The Root

When it comes to HBCUs, Xavier University is one of the best places to go if you’re going pre-med. But now, the small Louisiana university is planning to open a medical school and graduate school of health sciences of its own.

British racing champion Sir Lewis Hamilton and tennis champion Serena Williams are putting their collective influence and coins together as a part of a bid to potentially buy Chelsea FC, one of the world’s biggest and most premier football clubs.Read more...

Updated as of 4/22/2022 at 2:45 p.m. ETRead more...

Janelle Monáe continues to be a game-changing inspiration.Read more...

Residents in Lowndes County, and in other rural areas in Alabama, are victims of inhumane living conditions; 40 percent of homes in the county have inadequate or no sewage systems. With a mostly Black population, it has a poverty rate of 22 percent—double the amount of the national average. The Justice Department…Read more...

This Blac Chyna vs. the Kardashians trial will get worse before it gets better, and when all is said and done, no one in the family will actually win.Read more...

At Brigham Young University, Black students represent less than one percent of the 30,000 undergrads on campus, a fact that can leave many of the Black students feeling isolated. But they do have a Black Student Union which has tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to encourage more inclusiveness on the school’s Utah campus.

Girls Trip star Tiffany Haddish has already conquered the acting world and is looking to make the jump to the music industry. The award-winning comedian, whose murder mystery AppleTV+ show The Afterparty was released in January, talked to TMZ in a recording studio and outlined her business plan.Read more...

Though it’s been weeks since the infamous Will Smith slap incident at the 2022 Academy Awards, the Tony Awards are doing what they can to prevent that from ever happening on their stage.Read more...

A committee appointed by Wichita City Manager Robert Layton found the police department did not properly discipline police officers accused of sending racist and homophobic messages, reported The Associated Press. The city report also found the department mishandled its investigation into the officers who exchanged…Read more...

When the next SpaceX Dragon capsule heads to space, one of its crew members will make history. Jessica Watkins, who will be on board, will be the fifth Black woman to go to space and the first Black woman to work on the International Space Station.

Florida’s Legislature approved new congressional boundaries Thursday under the insistence of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The map would lessen Black representation in the U.S. House and ultimately work to the advantage of Republicans by eliminating two districts represented by Black Democrats. In addition, the map…Read more...

The parents of late Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. said in a statement that they will not attend their son’s funeral services, which are slated for this morning in Pittsburgh.

An Ohio State University student leader faced criticism after saying he would love for “Black people to be taught they are superior,” reported the student newspaper, The Lantern. The remarks were made during a presentation in March to address the increase in anti-critical race theory legislation.

On Friday, it was announced that music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs (a.k.a. Puffy, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, a.k.a. Love) will be hosting and executive producing the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.

Will Smith continues to feel the fall out from his infamous Oscars slap.

This is your last chance to nominate a woman whose style is undeniable! The Root (G/O Media) has opened the floor for nominations to identify and recognize the most stylish African American women in the U.S. Could this describe someone you know?Read more...

The NFL is planning to file a motion to have Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit either dismissed or moved from federal court to being heard by an arbitrator, according to The Athletic.

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Earlier this month, The Root reported on community advocates who penned a March letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander urging them not to award a contract for municipal deposits to Wells Fargo. The bank, which has a history of discriminatory practices towards Black and Hispanic borrowers,…Read more...

It looks like Sasha Obama, the youngest daughter of Barack and Michelle, may be dating someone new. The 20-year-old college student has been romantically linked to son of ‘Ray’ actor Clifton Powell, according to a Daily Mail report published Wednesday. The article revealed exclusive photos of the pair taking a…Read more...

On his first album, Will Smith–irony of ironies–rapped about thinking he could beat Mike Tyson. This wasn’t today’s weed-smoking, podcasting, peacenik Tyson; The Fresh Prince’s everyman’s fantasy was to take down the Baddest Man on the Planet during the cocaine ‘80s, when Tyson once beat up another boxer on the street…Read more...

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has been ordered to pay $1.3 million in legal fees to Omarosa Manigault Newman, reported CNBC News. The campaign sued Manigault Newman over contents in her book detailing her time working with Trump. Specifically, they made a fuss about her exposing Trump for being racist (like we…Read more...

I definitely don’t mind spending a weekend afternoon in Netflix coma. But as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, I love unplugging with a good book. And this May, there is no shortage of great titles for book lovers to sink their teeth into. Touching memoirs, steamy romances and brilliant biographies are…Read more...

A lawsuit involving a monument located at the Lauderdale County Courthouse in Florence, Alabama, alleges tactics are being used to criminalize activities connected to protesting. States like Florida have already passed bills that do so.Read more...

