregationist since most individuals belong to multiple spaces and communities. Such an argument only wishes communities who disempowered by historically determined identities should remain victims rather than social actors.”
Cindy Rodriguez
Race Relations and Cultural Affairs Reporter
Vice President, NAHJ
“In short, I think the website is a welcome addition because it offers a perspective that is missing from mainstream newsroom reporting.
Here’s the context:
This summer was the 40th anniversary of the Kerner Commission’s report that found a nation that is divided and polarized along racial lines. It concluded one reason for this was a news media that was predominantly white offering news from a white perspective.
So here we are. It’s 2008 and how far have we come? We have a White House press corp that is overwhelmingly white. (A 2004 study by Unity: Journalists of Color, Inc. found that more than 90 percent of those covering the White House were white.)
Walk through newsrooms and it is rare to see a person of color in a position of high authority and you’ll also find staffs that do not reflect the diversity of the cities they cover. (ASNE does annual studies on this topic. The most recent one can be found here: http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?id=6506 )
People of color make up 44 percent of the U.S. population yet in the most recent ASNE survey comprised less than 14 percent in newspaper newsrooms. (2006 American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census bureau. You have to search by white non-Hispanic otherwise they lump Latinos in with whites because they are an ethnic group, diluting the real figure:
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/NPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_NP01&-ds_name=&-redoLog=false )
This would explain why reporting about issues in black communities is missing from coverage. Our nation is segregated along racial, ethnic and class lines so when I say “black communities” I mean the segregated ones, not black folks who are upwardly mobile. Same thing with the Latino community. Our stories, when they are covered, are often one-dimensional.
It’s reflected on every page of newspapers, from newsstories to obits to the funny pages. We don’t come from the same experience, we don’t have the same history. Our stories are not being told and that’s why journalists get fed up and start their own blogs and news websites.
Instead of asking the question why are their black news websites I think we need to flip the question and ask why aren’t the mainstream news publications covering issues these issues? You can essentially call them white publications because the vast majority of those in management are white (white male that is, so a female perspective is missing as well) and those at the elite news institutions (NYT, WashPost, WSJ) are primarily white as well. And not just white but of the “elite, intellectual class:” those who grew up attending private schools or schools in predominantly white suburban areas and attended Ivy League colleges. So how are they prepared to even conceive of story ideas about groups they didn’t really have much contact with?
I’ve had to educate editors on simple things such explaining that Puerto Ricans are not immigrants but U.S. citizens or to offer insight into the difference between a Dominican and a Cuban. (Yes, I’ve gotten that question.) But if you don’t have folks like me in a newsroom (and I’ve worked at places where I was the ONLY person of color in a department) then, yes, the coverage is skewed and, well, frankly not all that different from when the Kerner Commission issued its famous report.”
Traditional Media Reactions:
The Root? What Root?
While the launch of The Root was discussed in the blogosphere, many large dailies ignored the news. The Los Angeles Times, for example, didn’t report on the launch (they did, however, run another piece by WaPo’s Bob Thompson, discussing Gates’ soon-to-be-published African American National Biography). Boston Globe? Nothing. Sister site Slate was also mute.
The New York Times ran an article that had some snide criticism. And the Washington Post had several. WaPo’s support was predictable, since their parent company is bankrolling it.
Le root.com?
Americans could be forgiven for never having heard of theroot.com, whose launch was overshadowed by relentless primary coverage. The story was far from ignored, however, even making an overseas splash—French readers of Le Figaro or Italian readers of La Stampa were informed of its launch, along with readers of Pravda (the English Pravda, at least. I couldn’t figure out how to search for “The Root” using Cyrillic characters).
Since The Root is published only in English, the rationale behind foreign media’s choosing to run stories on it is somewhat murky. If I were to speculate, I’d guess that Obama’s growing profile, and the growing pro has something to do with it. Adage.com writer Carol Watson linked Obama and The Root in her lead, saying “In the eye of the Obama storm of excitement and debate this past week, The Washington Post Co…announced a new online magazine to ‘expand it’s online audience.’ Called The Root, it targets the African-American audience…”
On Saturday, I spoke with John Ibbitson, a Canadian correspondent based in Washington, who spoke about Canadian interest on the Democratic race: “We give it front page treatment day after day after day. Politically, it’s the best story on the planet right now.
Blog Reactions:
It’s been one week and one day since the Washington Post launched their new “Black Slate” – The Root.com. Since the webzine’s launch there’s been quite the spectrum of interesting reactions across the blogosphere – particularly the black blogosphere. Some applaud the new website; others sneer, claiming it’s a way to target-advertise, or an extension of “separate but equal.”
“Journalism and Society” a blog from Temple University
“Are we deciding what people should know based upon their skin color? Or is this a way of serving a community that has traditionally been ignored by the mainstream media?
And will an online “national black newspaper” erode the circulation of traditional black newspapers like The Baltimore Afro-American, the Philadelphia Tribune or the Amsterdam News?”
