The Root

This story is part of our Start. Build. Grow. series, a celebration of Black business.

The Bling Bishop" Lamor Whitehead, 45, had his day in court - and let's just say it did not go well for the flashy Brooklyn Preacher. On Monday, a Manhattan federal court found Whitehead guilty of wire fraud, attempted extortion, and lying to the FBI.Read more...

Is Kanye West inevitable? Despite all the controversy, outlandish statements and antisemitic rhetoric, the Chicago rapper has yet another hit single.Read more...

One afternoon, a delivery driver called the police to report a Tallahassee woman who was seen dancing hysterically outside while naked. By the time the police arrived, the woman in question had led them to a grisly scene like that straight out of a horror film: her mother stabbed to death and her heart pulled from her...Read more...

A British modern art museum commissioned an artist to respond to a mural that has been banned from public view since 2020 because of its caricature depictions of Black and Chinese people. The artist said the people need to see it.

Although there are several legal allegations against Diddy, some are more worried about his cultural impact on the music industry.Read more...

Tennis phenom Coco Gauff just proved that she's just like the rest of us, saying she'd love to break bread with singer, entrepreneur and all-around boss Rihanna.

On Sunday, the 96th annual Oscars went down live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles!Read more...

Decades after three Black men were lynched in Salisbury, Maryland, the city is taking steps toward healing. Salisbury's City Council just voted to approve an official apology. But while most people agree that it's a path forward, some think the city's actions don't go far enough.

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A Black man in Missouri is facing criminal charges after fatally shooting who he believed was an intruder but found he really fired at his own mother. Now, his attorney is trying to help him plead his case.

Black people spend so much of our time explaining the culture, sometimes we just need a place where we can relax and have fun together. For many of us, that place is Black Twitter. When everyone else is posting about Usher's halftime show, or that crazy new Netflix series, we go straight to Black Twitter for the real...Read more...

With a career that spanned nearly 60 years in the music industry, it's no secret that Aretha Franklin had millions of devoted fans worldwide. And if you know anything about the Respect" singer, you already know that when it came to those fans, no one loved her music the way she loved her music-a fact celebrity...Read more...

We guess making music runs in the family.Read more...

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In addition to being the biggest night in Hollywood, The Oscars are also the biggest night in fashion. It's not just about the red carpet for the big show, there's also high-profile events like the Vanity Fair Oscars Party and the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Academy Awards Viewing Party. Once again, Black Hollywood...Read more...

On March 5, 1984, Ramona Brown, 3, and her family woke up the night before Mardi Gras to flames devouring their home. Little Ramona was believed to have died in the fire with her siblings. Now police say she might not have been in the house at all.

One of Hollywood's biggest nights-the Oscars-took place last night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Jimmy Kimmel served as host for the fourth time, with Black Hollywood favorites Cord Jefferson and Da'Vine Joy Randolph taking home awards for their respective projects (American Fiction" and The Holdovers")....Read more...

Cord Jefferson, former staff writer for The Root, saw his commitment to writing Black content culminate with the ultimate award Sunday night, as he accepted an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his 2023 film American Fiction."Read more...

The Oscars are dedicated to celebrating the best movie moments of 2023. While it delivered plenty of beautiful, uplifting and hilarious speeches. There were also some awkward moments that made us wonder what we were watching. We're helping you out by boiling the extra long show down to the best and worst moments of...Read more...

The marvelous Da'Vine Joy Randolph can now officially call herself an Oscar winner. If you saw her work in The Holdovers" you know all the awards are well-deserved. This is her breakthrough moment, so we understand that a lot of movie fans may not be familiar with her extraordinary talent. To help you prepare for...Read more...

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Everyone may be talking about Oppenheimer" on Oscars night, but we're focused on Black Excellence. With stars like Zendaya; Colman Domingo; Regina King; Dwayne Johnson; Da'Vine Joy Randolph; and Danielle Brooks expected to attend the big show, we're ready for Black Hollywood to shut down the red carpet. Our long...Read more...

Some of our posts include links to retailers. If you buy something from clicking on one, G/O Media may earn a commission. Because editorial staff is independent of commerce, affiliate linking does not influence our editorial content.Among the (very few) subtler moments from the now-legendary Club Shay Shay" interview with Shannon Sharpe is Katt Williams' claim that he can run a sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash. Even Sharpe, a former NFL tight end, pushed back at that claim.Read more...

When you have 3.3 million TikTok followers like Nara Aziza Smith, expect more than a few haters sprinkled within.Read more...

