The Root

When I was a kid, I remember the first time I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr–you know, the Disneyland version. There were slight mentions of protests and arrests–however, my teachers gave the most significant amount of time to King’s “I Have A Dream,” the speech he gave in 1963 at Washington D.C. and his…Read more...

If there had been a sixth season of The Wire–and God, we wish there was–it would have been about the Baltimore Police Department’s historically corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. Showrunners wouldn’t need to look far for source material, because a new report about the squad and how it came to be its own criminal enterprise…Read more...

Like wedding venues in the summer, premium dates can be hard to come by in awards season. With the ongoing Covid-19 surge causing film festivals and award shows to postpone in-person ceremonies, things are getting extra crowded.

On January 29, 2021, the Houston Texans were a hot-ass mess.Read more...

Once Baltimore City State’s Attorney went after the cops who killed Freddie Gray, and the Feds decided to start looking into her, it was only a matter of time before they came up with something.

Imagine you’ve waited three years to stream the much anticipated first episode of the second season of Euphoria and your HBO Max says, “Sorry sweetie, try again later.” Not only was social media in a frenzy but even Euphoria star Angus Cloud tweeted, “Did ya break HBO?” Yes, yes indeed.

A funny thing always seems to happen on the rare occasion when justice is served on behalf of unarmed Black folk who get slaughtered. Resentment abounds, usually from the same loud, dark corners that bleat out “law and order” rhetoric any other time.

The Yellowjackets star Jasmin Savoy Brown is rising to fame on the queer Hollywood stage following an intense uproar from the LGBTQ community regarding Dave Chapelle who was accused of including a transphobic and homophobic bit in his comedy special “The Closer.”Read more...

It appears the score is now 2-0 for Team Minaj when it comes to the ongoing legal battle between Nicki, her husband Kenneth Petty and Petty’s accuser in his 1994 sexual assault conviction, Jennifer Hough.

Stacey Abrams is making it clear: she didn’t skip President Joe Biden’s big voting rights speech in Georgia this week because she wasn’t invited to speak.

Mr. West is back in the news like he always is, but this time it’s for something a little more severe.Read more...

Andre Bernard Mathis is a bad brotha. He was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He is a lawyer who got his bachelor’s degree from the University of Memphis in 2003 and graduated cum laude from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2007. Mathis has served on the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the…Read more...

Heads up, music festival-lovers!

For what feels like an eternity now, three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons has been stuck in a bizarre game of musical chairs with the Philadelphia 76ers, where they take turns glaring at each other while walking in circles instead of somebody taking a damn seat in order to be crowned the victor.Read more...

After taking a year off, the Library of Congress has announced Lionel Richie will receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, per Variety.

All eyes have been on Chicago as teachers and the mayor battled over the in-person versus remote learning, but now it looks like it has finally been settled.Read more...

One of the fastest growing and most interesting entertainment trends is scripted podcasts. Actress/director/producer Kerry Washington has now entered the space with her Simpson Street Productions bringing three originals to Audible.

Three-time Olympian Deon Lendore, who represented Trinidad & Tobago and began his track and field career while attending Texas A&M, has died. He was 29.Read more...

Andrea Jenkins first made history in 2017 after she became the first out Black transgender woman to be elected to public office in the United States. Almost 5 years later, Jenkins has done it again and is now the first openly transgender city council president in the U.S., as she was appointed to lead the Minneapolis…Read more...

Lord, say it ain’t so!Read more...

HBO Max has dropped its next limited series we will likely become way too invested in.

In 1987, Kool G. Rap spit this bar about the infamous New York jail where he spent time as a youth: You might be illin, you might be wildin, but you won’t be smilin on Rikers Island.

For the past seven months, over 200 million Nigerians were banned from the chaotic but informative social media hub known as Twitter. According to ABC News, the government has just lifted its ban after coming to an agreement with Twitter about meeting a few conditions.Read more...

It’s been a rough season for the Portland Trailblazers.Read more...

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, to urge Congress to amend the filibuster and pass voting rights protections. There was one part of the speech which caught the ears and ire of some of his Congressional contemporaries:Read more...

Looks like the Senate is doing something right.Read more...