Comments:
Chris Banks
“While I believe that most news is relevant to everyone, I think that this is a way for stories that normally get edged out of mainstream news to still get published within their niche markets.”
Victoria H
“It’s not like white, or any other ethnicity group can’t buy that newspaper or look at it’s website. I think The Roots, and other black newspapers, provides information for a group that sometimes get’s lost in the ‘mainstream’ of news that may center on the majority of Americans (’white Americans’).”
“Cobb” is less than enthused about this new venture. For him, it’s a little too late for Gates etc to jump on the internet bandwagon.
“Way back in those days a number of us on the cutting edge of black cultural production were greatly enthused about such projects, the most significant of which was the Norton Anthology of African American Literature. But while we were, it seemed, in accord with the value of authoritative historical information and its salutary effect on the mass of blackfolks, we were not in accord with regard to the prospects for online. It doesn’t take much of a stretch for you to presume that I was very frustrated with the attitude of black academics with regard to their dismissal of online and their insistence on the impermeability of the so-called ‘digital divide’. So please forgive me if I now consider the introduction of Gates’ new website ‘The Root’ with something less than a standing ovation.”
A comment on Cobb’s blog thinks that he is being narrow-minded and overly critical. “Mr Gates is an academic, a brilliant academic by all measure,” it says. “It’s alright to be smart and successful. It’s alright to know the path to the same. What you’re thinking of as black culture is American. It’s black people in America and that knowledge is not limited to black academics.”
Bitterness on Cobb’s part perhaps? Or frustration? It’s hard to tell.
“Bookish Black Girl” thinks that The Root is a welcome addition to the web.
“I haven’t done too much browsing through the site yet but already a few things caught my eye. It seems like they are making an attempt to get away from the monolithic black views and there are some good editorials and opposing view points on the election and candidates.”
Some nice contentious stuff from “An Anxious Black Woman.”
“Has Obama ushered in a new trend in Intelligent Black People?” she asks. She refers to a post by Mark Anthony Neal called “Wanted! Smart Negroes!” which “weighs in on the latest trend of smart, educated, and articulate black folks who are suddenly appearing as talking heads.”
She quotes Neal is saying, “the site features a virtual cavalcade (literally) of smart Negroes. We can thank our man Barack for this.”
The best comment is from “Fal,” who writes:
“I am not impressed with The Root. I know I probably should be . . . but I think it is heavily saturated with HBO’s hand and I think the blog pieces are matter of fact essays. I think they can have more depth. Also, I think it is interesting to have all these black intellectuals in one space pontificating about things (i just don’t get a good vibe from the site). Furthermore, what about other people of color academics and/or activist who study race, sexuality, gender, state violence, etc. shouldn’t they be included on this blog. I also think it is very Pro-Obama which in itself is not a bad thing, but I think as a news space it should equally question Obama and all other candidates that purport (through certain black intellectuals who work for their campaign) to represent the interest of marginalized groups.
Not only is it elitist, exclusionary (the people Skip likes or agrees with him), anti-everything except race, it age specific no youth voices or younger black people voices under 30.”
Politopics, a site that declares itself to be “Centrist Political Commentary from a Black Perspective,” welcomes the launch of The Root.
“The Washington Post is an awesome newspaper!” it writes. “They just started a new online black issues magazine/site where you can read about the latest politicians, issues and news pertaining to African Americans across the U.S. and Africa. You can track your ancestry, read blogs and more. It’s a pretty hot site. My favorite part is the update on all the foolishness going on in Detroit with their ridiculous mayor. Good Times.”
There’s an interesting response from a blogger called Kehap. His post is short and details the launch of a new site that focuses on African-American issues. The comments are slightly more insightful. “two2″ seems to think that the WP and The Root are owned by Rupert Murdoch.
“Well for me, even let’s say Obama doesn’t win and God forbid another nutcase is elected, I still wouldn’t frequent the site. I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT FOR RUPERT MURDOCH.”
Kehap replies, “I am certain you wouldn’t tw but you know as well as I do that our people can’t stick together a large proportion of us are thinking about how far up the ladder they can reach before everybody else, ironically 99.99% wont make it to the top before they get pulled down but unfortunately they can’t or wont admit it to themselves. Lets face it, when some of them are told the truth they reject it, some because they are ignorant of the facts, others because they think they know all.”
In other words, he thinks that Gates and his peers are selling out their heritage to get to the top. I’m not really sure how this relates to launching a special interest magazine, but it’s an interesting point of view nevertheless.
WashPost.com comments?
Posted by “xenophile” 1/28/2008 8:56:52 PM:
So, let me see if I understand this:
Theroot.com is a so-called “Black Slate.com.” The content is written by black people. But the site was the brainchild of Donald Graham, it is totally owned and operated by the white-owned Washington Post Co., and it is really run on the nuts-and-bolts level by Jacob Weisberg. Which means that in reality theroot.com is a white-run enterprise aimed at sucking in Black readers in order to (eventually) deliver them to advertisers as a demographic, while simultaneously shaping opinion in the Black community in ways that conform to the needs of the aforementioned white owners of the site.
