The Root

Twitch has filed a legal complaint against two users for flooding the chats of Black, queer and disabled streamers with racist, sexist and homophobic language–a phenomenon on the streaming site better known as “hate raids.”

The Louisiana State Police’s top cop said he’d welcome an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into patterns of racial profiling and disproportionate use of force against Black people committed by state troopers in recent years.

In the royal family’s latest attempt to show to the world that they aren’t racist, a senior representative told Britain’s Channel 4 that Queen Elizabeth II and the other royals are supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Weeks after a Chicago police officer was captured on cellphone video aggressively grabbing a Black woman walking her dog along the lakefront, the woman spoke publicly about the altercation for the first time in an interview with Good Morning America.

A Danvers, Massachusetts-based farm has apologized to a Black couple after staffers called the police on them for allegedly stealing six apples.

“Does the winner get a blue vest?” asked veteran artist and tour manager Dennis De Groot on Twitter, in response to a Thursday announcement that “international education and advocacy organization” Global Citizen would soon be launching its own competition series on CBS, The Activist. Usher, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and …Read more...

On Thursday, a white Colorado truck driver was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release for a hate crime after repeatedly stabbing a Black man in the neck, completely unprovoked.Read more...

If the intro to Aaliyah’s “I Care 4 U” doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what to tell you.Read more...

Welcome back to the weekly airing of grievances known as the Clapback Mailbag.Read more...

Following the announcement of their new Tiffany campaign, the Carters are bringing their philanthropic efforts to five HBCUs, with the intent to further students’ education in creative fields such as writing, music, theater, film and the arts. The scholarships, initially teased along with the short film for the…Read more...

In his first public comments since being released from the New England Patriots last month, Cam Newton took to his YouTube channel on Friday to explain what exactly went down.Read more...

The legal troubles resulting from a decades-old sexual assault conviction against Kenneth Petty, childhood friend turned husband of Nicki Minaj, continue to mount. After a March arrest, on Friday, Petty pleaded guilty to knowingly failing to register as a sex offender when the couple took up residence in Los Angeles…Read more...

Joy Taylor has been paying her dues for a loooooooong time.Read more...

If you spend any time on social media—which you do, of course—then you’ve seen this constantly churning conversation “starter” that asks what I suppose is supposed to be a deep, potentially soul-wrenching either/or proposition: Would you rather have dinner with rapper, business man, billionaire, entrepreneur, “hey…Read more...

Editorial note: The following article includes explicit descriptions of physical and emotional abuse and sexual assault.Read more...

On the same day that the Baltimore Ravens learned that their upcoming season is already off to a miserable start—starters Gus Edwards and Marcus Peters suffered season-ending ACL tears in the same practice on Thursday—Tom Brady kicked off the NFL’s 2021 season with a cruel reminder that his 21-year (and counting)…Read more...

As a millennial who grew up watching Raven-Symoné in That’s So Raven religiously back in Disney Channel’s heyday, I was more than overjoyed when I found out one of my favorite childhood fashion icons and former Cheetah Girl would be coming back to the network for a revival of sorts in the 2017 series, Raven’s Home.Read more...

The critical mass has spoken, and MTV has answered. Despite earlier reports to the contrary, we will indeed be going to the “Wild Side” this Sunday, September 12, as per a press release to The Root, “multi-platinum selling and chart-topping recording artist Normani has been announced as the latest performer to hit the…Read more...

New York is known as the Empire State, and its city of the same name is home to one of the most—if not the most—famous building in the country, the Empire State Building. But surprisingly, independent designer LaQuan Smith is the first designer ever to host a fashion show at the historic landmark.Read more...

Two pharmaceutical corporations announced they are working on a revolutionary breakthrough that could be more acclaimed than pockets on a sundress. Not since one of the ancestors combined corn and bread has a combination been so anticipated. It could be the most important scientific achievement in chemistry since…Read more...

“Perfection,” reads a comment from Viola Davis in response to Vanity Fair’s Instagram announcement of its Balenciaga-clad cover star, Regina King. We’re inclined to agree; the girl from 227 has come a long way since her smile lit up our television screens each week as Brenda Jenkins, a character vividly recalled by…Read more...

Yet another U.S. police department is being reviewed after years of brutalizing and abusing the civil rights of Black people. The Columbus Division of Police in Ohio has caught the attention of the U.S. Justice Department, which agreed to review the department on Thursday.Read more...

While some people may not like hearing the calls for police reform, whether or not that is defunding or abolishing the police, the case for those demanding accountability becomes increasingly apparent every day.Read more...

Stephanie Grisham, the former chief of staff for Melania Trump who went on to serve as White House press secretary for nine months without ever giving a press briefing to the American people, has decided that now, nearly 18 months after her walk of shame from the White House after being fired by Donald Trump, she has…Read more...

Dr. Fauci and the CDC keep trying to tell us that COVID-19 is no joke. Sadly, one of the NBA’s most affable alums is waging his own personal war with the deadly virus, and he took to social media in recent days to provide his friends and fans with an update as he fights for his life in ICU.Read more...