Updated as of 3/9/2024 at 3 p.m. ET

It's not everyday as an actor that you get tapped to portray one of the biggest civil rights icons in history, but that's exactly what happened to Kelvin Harrison Jr. when he got the call to play Martin Luther King Jr. in National Geographic's recently released series, Genius: MLK/X."Read more...

A Kentucky bill with bi-partisan support could radically change how child support works in the state. On Tuesday, the Kentucky Senate passed a bill granting the right to collect child support for a child before they're born - allowing parents to re-coup expenses from during their pregnancy.Read more...

Shannon Sharpe loves all of the hate and jokes headed his way. Less than a week ago, the NFL Hall of Famer made a post on TikTok in which he simply visited a wine store to promote his luxury cognac, Shay by Le Portier.Read more...

Fantasia appeared on stage at Jazz In The Gardens' 17th annual Women's Impact Luncheon in Florida to a standing ovation and a room packed with Black and brown women eager to hear her testimony.Read more...

President Joe Biden delivered the final State of the Union of his first term in office on Thursday night - making a bold appeal to the American people to give him another term in office, and highlighting the existential threat to our democracy. - Jessica Washington Read MoreRead more...

Besides her record-breaking Super Bowl halftime performance in 2023, it's been over five years since fans have seen pop princess Rihanna perform live on stage. And we're not even going to talk about the last time she dropped new music - although I guess she has been raising children and running a fashion and beauty...Read more...

For one reason or another, Shannon Sharpe is always in the news. Whether it has to do with his revealing interviews with celebrities, or his outlandish comments on ESPN, someone always has something to say about the three-time Super Bowl champion. - Noah A. McGee Read MoreRead more...

For one reason or another, Shannon Sharpe is always in the news. Whether it has to do with his revealing interviews with celebrities, or his outlandish comments on ESPN, someone always has something to say about the three-time Super Bowl champion. - Noah A. McGee Read MoreRead more...

Seemingly overnight, the internet was flooded with photos of former President Donald Trump seemingly surrounded by adoring groups of Black voters. In one idyllically posed portrait, Trump has his arms around two smiling Black women as a larger group scrambles to get in frame. - Jessica Washington Read MoreRead more...

Besides her record-breaking Super Bowl halftime performance in 2023, it's been over five years since fans have seen pop princess Rihanna perform live on stage. And we're not even going to talk about the last time she dropped new music - although I guess she has been raising children and running a fashion and beauty...Read more...

Over the weekend, Philadelphia's head of LGBTQ affairs and her husband were detained by police in a disturbing arrest that was caught on camera. Now, the city's District Attorney Office is investigating the incident. - Candace McDuffie Read MoreRead more...

If you're looking for new and interesting shows to binge, you can't go wrong with something in the sci-fi/fantasy category. If you jump in on a series that's a few years old, you can avoid the frustrating wait fans experienced during the original airing and just binge the entire show in one sitting. To help you narrow...Read more...

The Oscars are the biggest night in Hollywood. The best and most popular actors, actresses, directors, and producers come out to celebrate the best in cinema over the past year.

Over the years we've seen some unforgettable portrayals of the President of the United States. From Morgan Freeman, to Dennis Haysbert, to Jamie Foxx, to Samuel L. Jackson, Hollywood's biggest name have spent time in the Oval Office. The difficult choices of election season often make us long for the more idealistic...Read more...

Black women have been the bedrock of our political system for generations. But how often does anyone bother to ask what Black women, specifically, want from the system they've worked so hard to uphold.Read more...

Willow Smith told us we weren't ready, and man, was she right. We just recovered from the stunning looks she served up at Paris Fashion Week, and now she's killing us softly all over again, teasing new music with gorgeously artistic visuals.Read more...

A wellness check from the New York Police Department led to the discovery of dismembered remains in a Bronx home. Police say their prime suspect was a well-known criminal justice activist. - Kalyn WomackRead more...

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This week, Charles Barkley made headlines with a pretty stern warning to Black people - if he meets anyone wearing a picture of Donald Trump's mugshot, they should be prepared to meet his fist.Read more...

As the Presidential race continues to heat up, a growing grassroots political movement has increasingly taken center stage. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have hit the streets to call for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip - with Black political leaders including Representatives Cori Bush (D-MO), Ayanna...Read more...

The Oscars are meant to honor and celebrate the best in the movie-making business like actors and directors. However, singers, music producers, and artists from the music industry have often stolen the show.

SZA has become a role model and inspiration for countless fans. The personal nature of her music offers a glimpse into her emotional struggles and life experience. Of course, not every important story can fit into a song: The Grammy winner recently appeared on the S.H.E. MD" podcast to discuss how she's dealing with...Read more...

Halle Bailey is speaking her truth about why she chose not to publicize her pregnancy with son Halo and keep things private.