Exactly how does this “give a voice to the Black community”? One look at the posts on the home page of the site was enough to confirm that suspicion for me. At best it’s an illegitimate enterprise that deserves to be ignored; at worst, it’s just another attempt by the traditional media to control, restrict and silence Black people. It seems to me, as a Black person, that theroot.com is merely a new and novel way to run a 21st Century minstrel show.
Posted by “karenmarieromero” 1/28/2008 9:50:48 PM:
To xenophile…I read your post, and I agree that the media controls, restricts, and tries to silence people…black people and other people as well. I believe we are living in a soon to be fascist society. So, even if the Washington Post is owned by what I refer to as the good old white boys club…I am glad they are doing this.
It wasn’t too long ago they ran a series on black men. And, I learned a lot of stuff I didn’t know. I am a very empathetic person (however, many would disagree with that) but after reading the black men series I felt more empathetic towards some of the vile stuff they face on a daily basis.
The problem with a series like this or even a magazine is that few good old white boys will read it. And, possibly few white women will read it. This is sad to me. I believe it would help us all if there was a magazine focusing on Arabs as well. And, Mexicans, and Native Americans. Nobody seems to understand anybody anymore. That is exactly what the good old white boys club hopes for. You see, that way the old money stays old, and stays with one percent of the population. And, they sit back with their cigars behind their mahogany desks and thumb their noses up at the paupers. They don’t have a clue what it is really like to earn a living. To pay the rent, to buy groceries, to worry about paying off ones credit card debts. They don’t have a clue, nor do they care. I don’t resent people that have money. I resent the way in which many of them earn it…in dishonest, evil ways. Those that have a lot of money and don’t steal or cheat on their income taxes, and make their money in decent ways, then I say good for them.
What I want is more of a balance in this society. Not that everybody should make the exact same amount of money, but more sharing. More caring. And, the good old white boys club that actually think they can turn this society into fascism are not into caring or sharing. They are selfish, self-absorbed, men that don’t have a clue as to how the cosmic law is run! Sure, some of them give a lot of money away, but it is always with an agenda. Either a tax write-off, either out of guilt, or so they can go boast about how much they gave. How many out their give donations from their hearts and don’t take a tax write-off?
An interesting comment about Gates and/or the “black elite” (still from WashPost article here):
Posted by “Rhodesia” 1/28/2008 10:17:38 PM:
This whole thing is racist. Substitute the words black for white and see how this article reads! Why respect Gates when we have no idea if he got to Harvard on his own merit or because of Affirmative Action. He has an agenda and plans to profit at the expense of us- in this white-owned Jewish-controlled media. Get real.
Thought this was semi-appropriate, it being Super Tuesday and all:
Posted by “gbooksdc” 1/28/2008 6:58:41 PM:
Hey, it’s the Hillary Clinton of journalism! When we want to know what you blacks think, we’ll tell you what you think. Black face at the door, white control in the back.
Posted by “mortified469” 1/28/2008 6:26:14 PM:
King must be rolling over in his grave. Here he gave his life for desegregation and you, and blacks themselves, are re-segregating as I type.
We might as well go back to “separate but equal.” In many cases we have because when blacks move into an area, whites tend to move out. Look at PG County for one.
The Root can apply to anybody. This effort by the Post is blatant racism.
This comment found TheRoot.com analogous to “ethnic studies” in the classroom – I thought it a fairly strong argument:
Posted by “vsessoms” 1/28/2008 6:22:26 PM:
I think the “Roots” project is racist and a mistake, the same way ethnic studies programs introduced on college campuses nationwide was a mistake. The main problem with ethnic studies programs were not that they were not needed – the information was definitely crucial and vital in helping to improve race relations in the United States during the explosive 60s… and to set the record straight in regards to history. However, a very critical mistake happened…. Civil Rights activists were demanding that these programs be separated from the regular curriculum and course schedules – and that these courses be taught by African Americans or other ethnic group instructors or professors.
So, with few exceptions, all ethnic groups (Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, Native Americans and others) were given special facilities to house these ethnic programs. This isolation resulted the devaluing of ethnic studies. Oh, these courses were offered to the entire student body but only as ELECTIVES…. Not required or mandatory courses. Consequently, students didn’t take them. White history, however, remained as a regular part of the curriculum – and a requirement for graduation.
Without going into the permanent damage this arrangement caused, and how ethnic studies were marginalized and degraded by the white administrations – this separation did not work.
To me it sounds like the creation of “The Roots” is the same thing – Although it does not restrict African Americans or others from reading or participating in the Op Pages of the Washington Post – it does shield white readers and others from the views and opinions that are significant and important to African Americans and others.
