The Root

Amber Guyger will continue serving her 10-year prison sentence after a Texas appeals court upheld her murder conviction for shooting and killing Botham Jean in his own apartment back in 2018.

She may have a controversial history (and sparked more than a few body image issues), but we can’t help but remain fans of Barbie—particularly as the now 60-plus-year-old doll has been heading in a dramatically more inclusive and affirming direction as of late. Under parent company Mattel, she’s been working to close …Read more...

We have another week of Black excellence in Hollywood to dish about and this week, y’all have to make way for a queen.Read more...

In 1996, Nas released the catchy single, “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)” featuring Lauryn Hill. In 2021, you are still likely to hear a DJ drop the song so that the party crowd can belt out the hook into the air with nostalgic smiles on their faces.Read more...

The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it is opening a civil rights investigation into whether the Phoenix Police Department engages in discriminatory practices against minorities, homeless people and those with disabilities. It is also examining the use of excessive force and abuse of protesters, according…Read more...

Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have seen no shortage of racists and otherwise terrible people who put essential workers—who are just trying to do their jobs—through hell, all because they can’t follow simple instructions and put on a damn face mask. One would think at this point, nearly a year and a half…Read more...

You can take the girl out of Texas, but she’ll always find her way back to the rodeo; that’s the clear message behind Beyoncé’s next collection for Ivy Park x Adidas. As we reported earlier this week, the entertainer-entrepreneur teased the label’s next release, due to drop on August 19, with an unexpected campaign…Read more...

Why doesn’t the white community come together to solve racism? If white parents taught their children more history, maybe they wouldn’t have to worry about CRT in schools. And why won’t white people talk about all the racism in Mississippi?

Jay-Z once asked if we wanted an encore and if we wanted more—it looks like Kanye answered it...for himself.Read more...

It’s the end of an (annoying) era.Read more...

It is no understatement to say that Alice Walker’s The Color Purple is part of the American canon—and, thanks in large part to the 1985 film that followed the novel’s 1982 release, a highly quotable African-American classic.Read more...

In May, tennis superstar Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open over her refusal to subject herself to press conferences after her matches. Citing her need to protect her mental health, the four-time Grand Slam champ admitted that media interviews are often harmful and exacerbate her crippling social anxiety.Read more...

Prior to competing in her final Olympics this summer in Tokyo, Allyson Felix spoke to The Root about the challenges she faced while training throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.Read more...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is forcing a second special session in the state legislature Saturday to push through a series of policy items, with his so-called voter integrity bill being at the top of the list.Read more...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) suggested to an audience in Alabama that government workers should be shot if they come knocking on their doors asking if they have been vaccinated.Read more...

Powered by stout defense and a balanced attack in which WNBA superstars Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart and Chelsea Gray each scored double digits, the U.S. women’s basketball team will advance to the gold-medal game after putting the beats on Serbia, per Reuters.Read more...

Andrea Pitter is ready for a big win—and she’s put in the work. For the past decade, the creative director and designer of Pantora Bridal has made the dreams of thousands of brides come true with her dazzling line of curve-conscious, always inclusive gowns. But lately, Pitter’s been working on taking her own dreams to…Read more...

The 2021 Met Gala must go on, apparently—even amid a surging pandemic. The always anticipated event—which converges the worlds of fashion, entertainment and even sports and serves as the primary fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute—was cancelled amid the the onset of the coronavirus in 2020. But…Read more...

Cardi B once said: “If it’s up, then it’s up, then it’s up, then it’s stuck.”Read more...

By now, we all know what white conservatives think about Critical Race Theory—which is to say, they think nothing of it at all because they have no idea what it is. Ironically, though, white people have their own version of CRT—albeit a version that isn’t backed by data, research or anything academia-related—and it’s…Read more...

In May, The Root reported that Kansas state Rep. Mark Samsel (R) was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery after school officials in Wellsville, Kan., reported that while working as a substitute teacher in the Wellsville School District, he allegedly kneed a high school student in the groin. In fact, he’s…Read more...

