The Root

On Tuesday’s episode of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, LeVar Burton made a special appearance for a fun segment on book bans.Read more...

As a plus-size Black woman, the representation I get isn’t always the most positive. Usually, we’re relegated to a stereotype or end up as the butt of the joke. Superstar Lizzo has made it her mission to change how the world sees big girls and continues that work in her new Prime Video reality show.

Spoiler Alert! I’m about to spoil crucial moments from Bel-Air’s first three episodes. Stop reading now if you haven’t watched. Ok, you’ve been warned.

Haiti has been rocked by earthquakes and political unrest, which has sent many of its citizens looking for a better way of life–specifically, in America, which once stood by the poem, “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”Read more...

Migrants at the southern border of Mexico sewed their mouths shut Tuesday with needles and plastic thread in protest of long wait times for processing their asylum claims. Mexico has been overwhelmed by new numbers of migrants since the U.S. crackdown on migration at the northern border.Read more...

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 1 back in September 2021, which banned drive-thru voting, overnight early voting hours, and changes to mall-in ballots that include not being able to drop off a mail-in ballot by hand until election day.Read more...

NBA veteran Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has teamed with History Channel to produce a documentary about our Black leaders from the Civil War, reported the Huffington Post. The documentary, Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War, will help us better understand the contributions Black Americans made toward gaining the country’s…Read more...

Two of the three white men who were convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery were found to use racial slurs in text messages and social media posts, an FBI witness testified Wednesday in their federal hate crimes trial, according to the Associated Press.Read more...

Some things in life are perfect the way they are. Chocolate chip cookies taste the best when they’re fresh out the oven, pajamas feel amazing when they’re fresh from the dryer, and yes, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Now, Food Network is reporting that streetwear brand Supreme is getting involved in the latter with, of all…Read more...

As the NBA heads into its All-Star break, Brooklyn Nets sports fans wonder if they are ever going to see an iteration of “the big three” on their home floor. The makeup of the three-star players has changed with the trade for Ben Simmons–while Kevin Durant recovers from a knee injury and Simmons gets caught up to…Read more...

Wendy Williams is speaking out against claims about her mental health following the freezing of her financial accounts at the hands of Wells Fargo.Read more...

In keeping with the time-honored tradition of white people accused of racism turning to respected Black folk for cover, the NFL has tapped the nation’s first Black woman attorney general to defend the league against former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit.

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Republican gubernatorial candidates around the country are trying to replicate their party’s winning strategy from 2020 in Virginia, by using dog-whistle campaign ads aimed at scaring white voters about non-existent critical race theory curricula in public schools.

Delegate Danielle Walker, West Virginia’s only Black female lawmaker, filed a lawsuit against an anti-abortion group. Her evidence is a racist Facebook post and a racist email she claims she received because she supports legislation that would eliminate the restrictions on abortion in the state, per the Associated…Read more...

In case you missed the memo, it’s hard out here for a Black man.Read more...

A Democratic lawmaker in New Hampshire who was accused of using a racial slur to intimidate a young Black man has apologized, according to the Associated Press.Read more...

Brittany Johnson is officially “Popular.” The actress debuted as the first full-time Black Glinda in Broadway’s Wicked, per CNN.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will not charge free-agent running back Adrian Peterson with a felony in connection to his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport, reports say. Peterson was arrested at the airport on Sunday on a domestic violence charge after he and his wife got into a heated…Read more...

Billionaire Ken Griffin announced Monday that he has donated $20 million to GOP gubernatorial candidate and Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s campaign. Irvin is one of five Republican candidates heading to the June primary looking to defeat Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.Read more...

If you’ve ever wondered where the zombie apocalypse starts, the answer is Coachella. Because according to KTLA, the music festival and its sister show, country music extravaganza Stagecoach, will not require guests to wear masks or be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Trevor Noah always has something interesting to say on current events, and now he’s making news for defending recent The Daily Show guest India.Arie.Read more...

Music festival season is back in full swing and now there is another musical festival music lovers will be ecstatic for. Including myself.Read more...

It appears Trey Songz, aka “Mr. I Apparently Don’t Know How to Keep My Hands to Myself,” is about to be embroiled in yet another legal battle stemming from claims of sexual assault.

A nephew of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams has reportedly died by suicide. Alphonse Williams died February 3 after having suffered a multitude of mental and physical health issues include bipolar disorder and a rare condition known as Peyronie’s Disease. He was 21.