The fact that Tavis Smiley, Tom Joyner and Mr. Gates and others, who are all cut from the same cloth will be in charge of the publication, means simply that opinions and views will be those of the “establishment” colored people, people like Cornell West and other such type of “Black intellectuals.” Informed African Americans or those seeking to change the status quo will be excluded. Will Angela Davis have an article? Will other African American community activists have equal access to present their view? I doubt it. This is exactly why I don’t regularly read Ebony or Essence – because it represents views of only certain types of African Americans who are not concerned with issues such as racism, poverty. Aids or the disparities in the mandatory sentencing practices of the Justice department which has resulted in millions of African Americans beings unfairly incarcerated for long periods of time.
I think that Mr. Graham of the Washington Post must have learned something from white college administrators decades ago as to how they “handled” the problem of integrating college curriculum by including other histories, and information regarding other cultures, other than white. By separating ethnic studies white America was able to continue to perpetuate deeply held, racist beliefs of white supremacy and the inferiority of all others.
I read the Washington Post because I find some of the articles interesting, and usually the writers unbiased in their reporting. But, I take this “Roots” thing as the same old racist game playing and an effort to keep the Washington Post the same lily white newspaper it has been since its inception. Shame on you Washington Post!
Still reactions from the WashPost, but I thought this was a fun exchange. (Plus, it’s finally a semi-positive reaction):
Posted by “dopper0189” 1/28/2008 1:11:30 AM:
This is a great idea. I can’t wait to read it. As someone who blogs at Daily Kos, and post a collection of “Black” related news items under the title “Black Kos” I can tell you how welcomed this will be. Often news items that are of a particular interest to a smaller subset of any community can get lost in the general news. My own experience is that it also provides an important forum and portal, so that people who don’t often get a real sense of what’s important to “black people” can learn. Too many people form their opinion of black people based on Rap videos, Sports, and TV shows. Places like this not only service the black community, but also the larger American community, teaching and informing. Sadly the people who will most likely come out strongest against this idea in the comments are the ones who would most benefit from reading it. You can’t break down barriers if you can’t understand what the other side wants. Bravo Washington Post.
P.S. I hope this will give voice to the silent black middle class. The media tends to focus on the black poor, or super rich. How often do you see someone representing the 40%+ black middle class?
Posted by “brucerealtor@gmail.com” 1/28/2008 2:44:45 AM:
dopper0189 — I must agree with your observations, but I wonder just how well received such a site would be if it target primarily white folks instead LOL.
Posted by “dopper0189” 1/28/2008 3:48:40 AM:
Brucerealfor I get your point. But not to be “cheaky” most of America’s media target white folk, they just don’t do it explicitly.
I’m not race baiting by that comment. For example look at the committee heads in congress. Committees that over see issues like immigration, taxes, etc. are held by Congressional Black Congress members. How often on cable news do you see them being interviewed on taxes, immigration issues etc. But let a “racial” issue pop up, and you see them everywhere, why? Do people think that is the only issue black folk care about? I mostly see the same old faces on news programs. Yes before you mention him, Charlie Rengal is the exception that proves the rule. Can you name another? Think of news magazines, TV shows, you watch. Blacks and Latinos together make up over 25% of the US population do the shows you watch reflect that? I remember watching “Seinfeld” and “Friends” set in NY city. How many years did they go before they even had a black character (friends went 8 years on TV without showing a black person even in the background google it). This was in NYC, did you notice? Did you find it unrealistic, or did it miss your eye? My point isn’t to whine, or to ask for quotas, I really don’t care that much what companies do with their own media properties. My only point is to point out that 1/8 people in the USA are under represented, and markets will always respond to under represented consumers, even in media.
I would rather stories like the ones I suspect will be talked about were integrated (not a pun) into “mainstream” news. Maybe the question that should be asked is, how are they not. If any reader objects, I would only ask them to petition their “mainstream” source to include these stories, not to disparage the new webzine. That would be a principled stand I would support.
(Sorry for the double post had to fix typos before the rude race baiters jump into the conversation, P.S. Bruce I respect the tone of you comment, I am not calling you a race baiter by any means I think you raised a fair point, I just have seen how these comment threads normally degenerate…)”
Onto the blogs. I found a lot of the black blogosphere’s reaction to be pretty positive. Check it out:
Posted by “BlackSuperWomen.com” January 31, 2008 at 2:06 AM:
Ladies, you GOTTA go to www.theroot.com and check it out! It’s an online magazine dedicated to providing a voice for African Americans…and it was just launched on Monday by Washington Post Newsweek Interactive. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. from Harvard is the Editor in Chief, so you can’t go wrong here. The Root will highlight Black commentary on various issues and appears that it will contain a high level of critical analysis…I’m thinking we can never get enough of this! There is also a segment of the site that is focused on tracing your roots. Let’s see how this pans out…I’ll be on the site regularly over the next few weeks and will give an update at some point. I’m optimistic!
This guy used to work at The Post:
Posted by UndercoverBlackMan.blogspot.com January 28, 2008 12:27 PM:
Today, the Washington Post Co. (which used to employ me) planted a flag in the afrosphere by launching TheRoot.com.