Sadly, as Black folks know, what happened last weekend in Syracuse is not an anomaly by any means. Yesterday, a video of an 8-year-old Black boy being detained by police officers in Syracuse over allegedly stealing a bag of chips went viral. By design, American police forces are working exactly the way they’re…Read more...

Idris Elba will be getting back into his thriller bag for a new limited series coming to AppleTV+.Read more...

As Sony Pictures shuffles its release schedule, Miles Morales fans will have to wait a year for the hero to return. According to Variety, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has been moved from its original Oct. 7 release date to June 2, 2023. The third entry in the trilogy Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part II,…Read more...

Drug overdoses in America have continued to hit record levels, with the CDC estimating that 106,854 people died due to drug overdose in the 12 months ending November 2021. Annual drug overdose deaths have more than doubled over the past six years. According to CNN, the White House will present President Joe Biden’s…Read more...

Singer/actor Ne-Yo has a busy year planned. Deadline reports he will star alongside Serayah (of Empire fame) in the BET holiday movie Sound of Christmas.Read more...

Two Baltimore police officers are being investigated in the shooting and killing of 18-year-old Donnell Rochester during a traffic stop in February, reported Huffington Post. Reports say officers shot into his car as he tried to drive away, striking an officer with the vehicle. However, their account of the incident…Read more...

Two years ago, artists Jay-Z and Yo Gotti led an initiative through Roc Nation to obtain legal representation for 200 incarcerated individuals held at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Following their efforts, an investigation was launched to look deeper into the inhumane conditions of the prison facility.…Read more...

If there’s drama with The Real Housewives, it must be a day that ends in Y. Only this time, the controversy is happening off-screen, as former The Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes is suing the studio, network and producers behind the reality show, alleging they “fostered a racist work environment,” per The…Read more...

It looks like viewers will have to wait for Red Table Talk to address the slap heard round the world. The Facebook Watch talk show returned for Season 5 on Wednesday and welcomed guest Janelle Monae. Right at the beginning of the episode, a title card read:

Right on the heels of the Black-ish series finale, it looks like Marsai Martin is already booked and busy with a new project.Read more...

Black America’s first couple is on the hunt for a new podcasting deal.

University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Amy Wax said in an interview that Black people and Asians are “resentful of western success.” The National Black Law Students Association, National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and North American South Asian Law Association have called on Wax to be …Read more...

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Sylvia Ash received a year and three months prison sentence on Wednesday for obstructing a probe into financial wrongdoing at a credit union that provides banking services to over a half million members, according to the Associated Press.Read more...

Somehow former football player and Republican Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker is still convincing folks that he’s the man for the job. On April 19, Walker received an endorsement from anti-abortion organization National Right to Life. In a statement, National Right to Life President Carol Tobias expressed…Read more...

A$AP Rocky is now a free man after being detained and arrested on Wednesday in connection to a shooting that transpired last November.Read more...

Lawyers for ex-president Donald Trump are trying to help him avoid a potential contempt ruling in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ ongoing civil investigation into his company.Read more...

In 2013, Jamaican immigrant June Barrett (they/them) had landed a new care working job as a live-in aid to an elderly man. Because of the wage increase, they were excited to have the job, however, on the very first night, the client had asked them to come to bed with him. Following that night and for years later,…Read more...

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You may already know that pregnancy can lead to morning sickness, back pain and mood swings. But you may not know that weight gain and hormone changes women experience during pregnancy can cause their feet to grow from a half to a full size. Olympian Allyson Felix doesn’t think women should have to walk around in…Read more...

As the saying goes, “You never know where you’re going, until you know where you’ve been”—and that’s especially true for some of our favorite Black celebrities. To crack the formula for how these influential figures achieved seemingly unreachable dreams, we’re examining the ups and downs of their lives and careers,…Read more...

One of the men who is a suspect in the murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating his supervised release dealing with a previous weapons charge, according to Action News 5.Read more...

Nat Geo’s popular Genius series will be giving fans a double dose of historical figures in the forthcoming fourth season, telling the stories of civil rights icons Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.Read more...

This 4/20, the country is one step closer to seeing the legalization of marijuana on a national level. A May 2021 study expects the legal marijuana industry will be worth nearly $71 billion by 2028. But as local leaders are beginning to recognize the impact of legal weed on their economies, it should come as no…Read more...

Police officers in Syracuse were captured on camera detaining a 8-year-old Black boy after he allegedly stole a bag of chips. The 4-minute video of the incident that happened over the weekend, taken and shared by Kenneth Jackson, had amassed more than 50,000 views on Facebook and more than 1 million on Twitter by…Read more...

Despite reviews ranging from mixed to terrible, HBO’s drama, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, has been a ratings winner for the network and is already renewed for Season 2. However, some of the series’ biggest critics are former Lakers.Read more...