Philando Castile had a broken tail light, so he died. Sandra Bland failed to signal before changing lanes, so she died. Daunte Wright’s tag was expired, so he died.Read more...

The death of beloved actor Michael K. Williams is still being felt both throughout and beyond Hollywood by those who knew and loved him. Since his death was announced on Monday, several industry greats such as Ava DuVernay, Wendell Pierce, Mariah Carey, Spike Lee and Lance Reddick have all sent out messages of support…Read more...

Gabrielle Union refuses to be an asshole. The actress-producer and author of the bestselling 2017 memoir I Think We’re Going to Need More Wine memorably made headlines in 2013 with her admission of prior “mean girl” behavior while being honored at Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood event. But in the years since, it’s…Read more...

On Wednesday, California lawmakers moved forward legislation that can cause law enforcement officers to lose their badges. The legislation is awaiting a signature from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been in favor of police reform in the past.

Editorial note: The following article refers to multiple instances of sexual assault, trafficking and coercion.Read more...

You would think the former President of the United States would have better things to do on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, but nope! Because Donald Trump is a tone-deaf, kumquat-hued attention whore, he’ll be commemorating one of the worst days in American history by providing commentary for a boxing match between…Read more...

Back in 1996, to commemorate its 50th season, the NBA announced the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history to much fanfare. With a collective resumé that consists of over a hundred NBA championship rings and nearly a million points scored, this prestigious list includes the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and…Read more...

Who says fashion and football don’t mix? This week, New York Fashion Week kicked off—as will the 2021 NFL season on Thursday night, literally. Accordingly, the week will no doubt be filled with fashion moments both outstanding and outlandish (after all, the much-delayed 2021 Met Gala also makes its return next…Read more...

A new study finds that Black kids in California were more likely to visit the hospital in connection with injuries caused by law enforcement. Researchers, who published their findings in JAMA Pediatrics (h/t Axios) found that almost 16,000 kids were treated for injuries between 2005 and 2017, based on emergency…Read more...

BeautyCon—the beauty and fashion influencer and content creator community founded by a Black woman and made even more popular by its annual star-studded, bicoastal festivals in New York and Los Angeles—just got even Blacker.Read more...

See when you do clownery, the clown comes back to bite.Read more...

We already know a few things about the Los Angeles Police Department.

Everyone should go check on their favorite authors because it seems a lot of them are either in their bag or trying to secure it.Read more...

“I love talking about my dad,” says Natalia Bryant. “It’s bittersweet, but I enjoy talking about him more than it’s sad for me.”Read more...

Since his abrupt dismissal from ESPN in April, Paul Pierce—who was fired after acting a complete ass on Instagram Live—has been laying low and enjoying life as a retired NBA player. For his 19 years of service, he’ll be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. And to commemorate such a…Read more...

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: I do not fuck with nature. Every time I think of all the ways nature can kill you that have been documented, some new random website pops up on Facebook from some questionable site—but it has pictures—so I go down another rabbit hole of things that shouldn’t exist in…Read more...

The controversial statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va. which has been making headlines since the George Floyd protests last summer, finally came down off its pedestal Wednesday morning.Read more...

The Root sat down with Sacha Jenkins, to discuss his recent documentary Bitchin’: the Sound and Fury of Rick James. It premiered on Showtime last week and is currently streaming on the network. “The folks at Showtime asked me if I was interested and I said, yes. For me, it was it wasn’t a hard decision to make. He…Read more...

Just last month, Kanye West—soon to be known simply as “Ye”—was rebuilding his childhood home in his native Chicago’s Soldier Field for what would prove to be the final listening party for the long-awaited DONDA. Despite mixed reviews, the album has predictably since hit the No. 1 Billboard 200 spot, but also…Read more...

Though the New York federal sex trafficking trial against disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly has only entered its third week, there have been countless wild, disturbing and intriguing revelations since the beginning.

Since retiring from the NFL nearly 20 years ago, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Shannon Sharpe has blossomed into one of the most prominent figures in television. His daily duels with Skip Bayless on Fox Sports 1’s Skip and Shannon: Undisputed provide box office-level entertainment for sports fanatics, and with…Read more...

As the world tries to escape from the grips of a deadly pandemic, America is also battling another, perhaps more formidable foe that is taking over the country.Read more...

An internal investigation into the Louisiana State Police has concluded that Lt. John Clary, an officer accused of hiding body camera footage of the brutal beating and death of Black motorist Ronald Greene, will not be disciplined or charged.Read more...

The public will not see the killing of Alvin Motley Jr., after a Memphis judge blocked its release Tuesday. Judge Louis Montes ruled that prosecutors can’t release the video ”until [the court] conducts a preliminary hearing,” which is scheduled for Sept. 28. Lawyers for Gregory Livingston, the security guard who is…Read more...

The University of Texas at Austin has a bit of a problem.Read more...