Conceived by Post chairman Don Graham and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (pictured), and with the “sponsorship” of HBO, TheRoot.com strives to be a high-toned webmagazine for black folks.
Prof. Gates sees it as part of a 180-year continuum… from Freedom’s Journal to The Crisis to Ebony magazine to now.
The Root’s editorial team comes from elite mainstream news organizations – Lynette Clemetson (New York Times), Terence Samuel (U.S. News & World Report) and Natalie Hopkinson (Washington Post).
Given all those credentials, I hope The Root won’t be too very “respectable”… eating fried chicken with a knife and fork and shit.
I hope there’ll be room in that enterprise for some of the funkdafied free speaking and reckless attitudinizing that characterizes the best of the black blogosphere. (I’m talking about bloggers like AngryBlackBitch, The Assimilated Negro, Field Negro and Ernest Hardy.)
Either way, I’ll be checking out The Root regularly.
“rasx” commented January 28, 2008 1:47 PM:
Hey! This is a great opportunity for you to explain to a country rube like me why this Skip Gates Web project needs to be “conceived” in a “partnership” with The Washington Post. I can only think of what Farai Chideya has done and Harlem-Renaissance-style patronage for the “New Negro.”
UndercoverBlackMan responded January 28, 2008 3:57 PM:
Hey Bryan. What’s wrong with getting white corporate money behind a project? Particularly when there’s bills to pay before you even launch. (Hiring top-caliber journalists, etc.)
The more I read about TheRoot.com, it seems that the Post Co. was inspired, in part, by the success of Slate (which it now owns). Matter fact, the top two guys at Slate wet-nursed this Root concept to fruition.
And Prof. Gates apparently has his own entrepreneurial interest here, using TheRoot.com to drive customers to his genetic-mapping business, AfricanDNA.com.
None of which I have a problem with. I’m just saying… you gotta have some funk it. Just got to.
Comment from someone “not in the target audience”:
Posted by “rkaufman.wordpress.com” January 30, 2008 at 9:22 AM:
Well, The Root’s been online now for two days, and though I’m not the target audience, I thought I’d go take a look at it.
My first thoughts are that I’m pretty impressed with the look of the thing. It’s supposed to be “Slate for black readers” yet looks nicer than Slate. (I’ve never been impressed with Slate’s weird pop-out Javascript navigation menu.)
I like that the “stuff” in the left column changes–sometimes it’s the top 5 stories, sometimes it’s a list of blogs, sometimes video. But oh–why do the blogs have to look so different? That’s a big negative.
The news content is pulled from other sources on the web, and opinions/blogs are written in-house. It seems to be a good mix of current events and commentary, but after such a short time I can’t be sure.
There are pictures on the Views (opinions) page, but News seems to be devoid of photos. And, come to think of it, why exile blogs to a separate section rather than allow them to mix with Views?
A plus for The Root is it looks like comments can be posted by anyone. And the blogroll to the left is great.
What do y’all think?
Posted by “Bee Easy” on “thecoloredsection.blogspot.com” January 29, 5:03 PM:
I finally got a chance to visit TheRoot, the new online portal launched this week by Dr. Henry Louis Gates. I’m all for the idea of an online portal for black people (any excuse to use my Mac), especially one that offers more than the standard entertainment news and commentary. Along with keeping tabs on domestic happenings, the site is not afraid to put international news, like the latest on conflict in Kenya, up front and center. Plus it provides links to some of my favorite black blogs and features commentary from fresh voices that I love to read anyway. Dr. Gates is clearly up on who and what is relevant to black people.
What I think makes the site especially original is its emphasis on genealogical research. If you haven’t already seen the tire thing, you can view clips from Dr. Gates’ African American Lives special from the site. Plus there’s thorough advice for those about to embark on their own projects. If there’s anything black folks need now, it’s knowledge of self.
But that’s another post.
Where other portals (like those owned by that radio jock with an exceptionally strong work ethic and that cable network those young kids like) confuse me more with every click, TheRoot is clean, user-friendly and easy to navigate. All in all, both the media junkie and the cultural connoisseur inside of me are pleased. It still feels a bit empty, though, probably because it’s only days old. I hope and am sure that the site’ll offer more content in the future.
Spend some time on TheRoot and let me know what you think.
The ONLY reaction from media blog Romenesko (and it’s snarky!):
Posted by “Alex Dering” on “Romenesko” 1/28/2008 7:38:38 AM:
…I’m just curious:
…what exactly is “the black angle” on housing and health care?
…what exactly is “the black angle” on housing and health care?
“I would like a place to live and medical insurance.”?
Something like that?
Can I make a guess as to what the “black angle” is on pizza?
“Actually, yes, I’d love a slice.”
And I bet the “black angle” on child abuse is probably pretty unique, too.
“Abuse a child? My God, that’s just sick.”
Ought to be quite a site.
