The Root

Updated as of 1/2/2024 at 9:30 a.m. ET

It looks like Opal Lee is finally getting the justice her family deserves...too bad it only took 80 years to happen. The 97-year-old woman, also known to many as the Grandmother of Juneteenth," was gifted land owned by her family before a racist mob destroyed their home and forced them to leave.Read more...

Howard University officials awoke to a concerning post on TikTok earlier this week. A video on the popular social media app showed a group breaking into Benjamin E. Mays Hall, which used to house the Howard University School of Divinity.Read more...

Rapper Megan Thee Hot Girl Stallion has added a new name to her title for 2024: Planet Fitness' Mother Fitness. With a new fashion collab and marketing campaign for the gym chain, Stallion is looking to help gymgoers tap into their Big Fitness Energy" this January.

For many people, it doesn't matter who you are, or what you've accomplished, all they see is skin color. And that was exactly the case for senior NBA reporter Marc J. Spears, who recently found himself being racially profiled during a recent shopping trip out in Healdsburg, California.Read more...

Now that it has been a few weeks since Black Hollywood exploded, we've had time to breathe and to stop jumping to conclusions. A previous opinion piece in The Root suggested that Keyes allowed the public to throw several innocent men under the bus by not revealing his abuser.Read more...

The Color Purple has been declared the second-biggest Christmas Day film release of all time. Along with dynamic acting and singing, there are also fantastic dance sequences. Fatima Robinson, a widely respected choreographer for some of the biggest artists in our lifetime, told Entertainment Weekly that she knew she...Read more...

Black people-everyone from athletes, actors and politicians to Real Housewives," talk show hosts and musicians-have made some big strides forward this year. Black characters have been fan-favorites in prestige TV, and the new The Color Purple" musical has sparked conversations about Black fashion, types of love and p...Read more...

A Karen is identified as an obnoxious, angry, entitled person who more than likely presents as a racist middle-aged white woman. However, these people don't only exist throwing tantrums in your local neighborhood.

After weeks of holiday cheer-and what feels like endless plays of Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You"-the world has entered that gray period between wrapping up the old year and beginning the new. But no one seems to want the year to be over more than Black retail and service workers.Read more...

Tasha K and DJ Akademiks - two trash-talking Black gossip influencers" - are having the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week that they both deserve.Read more...

It's been a pretty memorable year in politics. But let's be honest...it's been mostly for bad reasons. But there were also many hilarious and wacky moments, so without further ado, here are the ones we couldn't stop laughing about on social media. - Jessica Washington Read MoreRead more...

As 2023 wraps up, it's safe to say that it was full of unpredictable moments. From that notorious Montgomery boat brawl to Keith Lee vs. Atlanta, here are the most viral moments from the last year.Read more...

The Barack and Michelle Obama-produced Netflix film, Leave The World Behind," is an apocalyptic thriller replete with Black History easter eggs, Julia Roberts awkwardly dancing, and metaphors used to underscore and warn of society's overdependence on technology, the rise of artificial intelligence, the destruction...Read more...

Being a grandpa is a good look for Al Roker. The TODAY Show weatherman is taking a little break from delivering the national forecasts to spend the holidays with his family. And judging by the smile on his face in his photos, he's having the time of his life. - Angela Johnson Read MoreRead more...

Coming up in the Black and largely Protestant City of Detroit, it felt like a revolutionary act to abandon the church and organized religion as I did as a teenager in the mid-1990s. But I had little recourse: As soon as I developed some adult-adjacent sense, I looked around and realized that the milk was sour...Read more...

Within days of Christmas, families in Iowa and Nebraska received some troubling news. Republican Governors in those states have announced that they're opting out of a summer Federal food assistance program. The program provides thousands of low-income families with an additional $40 per month in food assistance to...Read more...

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This year, we talked to some of the most influential Black entrepreneurs in the game for our exclusive business series, Securing the Bag. And while they shared way too much good advice to list here, we thought we'd end the year by looking back at some of the nuggets of wisdom they dropped that can help you no matter...Read more...

Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix stand-up special will premiere on New Year's Eve entitled The Dreamer. Earlier this month, a trailer was released that showed Chappelle's iconic C" logo with Morgan Freeman's voice stating: He's back, folks."Read more...

With sports in full swing, it got us thinking about Black athletes who have interesting (and weird) superstitions that have helped carry them to greatness. Some of them may disgust you, others may surprise you. But either way, it seems to have worked out for most of them.

An Indiana family is hoping to get citizenship for their adopted child with special needs before it's too late. Rebekah Hubley and her husband adopted Jonas, a nonverbal, blind, autistic child who has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder, from Haiti in 2010, according to WSFA 12 Alabama. Since then, they have raised...Read more...

Amid all the festive fun of the holidays you may have missed the last few blockbusters of 2023. Luckily, some of them didn't have long theatrical releases, so now you can enjoy them at home. If jam-packed parties aren't your thing, ring in the new year by checking out some of 2023's biggest movies at home.Read more...

A good sense of style will always be respected, no matter what industry you're in. Some may think that for you to be successful in a certain industry you have to put your all into that craft and nothing else.Read more...

No matter how hard the studio tries, sometimes a film just doesn't cut the mustard. Whether it's an unnecessary sequel, a rom-com lacking any romance or comedy or a scary movie with no thrills, we suffered through quite a few duds this year. With the exception of one shockingly bad release, we're strictly going after...Read more...

