The Root

A still frame.

One of the foundational voices of one of the most innovative female vocal groups of all time has died. Singer, songwriter and actress Sarah Dash, co-founder of Labelle and one-third of the trio’s iconic No. 1 hit “Lady Marmalade,” was 76. No cause of death has been given.Read more...

After more than a month of witness testimony from the prosecutorial team during the federal sex trafficking trial against disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly, it was time for the defense to petition the court on Monday.Read more...

In 1991, a man with a video camera sparked a greater movement of civilians recording police encounters with Black citizens, igniting a revolution at the feet of America’s law enforcement.Read more...

They say that if you want something done, ask a Black woman. The women we feature in this episode of The Root Institute are undeniable proof of this adage. We connected with LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter, Melanie Campbell of the National Black Coalition on Civic Participation, and Glynda Carr of Higher Heights…Read more...

Remember when the New York Times dropped a bombshell report on July 4 about the subsequent fallout from Rachel Nichols privately accusing ESPN of only pushing for fellow NBA analyst Maria Taylor because she’s a Black woman? And then ESPN booted Nichols from covering the NBA Finals in favor of another Black woman,…Read more...

The controversy that has surrounded Critical Race Theory seems to have reached fever pitch. As we’ve reported at The Root, angry white parents have lashed out at school board meetings over the so-called taboo teaching, politicians have used the subject as a partisan lightning rod and all of this fervor often comes…Read more...

Acknowledging The Root’s commitment to engaging the Black community around the myriad issues impacting on our lives, President Joe Biden joins us to help kick off The Root Institute 2021.Read more...

For the record, activists are not just paying attention to police violence against Black people, but to all cases in which officers abuse communities that they are supposed to protect. It just so happens that more often than not, cases of deadly police encounters involve Black victims, hence the focus of the Black…Read more...

The family of Manuel Ellis, a Black man killed by police last March, filed a wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit against the city of Tacoma, Pierce County, and officers from the Tacoma Police Department and Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.Read more...

Candace Parker has a lot on her plate.

Gun-toting Mark and Patricia McCloskey—who made national headlines in June 2020 for coming out of their St. Louis home carrying automatic weapons when all they had to do was stay indoors and drink their Nescafe–may have their law licenses suspended.

...And on the seventh day God tried the fish sandwich from Popeyes–which he declared the work of Satan–and stumbled into an alley and vomited.

Editor’s note: This article includes descriptions of sexual and physical abuse and coercion.Read more...

Anthony Johnson, an actor and comedian best known for his role as Ezal in Friday, has died at age 55. There has been no word yet on the cause of death.

Y’all already know what time it is so let’s get to it.Read more...

The Root Institute, now in its second year, is a virtual, collaborative conference exploring socio-political, cultural, and entertainment topics to advance the agenda of Black Americans, as exemplified by the current state of race relations in the US. The virtual event uses its platform to amplify leading Black voices…Read more...

On day 558 of what feels like a neverending pandemic, Pfizer-BioNTech announced that its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine is effective in children. In a press release on Monday, the companies, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, revealed that their vaccine was tested in a trial of 2,268 kindergartners and elementary…Read more...

Actor and comedian Chris Rock has tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.Read more...

In what can only be described as a major head-scratcher, the man who inspired Hotel Rwanda, the man that would be played by Don Cheadle, the man who would be seen as the hero in the movie, was found guilty of terror-related offenses.

For the record, we didn’t need the Emmys to validate Michaela Coel’s genius. Nevertheless, after a Golden Globes snub and a rather rote evening of all-white acting wins, it was wonderful to see Coel’s genius duly celebrated with a historic win for Writing for a Limited Series (for the equally genius I May Destroy You …Read more...

The 73rd primetime Emmy awards took place on Sunday, with the fully vaxxed in-person ceremony airing live on CBS from L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

There’s a lot to love about Ken Burns’ latest creation: the gripping PBS documentary, Muhammad Ali.

The Root Institute, launching virtually on Tuesday, Sept. 21, provides a much-needed forum where our community can question the status quo, discern where the truth resides, and share alternative points of view that hew more closely to reality than most mainstream conversations would currently have us believe.Read more...

An attempt by Republican lawmakers in North Carolina to enact a statewide voter identification law was blocked by members of the state’s court of appeals, who wagged their fingers like Dikembe Mutombo and said the law was discriminatory against Black voters.

Two former Stockton, Calif. police officers accused of violently beating a Black teen last December were indicted by a grand jury on felony assault charges.

You know what they say: “Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice ... well, you can’t get fooled again.”