Good back-and-forth about the webzine as a merely a means to target advertise:
Posted by “jossip.com” Jan 28, 2008:
Seeing Slate’s continued success and the purchasing power of blacks, the Washington Post Co. has launched TheRoot.com, a news and entertainment site for people of color. Henry Louis Gates Jr., an African-American Studies professor at Harvard, comes on board as editor-in-chief, with folks like Malcolm Gladwell signing on to contribute.
Gates is also involved on the business end, with TheRoot teaming up with his own AfricanDNA.com, which is among a growing number of companies promising to link the black diaspora to its African roots through genetic maps. Readers of TheRoot are often directed to Gates’ website.
Gates – and apparently WaPo – sees no conflict of interest, even though their new website (named TheRoot, after all) makes an explicit effort to focus especially on genealogy. Which is a convenient stance to take. (And given our own interest in black web publishing, perhaps our skepticism is also convenient?)
Posted by “Derek” Jan 29, 2008 at 10:41 PM:
I would agree that the website has a profit motive behind it. Even before reading this blog, it was my first impression when visiting the site. But in order to make that conclusion, you have to be an informed individual. What I mean by that is 1: You would have to know that Skip Gates is a principal of the DNA genealogy service that is being prominently recommended on “The Root.” 2: That using DNA to trace genealogy is so inaccurate, that the results are symbolic at best. Going back just four generations, a person would have sixteen great-great grandparents, but the DNA test only reveals one. 3: The website opens just a week before the debut of the 2nd part of the documentary “African American Lives,” which covers the DNA genealogy research of a few prominent African Americans. As a matter of fact, clips of the new show can be seen on “The Root.” (it would be interesting to see which DNA company is recommended in the documentary.)
Most people will not connect these dots. I guess they are banking on the emotional aspect of African Americans wanting to know where they come from.
Posted by “pres” Feb 1, 2008 at 7:27 AM:
A profit motive? In America? I’m speechless!
Posted by “Sisters45.com” Feb 1, 2008 at 6:57 PM:
This is America and nothing is for FREE!!
Posted by “CantEvenGo” Feb 2, 2008 at 2:10 PM:
Methinks that it’s a tenet of web sustainability and longevity that your website has got to make some money. If the financial connection between Gates and WaPo creates or supports interesting, informative content AND they make money from it, why the beef?
Here’s a post suspicious of Gates:
Posted by “Critical Noir” at Vibe.com 01/30/2008 at 1:26 PM:
Washington PostNewsweek Interactive recently launched the interactive site The Root. Ostensibly a partnership with Henry Louis “Skip” Gates to promote the latest incarnation of his black “celebrity DNA” project, the site features a virtual cavalcade (literally) of smart Negroes. We can thank our man Barack for this.
With the Illinois Senator confounding pundit expectations about the legitimacy of his candidacy and the perceived capacity for non-blacks to support his campaign, there’s suddenly a need for highly articulate Negroes, who are actually armed with some quantitative and qualitative data. So unlike the Don Imus, Michael Richards or even the Jena 6 controversies–where the clear desire seemed to be to create spectacles around racist transgressions and Negroes who love to agitate–the Barack moment actually demands some sophisticated political analysis (read: Civil Rights Leaders need not apply). For example, in recent weeks political scientists such as Melissa Harris Lacewell and Paula McClain have weighed in thoughtfully on the issues of race, gender and white supremacy with regards to the barbed exchanges between the Clinton and Obama camps, in venues as diverse as Democracy Now! and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees. Such opportunities did not consistently exist prior to the Barack moment.
The Root offers Gates the opportunity to trade on his true gatekeeper status, by delivering smart Negroes to mainstream corporate news platforms. This is not a new hustle for Gates. A decade ago, Gates was the intellectual and marketing force behind Africana.com, an on-line journal that provided a regular and critical forum for thinkers such as Amy Alexander, William Jelani Cobb, Lester Spence, Jimi Izrael, and Bethany Allen. At the time the site was essentially an on-line vehicle to promote Gates’s Encarta Africana. Africana.com soon became part of a necessary intervention into public discourse during the early years of the Bush II presidency, when smart Negroes–excepting Secretaries Powell and Rice–were no longer in vogue and ThugNiggas (50 Cent, Allen Iverson, etc.) were concretized in the popular imagination. Africana.com was shut down in 2004, after it was purchased a few years earlier by Time Warner (AOL)–and the latter came to the realization, that “critical interventions” scare off advertisers and upscale chat rooms don’t.
As such one has to wonder if the shelf life of The Root will outlive Gates’ current vanity project, the whims of corporate media entities and the general skittishness of too many smart Negroes strolling the promenade with well-packaged critical analyses in hand. In any regard there is competition in the way; According to sources “Cathy Hughes and Radio One are about to initiate an online venture.”