All celebrities have internet trolls but there’s always one to take it a little too far. Latasha Kebe, known as unWinewithTashaK on YouTube is being accused of creating a “malicious campaign” against rapper Cardi B according to Insider.Read more...

A Black woman and a woman of South Asian descent are suing one of the Internet’s most popular foodie websites, alleging the company paid them less than white employees and tolerated casual racism and other abuse in the workplace.

Ida B. Wells, the legendary investigative journalist who exposed the true horrors of lynching in the south, will be honored with a Barbie doll. As a part of Barbie’s ‘Inspiring Women Series’, the doll will feature Wells dressed in a classic 1800s black, high-neck gown, short-heeled black boots and a Memphis Free…Read more...

* Deep, heavy Negro spiritual sigh*

Earlier this week, Rachael Rollins, the former Suffolk County district attorney, was sworn in as the next United States Attorney for Massachusetts, becoming the first Black woman to hold that position in the state. Since then, she has faced racist and violent threats after her confirmation process was questioned by…Read more...

Hollywood has found its next major book franchise. After a fierce bidding war, Paramount Pictures has acquired the film rights to Tomi Adeyemi’s “Children of Blood and Bone,” YA trilogy.

The always busy Samuel L. Jackson is set to return to television in March. His highly anticipated AppleTV+ limited series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey will premiere its first two episodes Friday, March 11, then debut new outings every week, per TVLine.

On Wednesday, nominees for the 28th annual SAG Awards were announced.

Critical Race Theory has become the latest scare tactic in the toolbox of the Republican Party. States like Florida, Texas, and Mississippi have drawn up or passed legislation to ban it from being taught in schools. Taking a step further, Florida may even allow parents to sue schools that teach it. After all, we can’t…Read more...

While Omarion Omicron, Delta, and whatever other COVID-19 variants continue their sold-out, stadium tour across Trump’s America, our Canadian neighbors up north want no parts of this global pandemic. So in their extreme efforts to protect Drake at all costs, in December, they prohibited unvaccinated NBA players from…Read more...

Black Femicide US is a non-profit organization that was created in 2015 to track and bring awareness to the violence and murders against Black women and girls in the United States, according to their Instagram and Twitter pages.Read more...

The men who were wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of Memphis rapper, Young Dolph, have been arrested by federal and local authorities and are currently in custody, according to FOX13 Memphis.Read more...

As if starting its final season with Forever First Lady Michelle Obama wasn’t enough, black-ish has a ridiculous roster of A-list guest stars planned for Season 8.

It appears Trey Songz is back in the news once again—and unfortunately for him, it’s not music related.

This is what we call a worst-case scenario.Read more...

U.S. News reported a new study from JAMA Network Open found disparities among races in the rate of opioid deaths. We used to refer to the opioid crisis as a ‘white problem’ (like the crack epidemic was a ‘Black problem’ in the 80s). But, the tides have changed as new studies find rates in opioid deaths have begun…Read more...

A man of Black and Filipino descent who was killed by his neighbor in a rural Missouri trailer park has been ruled as justifiable in a coroner’s inquest.

Jada Pinkett Smith’s new film Redd Zone is getting an Oscar winning director at the helm. Deadline reports, Matthew A. Cherry has joined the inspirational drama, along with Kristin Layne Tucker as screenwriter.

One of the distinct advantages of being an Orlando Magic fan is that my team is so bad—as in 7-34, the worst record in the entire league kind of bad—that it leaves me with plenty of time to watch other teams who actually win games.Read more...

January 2022 is the two-minute drill heading to the midterm elections. The Republican party has the ball and has every intention to run out the clock–a strategy that may get them house and senate control. If you think nothing gets done now, wait until you have House Majority Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority…Read more...

I can’t remember if it was three or five or 10 years ago that I first heard the word “f*ckboy*, but I know at some point it flipped from a specific epithet for men with dangerously immature habits to a casual insult for dudes with dislikable dating behavior–which is basically every dude at some point.

Viola Davis is looking to book her next award-winning role, as she’s in talks for the Amazon feature Twin Butterflies, per Deadline.

It appears the artist formerly known as Kanye West will be taking his talents to ...Russia?