Robert Marshall, founder of I Am Man Inc., is not only an advocate for sexual assault victims who are men, but also a survivor himself. Marshall spoke with The Root about how he used his story to empower other survivors to seek wellness and how his upcoming book, Echoes, explores more intimately the stories of…Read more...

The National Hockey League is slated to broadcast its first game ever with an all-Black on-air cast calling the action this Thursday.

The Kanye West saga is never-ending, but isn’t it different this time? One day he’s saying he won’t perform at Coachella unless Billie Eilish apologizes to Travis Scott, the next he’s saying his daughter cannot use TikTok without his consent, not to mention him wanting the final edit of the jeen-yuhs…Read more...

An Orange County sheriff’s deputy was determined by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to be justified in his fatal shooting of a homeless Black man in San Clemente, California, who deputies thought was jaywalking, according to the Mercury News.Read more...

Just call her Megan Thee Hot Girl Philanthropist!

Back in my day, school activities for Black History Month looked like book reports and classroom posters. Now, the kids have moved on to creating playfully racist art in celebration of the Black experience. An allegory for American history.Read more...

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As someone who spent hundreds of hours of his life scouring Napster for the latest Genius Level Musik mixtape or impromptu freestyle, and who foolishly snuck out of a hospital once upon a poor decision just to see him in concert in the early aughts, I would say my standing as a devout, Bible College Dropout-thumping,…Read more...

Houston officials are offering a $30,000 award for information on a road rage incident that resulted in a critical injury of 9-year-old Ashanti Grant, per NBC News. Mayor Sylvester Turner initially offered $5,000 until Houston entrepreneur Tilman Fertitta donated an additional $25,000, reported ABC 13 News. The two…Read more...

My lords and ladies, I bring you the event of the season: The social debut of the Bridgerton Season 2 trailer.

Classes resume at Howard University after another bomb threat forced students and faculty to shelter-in-place Monday morning. Howard is one of more than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities that have received bomb threats this month; this is the school’s fourth threat in just over six weeks.Read more...

The Root is sad to report the passing of Priscilla Murray, the mother of Grammy-nominated artist and Fast & Furious franchise actor Tyrese Gibson.

As the three men who were convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery stood trial on hate crime charges in the 2020 killing of the 25-year-old Black man, a federal prosecutor told a jury how the three men had a long history of using racist slurs or comments in text messages that were appalling to those around them, according…Read more...

When it was revealed that figure skater Kamila Valieva, the Russian national champion and Olympic gold medal favorite, tested positive for a banned substance in December at a Russian competition, many wondered what she was doing at the games. Specifically, U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who found herself in a…Read more...

Well-known Louisville, Kentucky activist Quintez Brown was charged with attempted murder for a shooting at mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg’s office Monday morning. The activist is accused of firing multiple shots at the headquarters where the mayor was with four members of his team.Read more...

This story is about journalism, what you can and can’t say when reporting on someone accused or even acquitted of a heinous crime. It is not a story about George Zimmerman, although his newly-dismissed, $100 million defamation lawsuit against Trayvon Martin’s parents, attorney Benjamin Crump and others, provides some…Read more...

Attempted aggravated rape charges against Louisiana man Vincent Simmons have been dropped, freeing him from prison after 44 years, CNN reports. In 1977, Simmons, 24, was accused of attempting to sexually assault two white twin girls, Karen and Sharon Sanders, who were 14 years old. A jury decision of 11 white men and…Read more...

After years of no hosts, and amid rumors swirling about this year’s fate, it appears the Academy Awards have solidified the lucky folks who’ll be taking on the role: And it’s none other than our beloved Regina Hall, comedian Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer.Read more...

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Florida Republicans will never been accused of going too hard to defend Black voting rights, but right now there’s a split between the state’s Republican governor and its GOP-led legislature over whether or not to keep a heavily Black congressional district in the state.

It’s about to get super nerdy in here.

It looks like one of our forever tv, film, and all-around faves, Issa “Always Doing GOAT Shit” Rae, has added yet another title to her resume: Queen of Inglewood.

On Monday, longtime co-host of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, made her return to the famous desk following her two-week suspension.

Queens, N.Y., native Speedy Norman has made a name for himself as a culture journalist who’s interviewing some of the biggest names in entertainment one minute, and going viral for snapping Ray J’s “unbreakable” glasses the next.Read more...

Brooklyn residents have begun protesting the construction of the north Brooklyn pipeline, which has been accused of discriminating against Black neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, reported The Guardian. Residents and environmental activists believe the pipeline is a violation of their civil rights. Their…Read more...