And, I’m not going to quote the entire thing, but here’s a promotion for the genealogy side of the site:
http://www.blogher.com/shaking-family-tree-learning-your-personal-history-through-dna-genealogy-oral-history
Then, there are these global/French reactions about la culture noire (oh la-la!):
http://www.netlexfrance.com/weblogs/recent-links/2008/01/#rlink-3741
http://chaps.blog.lemonde.fr/2008/01/29/un-magazine-web-pour-les-noirs/
In a post from a blog entitled “Big Picture- Croquis d’Amerique,” on the website for Le Monde, Corine Lesnes writes about “Le Slate des Blacks.” She mentions Henry Louis Gates, summarizes the first issue and writes that Gates expects “The Root” to lose money initially, but that they hope it will eventually prove successful, like “Slate.”
Reactions vary. This is from “Julien.”
“Why can’t black people read Slate? Doesn’t it address them? I’ve had enough with products targeted to race, colour or ethnicity. If an analysis in Slate is well-argued and interesting, it should be able to be read by everybody, no?”
Julien also notes that The Root declares that “Obama has eagerly embraced the notion of his racial transcendence.” He finds it odd that this phrase can be read on a site specifically targeted to black readers.
Corine replies to Julien’s comment. “I understand your point of view,” she writes. “but there are displays of differences, of sensibilities and of pressure groups throughout society. On reading “black” sites, one perceives that there are many subjects and perspectives that can’t be found elsewhere (as for example in “green” sites).”
ie specialist sites deal with specialist subjects in more detail than might be found elsewhere.
Most people commenting on this post refer to Obama. Greg Shenaut writes that a victory for either Obama or Clinton would be a coup against misogyny and racism. Many seem to think that the launch of The Root is timely, as America begins to embrace the idea of a black president.
Geneaology Summary/Background:
Gates is involved is in involved in another black geneaology themed project called “African American Lives,” a documentary series that airs on PBS.
In a recent interview in Time Out New York Gate’s explains his personal reasons for revealing people’s genetic history to them on his PBS series “African American Lives”:
“I love it. It’s a fantasy for me. When I was a kid, I loved Watch Mr.Wizard—he’d tell you how electricity worked, that sort of thing, and he was amazing at being able to reveal something complex to a broad audience.”
Price for the tests range anywhere from $100 to $1000 dollars based on a informal survey of sites that offer similar services.
An article from The Guardian outlines the recently new trend of DNA testing for wealthy African-Americans. Of particular interest is the following passage:
“While other Americans could travel to towns in Ireland, Italy or Germany in search of genealogical sustenance, slavery deprived African-Americans of a clear and precise geographical bond with their own ancestry. As Gates puts it: “There is no Ellis Island for the descendants of the slave trade.” Moreover, since slave-owners changed people’s names, regularly split up families and banned reading and writing, the usual methods of keeping family histories have not been available to African-Americans until relatively recently.
This new science, then, seemed to offer a means of telling a story that had been denied and hidden.”
And:
“Herein lies one of the central problems with tracing ones roots through DNA. Science can only tell you so much. Stop the genealogical wheel at an inconvenient moment and some of the world’s greatest black icons could be rendered not African, but European. Muhammad Ali’s great grandfather was Irish; Bob Marley’s father was British. According to Shriver, Gates – the most prominent black academic in the country – has DNA that is 50% European and 50% West African. Both his matrilineal and paternal lines came back to Europe.
“I’ve spoken with African Americans who have tried four or five different genetic genealogy companies because they weren’t satisfied with the results,” says Nelson. “They received different results each time and kept going until they got a result they were happy with.”
“There are some people who are black who may have only 10% African ancestry,” says Shriver. “It helps create an understanding that race is an illusion and that there isn’t any real difference between races. They show that we’re all mixes.”
Critics of Shriver’s work say he is actually achieving the opposite – elevating race from a social construct – a difference created to justify racism – into something that appears both real and even calculable. “
Duped by DNA
It appears that DNA testing as a reliable indicator of African ancestry is not all its cracked up to be, according to an article from the Sunday Age located in Melbourne, Australia. The article goes on to say:
“But since the tests began in 2003, questions have been raised about their accuracy: specifically whether tracing mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from the mother’s side of the family, can reliably pinpoint tribal origins.
Those doubts were given a public voice this week with the publication of an article in a British peer review journal. It said a study found that fewer than 10 per cent of black Americans whose mitochondrial DNA was identified matched perfectly with a single African ethnic group, and 40 per cent had no match.”
Tracing roots through genealogy websites is a growing and profitable trend.
As seen in the Daily Deal:
Generations Network Inc., which owns genealogical site Ancestry.com, sold a majority stake to a group led by Spectrum Equity Investors for $300 million, including debt.
Generations Network, which changed its name last year from Myfamily.com, has more than 900,000 paying subscribers. It receives 8.2 million worldwide monthly unique visitors, a company statement said.
Revenue in 2006 was $150 million, up from $47 million in 2002, according to Sullivan.
“We’re growing and we’re profitable,” Sullivan said. “We’ve rebuilt and relaunched a new platform that will maintain and extend the lead for family social networks on the Web.”
