The Root

Worth checking out - the major online magazine Slate debuts a new "sister" web magazine today - The Root. It's aimed at African-American interest and edited by Harvard's eminent Henry Louis Gates. Gates is perhaps best known for overseeing the publication of the groundbreaking Encyclopedia Africana and academic publishing house Norton's black literature anthologies and references. I'm not a huge Slate fan, although it's generally worth scanning for useful content. I have higher hopes for The Root. Definitely will be turning to this new web mag as it attempts to find its voice and its audience and linking to articles that deserve notice. Gates, despite his academic perch, is a skillful entrepreneur in the field of black cultural and literary concerns, so there's some promise in the launching of this new venture.