The Root

Sometimes two things you hate can hate each other.

As the NFL continues on its quest to pretend like it never blackballed Colin Kaepernick for holding a mirror up to America, now comes the news that its tremendously performative Inspire Change initiative will return for an encore performance that nobody asked for.Read more...

Extra, extra, read all about it! People Magazine has released an exclusive interview about Lil Nas X’s pregnancy!

Billy Porter, also known as Billy Thee Porter and Pose’s Pray Tell, is set to be recognized at this year’s Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End Aids.Read more...

It’s been a rough couple of days for Bishop Sycamore High School.Read more...

We all know Candace Owens or someone like her. She’s the Black woman who refuses to wear a bonnet despite the back of her hair being fluffier than a rabbit’s underbelly. She’s the Black woman at the cookout who stands near the food table talking about all of the items she hasn’t eaten since she stopped consuming…Read more...

Homes that have been in families for generations are pretty commonplace in Black culture. Known as heirs’ property, many Black people live in houses or on land that they inherited informally and without the paperwork. But when they’re in need of aid after disaster strikes, it is hard to prove ownership.Read more...

When Kanye made the decision to include the now ubiquitous lines from the movie Blades of Glory in the hit song “N*ggas in Paris” with Jay-Z— “Nobody knows what it means, but its provocative...it gets the people going”—who knew that it would literally sum up the entirety of his life and music career from that…Read more...

With COVID-19 still very much a thing—that new “mu” variant sounds sublime!—just about every city not named Texas or Florida has ramped up measures to protect American citizens from the pandemic. New York City and San Francisco, in particular, are very much about that “prove you’re vaccinated or stay your ass home”…Read more...

On Wednesday, Nathan Edmond, the man who officiated the secret wedding between R. Kelly and Aaliyah back in 1994, took the stand on Wednesday, marking the first time he’s ever spoken publicly about the highly controversial marriage.Read more...

This article begins with an almost humblebrag.Read more...

Is there room to change the fashion industry if nothing else in the world is changing? During Lindsay Peoples Wagner’s time as fashion editor of The Cut, she wrote an article titled, “Everywhere and Nowhere What It’s Really Like to be Black and Work in Fashion.” The viral survey of “100 Black individuals, from…Read more...

A Memphis judge has blocked the release of a video that captured the final moments of Alvin Motley Jr.’s life. Motley was killed by former cop-turned-security guard, Gregory Livingston, at a Kroger gas station last month.Read more...

Fifty-eight years is a long time to wait for anything, but the family of Wendell Scott—the first Black man to win a race at NASCAR’s highest level—waited exactly that long to finally receive the trophy for his historic win back in 1963.Read more...

The Trevor Project, the largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention org for LGBTQ young people, has announced the recipient for its inaugural Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year Award and it’s none other than one of America’s favorite “Industry Baby”—Lil Nas X.Read more...

One the longtime fan favorite husbands of Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise has died. Gregg Leakes, husband of The Real Housewives of Atlanta original cast member Nene Leakes, has succumbed to colon cancer. He was 66.Read more...

If you’re keeping count of what’s going wrong with America, then this news isn’t going to surprise you.Read more...

The artist soon-to-be formally known as Kanye West is well known for courting controversy, long ago cementing his status as many folks’ problematic fave. However, his latest alleged shenanigans don’t involve who was—and wasn’t—included on his latest release, Donda, but who should’ve been credited with the logo…Read more...

The heated (and ridiculous) debate over Critical Race Theory is turning Black educators into collateral damage. Somehow we just can’t get through to a particular demographic that the academic framework has literally nothing to do with demonizing white people in the classroom.

Elaine Welteroth is saying hello to new opportunities and goodbye to her role as co-host on the daytime talk series The Talk.Read more...

I’m not sure why powerful Democrats keep trying to make disgraced and complicit former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel happen, yet here we are.

On Aug. 24, 2019, 23-year-old Colorado resident Elijah McClain walked to the store to buy an iced tea for his brother. Someone called 911 to report a suspicious person. McClain, unaware that his existence made him suspicious, began walking home when he was stopped by police. When McClain continued walking, police…Read more...

The 1998 NBA Finals are memorable for a multitude of reasons.Read more...

When Aaliyah’s groundbreaking album, One In A Million, was released in 1996, the album spent 68 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 18. Re-released on its 25th anniversary last week by Blackground Entertainment—a week that coincided with the 20-year commemoration of Aaliyah’s tragic death—One In A Million is…Read more...