Generations has also opened an office in Beijing. “We believe China is a hot potential market,” Sullivan said.
Mail on Sunday (London):
“A UK spokesman for Generations Network said the family history market here had grown enormously in the past few years due to the internet and media programmes. ‘Since we established an office here in 2004 we have had a 500 per cent increase in our turnover,’ he said. ‘The growth has been absolutely massive. The most popular collections for research are our births, marriages and deaths records and the censuses.’ Being owned by private equity groups, the company’s financial figures are not publicly available, but the financial success of other genealogy websites in Britain is undisputed.”
**
Free on-line sources:
www.familysearch.org. This site is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints – or the Mormon Church – which requires its members to research their family trees to baptise deceased relatives.
Geneaology on TheRoot.com Reactions:
Some questions have been raised about the propriety of bundling the magazine with a pitch for Editor Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s DNA testing company. In the New York Times article reporting the site’s launch, for example, the reporter noted that that relationship “would be prohibited at some publications.
Bloggers were, on the whole, less restrained about decrying Gates’ apparent profiteering. Media gossip site Jossip.com seemed incredulous that “Gates – and apparently WaPo – sees no conflict of interest…” Vibe.com blogger Mark Anthony Neal went further, calling the site a “vanity project” and a “hustle.”
That said, others, like MediaBistro’s fishbowlny, weren’t fazed by the genealogy link. Fishbowl thought it “looks like it will do just fine,” adding “Plus, it has Gates’ trademarked genealogy jones as a focal point of the site.”
Interview reactions:
Gayle Pemberton, Chair of the African American Studies Department, Wesleyan University (Connecticut)
“I do believe that DNA testing and genealogy trees that are designed to
link modern blacks to Africa are a touch problematic. We can’t undo
the middle passage; we have bought our citizenship with a price
higher than that of any other group. My learning what part of Africa
my ancestors came from carries no meaning for me, personally. I have
so many generations of them here — going back to one who kissed
George Washington.”
Shola Edenekan, editor of New Black Magazine
“Blatant marketing alongside editorial are tricky minefields. I think Dr Gates needs to decide what he wants to sell to his readers. A thought-provoking publication or genealogy website? I remember his other project launched about a decade ago, Africana.com, of which I was a contributor. At the time the site was essentially an online vehicle to promote Gates’s Encarta Africana. Africana.com soon became part of a necessary intervention into public discourse during the early years of the Bush II presidency. He soon sold the publication to AOL Time Warner. One can only hope that The Root is not one of Dr Gates’ vanity projects in his self-assumed position as the gatekeeper of the African Diaspora history.”
Traditional Media Reactions:
In a Boston Globe op-ed article, Alondra Nelson, a professor of African-American studies is critical of Gates promotion of personal DNA testing via his PBS series “American Lives” She writes:
“As the documentary’s narrator and host, Skip Gates plays a central role. In each of the episodes, he nimbly supplies the celebrities with information about their family tree. He also serves as a science educator of sorts, translating the genetic genealogical information to the subjects. In the final episode, perhaps lifting a page from “reality television” with a shocking “reveal,” he informs Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot that, despite her cultural affinities and what she knows of her familial history, genetic analysis based on an unrepresentative DNA database concludes that she does not have Native American ancestry. He is also on hand with other celebrities to empathize and explain when they receive inconclusive results, as is the case when a genetic marker is found in Africa but on other continents as well.
Most people who are lining up to take the genetic genealogy tests will not receive such “star” treatment. Consumers of genetic genealogy testing receive their results at home in the mail. So what happens when, standing in their kitchens at the end of a workday, they open the envelope to find shocking results that may fundamentally alter their self-conceptions?”
Blog Reactions:
This from Epidemix- a blog that deals with “trends, technologies and other contagions in medicine and health.”
“I just heard about The Root, a “Slate for black readers,” according to founder Henry Louis Gates Jr. Since Slate is one of my favorite sites, this is a cool development. So what’s that got to do with public health or genetics or medicine? Well, right there smack on the prime front page real estate is an unexpected service – a link to Gates’ AfricanDNA.com, Gates’ effort to bring some substance to the DNA ancestry market. There is a disclaimer that notes AfricanDNA.com is a separate company, but the link is otherwise seamless – here’s what it looks like on the home page (the DNA is on the right side, under “Roots”).
I have no criticism here – I’m not saying there’s a conflict. I find it noteworthy simply because it’s the first explicit combination of journalism and genetic services I’ve seen. These don’t seem like obvious complimentary partners, but with a little thought it actually makes sense.”
Stereohyped queries The Root’s ties with Louis Gates’ genealogy business.
“With Henry Louis Gates of Harvard (and African American Lives) at the helm, there’s a heavy emphasis on genealogy, with prominent links to Gates’ DNA testing company, although, before you’re directed to his site, they give you a few other DNA testing services.” The comments are all appreciative. “I like it!” says Demetria.
Analysis:
