The Root

Updated 1/9/2023 at 3:40 p.m.:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) burst on to the scene last week when he became the first Black politician to lead a party in Congress. Republicans may have finally elected a House Speaker, but Jeffries’ unifying address clearly stole the show.Read more...

Despite SZA’s second studio album, SOS, coming out exactly a month to the day, fans are still listening to the project as if it were released yesterday.Read more...

During a Sunday “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper, Prince Harry stated: “I will sit here and speak truth to you with the words that come out of my mouth, rather than using someone else, an unnamed source, to feed in lies or a narrative to a tabloid media that literally radicalizes its readers to then…Read more...

These days, it seems like everywhere you turn, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, are in your face. From their Netflix doc, Harry & Meghan to Harry’s highly-anticipated memoir, “Spare,” the couple has been working overtime to take control of the narrative and share what ultimately led them to walk away from the…Read more...

Updated as of 1/9/2023 at 2:20 .m. ET

As the tennis world prepares for the 2023 Australian Open, fans will have to enjoy the tournament without two of their favorite players. Just a few weeks after confirming that she received a wild card into the competition, on Saturday, event organizers announced that an injury has forced Venus Williams to withdraw…Read more...

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex is letting the choppa sing not holding back much in the days leading up to the release of his forthcoming memoir, Spare.

An elementary school student has been taken into custody after shooting and seriously injuring a teacher, according to NBC News. No students were injured during the incident. The situation reveals a frightening reality: how vulnerable our students are while trying to learn. What’s even more frightening is a child…Read more...

On Friday, January 6, 2023, Fisk University’s gymnastics team, the first historically Black university gymnastics team, competed in their first meet. The team was competing at the NCAA level and traveled from Nashville, Tennessee to Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the Super 16 invitational, the largest women’s…Read more...

In a new article for Scientific American, Duke University cultural anthropologist Tracie Canada addressed how Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin’s injury underscores how Black players are disproportionately affected by violence in the NFL.Read more...

A Wisconsin Department of Justice agent will stand trial for shooting an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop in Madison, Wisconsin, last year.Read more...

Updated 1/9/22 at 11:37 a.m. E.T: Gangsta Boo’s funeral is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 14. Free tickets are available to download from Eventbrite. The rapper, born Lola Mitchell, will be honored at Brown Baptist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. It will also be open to the…Read more...

Updated 1/9/2023:Read more...

A judge moved Lt. Caron Nazario’s million-dollar lawsuit forward against the two Virginia police officers who pepper-sprayed him during a traffic stop, per ABC News. Nazario says what the officers claimed to be a routine traffic stop resulted in an illegal car search and false imprisonment.

Though the highly-anticipated second season for the 50 Cent-produced, popular STARZ series BMF (which stands for Black Mafia Family) has only been back on our small screens for three days, rapper and series executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson already has plans for its future.Read more...

Players on the Pittsburgh Steelers are being called out by NFL fans for their behavior during Sunday’s match against the Cleveland Browns. Alex Highsmith made a successful tackle against his opponent. Highsmith then laid on the field when his teammate decided to go over to him and start performing mock CPR.Read more...

No one has ever accused Lizzo of staying quiet when she feels like something important needs to be said. The superstar singer made waves on social media Sunday when she tweeted out a harsh truth about “cancel culture.”

Read more...

Read more...

Just in time for Founder’s Day celebrations, Reebok dropped its brand new Yard Love Apparel Collection, a hoodie and t-shirt capsule honoring historically Black Greek organizations.Read more...

As we get ready to ring in the new year, there’s no better time to pick out a great new book. And readers will have plenty to choose from because January is coming in hot with great titles from romance to YA to memoir.Read more...

So you’re back on your health kick, huh? Well, here are some of our favorite Black health coaches, nutritionists, mental health pages, and fitness gurus to help you on your journey.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe will jump into Phase 5 with an interesting lineup of heroes, villains and a few new characters we haven’t figured out yet. While a schedule shift has pushed some highly-anticipated favorites to 2024, there’s still plenty to nerd out over this year. So prepare to get your geek on with…Read more...

Updated 1/7/2023 at 8:50 a.m. ETRead more...

Virginia contractor Devon Henry was called from the office of former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to join the effort in taking down statues honoring the Confederacy. According to h The Washington Post, Team Henry Enterprises was nearly a last resort given the “overtly racist” refusals from other white-owned companies.

Read more...

This year marks 25 years since I walked across the stage to accept my college degree. Back then, I had no idea what the future had in store for me. All I knew was that I had to find a way to make it on my own because I had no intention of being subjected to my parents’ oppressive curfew again.Read more...

Kenya police are investigating the gruesome killing of LGBTQ activist and fashion designer Edwin Chiloba. According to Huffington Post, his body was found stuffed inside a metal box on the side of the road. Human rights advocates mourned his death and accosted Kenya for fostering a hostile environment for queer people.

Updated on 1/6/22 at 4:10 p.m E.T:Read more...

The term “strong Black woman” has always perpetuated a dangerous stereotype that often leave us without protection or consideration. But now, Black women are using various social media apps—specifically TikTok—to dispel this notion by explaining that when we’re viewed as strong, it doesn’t leave room for us to…Read more...

Finally, some good news on abortion access! On Thursday, South Carolina’s Supreme Court permanently blocked the state’s six-week abortion ban, arguing that it violated the state’s constitution.Read more...

On the surface, CBS’s East New York may look like just another cop show, but its talented, diverse cast does an amazing job of making the series stand out from the procedural crowd. One of the most interesting elements of the show is the relationship between Officer Sandeford and his rookie partner, Officer Bentley.…Read more...

Taraji P. Henson has never shied away from conversations about mental health. The actress recently dropped by the Angie Martinez IRL Podcast, and the two got real right away. In the emotional, nearly 50-minute interview, Henson talked about her ongoing issues with anxiety and depression, and the work she’s doing now…Read more...

A day meant to be a fun music video shoot, turned out to be an evening filled with tragedy.Read more...

North West, the oldest child of Kim Kardashian and Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is no stranger to social media. In fact, the nine-year-old and her mom frequently post random, funny videos to TikTok quite often (much to the chagrin of West, as he’s previously expressed online.) So it’s a wonder why the…Read more...

The good news about the recovery of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin continues to roll in. On Friday, the team released a statement announcing that his breathing tube has been removed and that Damar is able to communicate with his family and teammates.

It only takes a few minutes of scrolling on The Root to find horrific examples of bullying and racial discrimination against Black students. As it turns out, these were far from isolated incidents.Read more...

Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph is opening up about the 2006 movie musical adaptation of Dreamgirls.Read more...

Friday marked Al Roker’s return to the “Today” show following a hospital stint. The 68-year-old weatherman suffered from blood clots in his lungs and leg and hadn’t been in the studio in two months.Read more...

Despite having one of the most viral songs on social media in 2022, “Sweet Yamz,” rapper Fetty Wap will still have to face the music in 2023.Read more...

Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Rabouin was detained in Phoenix outside a bank over the Thanksgiving holiday, per CNN. Now, his employer is demanding an investigation into why he was arrested, claiming the incident was an infringement on the reporter’s First Amendment rights.

The Food and Drug Administration’s latest change to how abortion medication can be dispensed is causing quite the buzz. On Tuesday, the FDA announced that they will allow certified pharmacies and licensed health care providers to prescribe and dispense mifepristone, a medication used in abortion care.Read more...

As the sports world celebrates its collective relief that Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is improving after his on-field collapse on Monday night, the other player involved in the hit that preceded his cardiac arrest, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, has made his first comments on the incident. Higgins…Read more...

Read more...

A new TikTok trend has taken the internet by storm in an honest effort to create a widespread network of Black women creators: the Black girl follow train. Basically, Black women creators make a video saying, “if you’re a Black girl, follow me.” Once white women realized they were being left out of the trend, their…Read more...

Sometimes a movie is so good, you instantly want more of the story. However, a sequel isn’t always a possibility, or so much time has passed that returning to the project seems difficult. The success of The Best Man: The Final Chapters, which is currently streaming on Peacock, has audiences talking about other films…Read more...

The cost of a single phone call might not be something you think about on a daily basis. But for the millions of Americans incarcerated throughout the United States, a phone call is often their only lifeline to the outside world. And far too often the price of that lifeline is more than they or their family can afford.Read more...

A Connecticut lawmaker tragically died in a wrong-way highway crash. Rep. Quentin Williams, a Democrat from Middletown, was killed overnight in a fatal accident on Route 9 in Cromwell after attending the governor’s inaugural ball as well as his own swearing-in ceremony. He was just 39 years of age.

While it is not a country-wide occurrence, cities across the United States are creating reparations programs for descendants of enslaved Africans.Read more...