In the wake of Jonathan Majors' guilty verdict in the assault of his ex-girlfriend, he was fired by Marvel Studios. While fans have been speculating on his future with the franchise since his arrest in March, the confirmation of his exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, led to new questions about his character,...Read more...

When the current T.D. Jakes triple-decker sandwich of controversy started last week, the super-sleuths and schadenfreude faithful combed the internet to find the good Bishop doing or saying anything to suggest that his sexual proclivities might deem him a hypocrite as a Christian mega pastor.Read more...

We can't imagine anything creepier than a collection of hundreds of brains encased behind museum walls. But as it turns out, the story of how they got there is even sketchier.Read more...

Before there was a 1985 movie, a musical, or a 2023 movie reboot, there was Alice Walker's 1982 book, The Color Purple." Required reading in many English classes, Walker's novel is a powerful story about resilience and the bonds of sisterhood.Read more...

The year of 2023 had a whole bunch of WTF-jaw-dropping-are you serious? moments. Some days, you had to take a pause after reading a headline because of the information you were about to receive.

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On Wednesday, a HipHopDX interview with rapper Trina began recirculating around the internet in which the Miami rapper named Beyonce as the No. 1 female rapper who has helped pave the way for other Black women in rap. (Please make sure Nicki Minaj's Barbs doesn't hear this). The internet's response to Trina's comments...Read more...

Former President Barack Obama may no longer be a world leader, but that doesn't make him any less of a tastemaker. Every year, movie buffswait in anticipation of his annual list of his favorite movies of the year. And this year's list included many movies he produced and some surprising snubs.Read more...

The bar for GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has always been in hell, but she somehow continuously lowers it. This time, she omitted slavery as a reason for the Civil War during a campaign stop in Berlin, New Hampshire, on Wednesday. Now, she's attempting to do damage control.Read more...

Fans of the HBO show the Gilded Age" have come to admire the plucky writer, Peggy Scott, played by actress Denee Benton. But did you know she was inspired by multiple iconic Black women of her time?

T.D. Jakes is all over Black news for social media rumors about his connection to Diddy. But who is Jakes and how did he become a famous Bishop? Here's the evolution of T.D. Jakes.

In a turn of events that no one saw coming, Chris Rock and Amber Rose are rumored to be dating after being seen together the day after Christmas. The duo were spotted walking the streets of New York City before reportedly making their way to Rock's apartment.Read more...

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You gotta give it up for Curtis Jackson: Two decades removed from his career apex in Hip-Hop music, he's remained relevant in the culture by way of acting and producing in Starz's wildly popular Power" universe. He's also kept his bag up with lucrative business deals, which include his Sire Spirts brand that produces...Read more...

Can 50 Cent revive the legendary Cookie character? Following Taraji P. Henson's candidness about her struggles as a Black actress, the emcee is willing to help her carve out a new space in Hollywood. During press interviews for her new film, The Color Purple," Henson has spoken out about pay disparities and how she...Read more...

A Virginia grandmother is proving you're never too old to learn. Sarah Simpkins is a student at Brightpoint Community College, where she's enrolled in the school's Early Childhood Education program. She's also 101 years old.

For many, the legacy of Kobe Bryant is cemented: He was an excellent basketball player who changed the game and will be remembered long after his tragic death in 2020 alongside his daughter Gianna.

As long as there's been a Hollywood, there have been gossip columnists. As much as they claim to not respect one another, it's clear that they need each other to exist. For those of you not familiar with the inner workings of celebrity life, some of them routinely have people tip off paparazzi to their location, so...Read more...

Just as much as the holidays can bring out the best in people, this time of year can also bring outintense, violent behavior. The latest case is that of two Florida brothers whose argument over gifts led to bullets flying and their own sister being killed.

Let's be honest: There's something inherently creepy about wax figures. Whether they're spot on perfect or shockingly bad, it feels like they may come to life at any moment and kill you. With a new statue at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, Rihanna is back in the wax figure conversation. Like all things RiRi, the internet...Read more...

So 2023 was quite the year. It felt like every week we were dealing with a sexual assault lawsuit, a shocking breakup, or an unexpected medical scare. While this probably wasn't crazier than any other year, it sure felt like we were overwhelmed with celebrity scandals and surprises. Just in case you need a refresher,...Read more...

Coming up in the Black and largely Protestant City of Detroit, it felt like a revolutionary act to abandon the church and organized religion as I did as a teenager in the mid-1990s. But I had little recourse: As soon as I developed some adult-adjacent sense, I looked around and realized that the milk was sour...Read more...

Coming up in the Black and largely Protestant City of Detroit, it felt like a revolutionary act to abandon the church and organized religion as I did as a teenager in the mid-1990s. But I had little recourse: As soon as I developed some adult-adjacent sense, I looked around and realized that the milk was sour...Read more...

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump stood beside the family of Alegend Jones moments after they watched video footage leading up to the teen's death. Jones was sent to the hospital and put on life support moments after an alleged altercation with staff at a group home.

On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court threw out an attempt to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot per the US Constitution's insurrectionist ban." The only appropriate reaction to that news is Damn!" though all hope is not lost: an effort to remove the former president could be renewed for the general...Read more...