In a recent interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, LeVar Burton announced he’s no longer interested in taking over as host of Jeopardy!

The future of the Minneapolis Police Department’s direction is now in the hands of voters after Minnesota’s highest court gave the OK for a controversial measure to be added to the ballot for the impending municipal elections.

Friday, the last day of R. Kelly’s Brooklyn federal racketeering trial’s fifth week, featured testimony from a woman who alleged the R&B star threatened her as a way to ensure he had her support during an impending lawsuit against him.

An unapproved haircut might become an extremely expensive one; a Michigan father seeks one million dollars in financial restitution after an unapproved haircut by an employee at his daughter’s school garnered only a “reprimand” from district officials. As The Root first reported in April, Jimmy Hoffmeyer pulled…Read more...

While I was extremely late to the Big Brother party—my formal induction to the show was during Derrick Levasseur’s complete annihilation of his opponents during Season 16 in 2014—I quickly became obsessed with the quirky reality show in which contestants catch the wrath of hell from an insult-slinging robot and…Read more...

It seems we have very good taste here at The Glow Up—though truthfully, we already knew this. After all, we honored legendary luxe streetwear pioneer Dapper Dan with our lifetime achievement award when we launched the TGU 50 in 2020, making it extra official by naming the award after him in perpetuity. (The “Dap…Read more...

When Clarence Thomas wasn’t working as a mute-ass puppet for former Justice Antonin Scalia, he literally was a real-life mute who was apparently attempting to break the Guinness record for being the Black man on the highest court who had absolutely nothing to say about anything.

After months of teasing, a steamy onstage kiss, a pair of ripped pants, pole-dancing to hell, a naked shower dance scene, a lawsuit with Nike over satanic shoes, and a very elaborate pregnancy-themed PR roll-out, Lil Nas X’s debut album, Montero, is finally here.Read more...

I think we need to be more stingy about who we give titles to.

While I might be terrible at more things than a scientific calculator can count, the one thing I’m exceptional at is giving gifts. My mother once taught me many moons ago that creating moments for our loved ones is always better than merely lavishing them with material possessions, so I always make it a point to go…Read more...

Amid a bevy of sexual assault allegations, T.I. and Tiny Harris have managed to avoid at least one charge in Los Angeles because the statute of limitations having expired.Read more...

How many Republicans do you think are looking out of the office windows doing the Birdman hand rub upon learning that some 10,000 mostly Haitian migrants have found refuge under a border bridge in South Texas awaiting processing? The countdown has already begun as to how long before this is all the Biden…Read more...

Track and field legend Usain Bolt knows a thing or two about allowing his body of work to speak for itself, and in a recent interview with the New York Post, he expressed his desire to see the same from embattled American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson.Read more...

All the niggas in niggadom, stand up!Read more...

Can we ever just leave a tender moment alone? Apparently not, as news in the cinematic streets is that yet another of our nostalgic faves is one step closer to getting its long-rumored reboot.Read more...

Former president and current bag of orange extract Donald Trump is a world class liar. We know that. He’s an Olympic-level liar. He’s the Michael Jordan of lying. Fine, he’s the LeBron James of lying. He’s Wilt Chamberlain.

What more is there to say about Muhammad Ali? The legendary boxer and activist has been the subject of countless books, documentaries and movies, including Ali, starring Will Smith in the Oscar-nominated title role. Ali was larger than life, a hero and an icon. But a new four-part documentary by Ken Burns, simply…Read more...

“In order for Morrison to take you seriously...you needed to demonstrate that language was a skill you had, that Black culture was known to you and respected by you.” — novelist A.J. Verdelle on Toni MorrisonRead more...

Wendy, how you really doing??Read more...

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop who was convicted in the murder of George Floyd, was in court again on Thursday, this time to plead not guilty to violating the rights of a Black teenager during an arrest that was strikingly similar to the Floyd case.

If you are Black and active on social media, no doubt you’re all too familiar with its social hierarchies (looking at you, Black Twitter). Beyond the blue checks and heavily followed “micro-celebs” are also legions of fandoms, thought leaders, influencers and woke police who create the echo chambers so many of us…Read more...

In an attempt to keep press about their upcoming show The Activist from going from worse to WORSER (yes, we know that’s not a real word, but let’s roll with it), CBS has announced the series will be getting the documentary treatment instead of airing as a competition series as originally planned.Read more...

You know when would be a good time to stop doubling down on some unmitigated (and easily disproven) mess? The minute you have to pull out Tucker Carlson in your defense, because—girl, no. Nevertheless, that’s what Nicki Minaj did on Wednesday, following mass pushback to her online claims that the COVID vaccine had…Read more...