After shitting the bed in the playoffs and playing a crucial role in the Philadelphia 76ers’ brutal self-destruction during the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, you would think Ben Simmons would have aspirations to help clean up the mess he made by refusing to shoot in the fourth quarter running it back with the…Read more...

On Tuesday, day nine of the criminal trial against R. Kelly in Brooklyn federal court, a fifth accuser took the stand where she revealed she had been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease by the disgraced R&B singer—even though she claims not to have been a fan of him or his music.Read more...

Pitmaster Rasheed Philips believes he doesn’t serve food, he serves memories.Read more...

Oh, Wallace.

There are very few places whiter than Cullman County, Ala.Read more...

Have we screamed defund the police loud enough yet?Read more...

If there’s one thing we know about America, it’s that they love honoring their Confederate “heroes.” (Which is crazy when you think about it. What country honors an army set out on destroying it?) Tearing down Confederate statues took on a new urgency during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, but a new report…Read more...

Well, what do you know? Turns out that a political fundraising group attached to former President Donald Trump paid some $4.3 million during the 2020 election cycle to folks and firms that helped organize the rally prior to the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the government watchdog OpenSecrets.Read more...

After a turbulent month, DaBaby seems to have done something right—and no, we’re not talking about making the final cut of Donda. On Tuesday, Black leaders from nine U.S. HIV organizations revealed that they “held a virtual, private meeting” with the embattled artist “to discuss HIV facts and share personal stories of…Read more...

I’ve become rightfully suspicious about album drop announcements. Now, Lil Nas X is among a group of musicians who is dropping albums this month—only his announcement comes with a confirmed date and a large number of fans who will quite literally send him pole-dancing back to hell if he pulls a Kanye…

What’s it called when karma decides to pay you back for all the shitty things you’ve done?

On Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam granted seven Black men, who were executed for the rape of a white woman in 1951, posthumous pardons after pleas for mercy from their families and as the case gained international attention as an example of how the death penalty was used almost exclusively for Black offenders.

In professional sports, it’s often said that the best ability is availability. And in the case of Cam Newton, he’s learned that despite his contributions on the field, the New England Patriots considered him (that’s past tense) a liability.Read more...

With the NFL regular season still weeks away, my Sundays have been spent watching everything but football. But perhaps I should’ve caught the high school showdown between Florida’s IMG Academy and Ohio’s Bishop Sycamore this weekend because holy fucking shit.Read more...

Dub and reggae music icon Lee “Scratch” Perry died on Sunday at a hospital in Lucea, Jamaica, at the age of 85.Read more...

When God was 13, he got a job cleaning the monkey houses at the zoo. Everyone kept warning him that the toughest part of the job was the smell, but God had created Texas at this point so he was used to stink. God arrived early on his first day because he wanted to make a good impression. After orientation, God walked…Read more...

When people think of “philanthropists,” they often think of celebrities or the ultrawealthy—people with private planes who make million-dollar donations and attend galas. But the truth is that anyone can be a philanthropist. Philanthropists are people who leverage their time, talent, treasure, testimony and ties to…Read more...

On Monday, the FBI released its annual hate crime statistics report, which found that the number of reported hate crimes has reached the highest it’s been in 12 years.Read more...

Editorial note: This article includes detailed descriptions of sexual assault, abuse and grooming.Read more...

Being forced to endure people we aren’t particularly fond of is something we’re all familiar with. Be it family, in-laws, co-workers, or whoever else, we’ve all been put in a position where we had to put on our game face for the greater good—or a paycheck.

You’re telling me September is under 48 hours away? What the hell happened to Hot Girl Summer Pt. Deux? I’m serious. We somehow went from it being June and #HotVaxxedSummer to it being September and panic-buying a whole new wardrobe...Read more...

It’s quite obvious that everyone’s a critic these days, especially in Hollywood. The Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) announced its first-ever TV Awards on Sunday night and the verdict in—Black television swept in six awards.Read more...

Hey y’all! It’s me again, Dr. Kinitra, your resident horror scholar. Now that Nia DaCosta’s glorious Candyman (2021) has completed its now-history-making opening weekend, I’m here to break it down for you through a scholarly lens, as we did last fall with Lovecraft Country. Please consider reading the Candyman primer,…Read more...

Jacob Blake is able to stand and hopes to be able to walk soon, but he told CNN that he is still traumatized from being shot by Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey seven times in his side on August 23, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisc., during a domestic dispute call.Read more...

It’s the growth for me.

It would take a horse’s ass to want to study a horse drug as treatment for COVID-19...