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is on clean-up duty.

After a turbulent spring and summer, the 2020 September issues of American Vogue addressed its long-rumored race problem by treating fashion lovers to a celebration of Black lives and creativity. Cover artwork was commissioned from acclaimed painters Kerry James Marshall and Jordan Casteel; whose portrait of 15…Read more...

Okay, I know I said it last time but I really, really mean it this time when I say: Yeezy is coming.Read more...

Millions of tenants around the country will continue to enjoy some continued relief after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced Tuesday that it will stop certain evictions in areas where COVID-19 transmission is especially high.Read more...

This story is not about Georgia.Read more...

On Wednesday, Jeopardy! announced the frontrunner for the permanent hosting gig of the long-running primetime game show and it’s none other than the show’s executive producer Mike Richards. *sad trombone*

Track and field legend Carl Lewis, who knows a thing or nine about winning Olympic gold, had some things to get off his chest after the men’s 4x100m relay team failed to advance in Thursday’s qualifying round.Read more...

Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey said during an interview Tuesday that New York City’s mandate requiring residents to show proof of vaccination before entering indoor spaces is akin to showing freedom papers.Read more...

I love love. Specifically, I, like countless others, have always loved that first rush of romance; that flushed, overwhelming, intoxicating feeling that often signals the start of a passionate love affair. No matter how much your love may deepen and grow into something far deeper, more precious and fulfilling, it’s a…Read more...

A Black family in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago is suing the city and the Chicago Police Department over a 2019 incident that, according to the lawsuit, has all the familiar hallmarks of the common cop practice of being aggressive and reckless as hell when dealing with Black residents and searching for Black…Read more...

After parading around with a racist-ass name for 87 years, the Washington Football Team has much to atone for. So in its continued efforts to now be politically correct and pretend like it wasn’t openly racist as hell for decades, the team has announced a ban of Indigenous-inspired headdresses and face paint. This…Read more...

Dr. Dre may have some explaining to do.

Later this month, it’ll be exactly 20 years since the world lost Aaliyah Dana Haughton—fondly known as “Baby Girl.”Read more...

Down in Tennessee, a Republican stronghold where GOP lawmakers are going out of their way to strip Black folks and other marginalized people of their right to vote over imaginary voter fraud fears, another conservative conspiracy is underway: fears over critical race theory, an academic framework that explores how…Read more...

After preparing for nearly a decade to dethrone the U.S. men’s basketball team at the Olympics, Australia fell short once again on Thursday with a 97-78 loss to Team USA in the Olympic semifinals. With its latest victory, Team USA advances to the gold-medal game.Read more...

Earlier this year, The Root reported that a racist-as-hell former Wilkinson County, Ga., sheriff’s deputy, Cody Richard Griggers, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Macon to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. FBI investigators who looked into Griggers’ crimes found that he was in possession of…Read more...

If DaBaby is still looking for some “education” and “guidance” when it comes to the true stats surrounding HIV and its effects on the Black community, I know 11 good places for him to start.

Among the many losses visited upon American society as the result of a global pandemic, there has a been a profound lack of economic security, particularly for women. As The Root has previously reported (and reminded you just yesterday for Black Women’s Equal Pay Day), women left the workforce in droves in 2020, often…Read more...

The Recording Academy—the organization behind “music’s biggest night,” the Grammys—are trying to do better to clean up house, following a string of messy controversies in the past year, including a public boycott announcement from The Weeknd and the former CEO Deborah Dugan accusing the elite organization’s big awards…Read more...

“You can’t just do it alone with just Black people,” says Sean Combs (“Puffy”? “Diddy”? “Love”?) in the cover story for Vanity Fair’s September issue. As The Root reported on Tuesday, the music industry impresario was referring to “saving the Black race,” which is reportedly among his numerous aims at this stage of…Read more...

Let me start by reminding you all how the whole “Karen” thing came to be.Read more...

The Office of the President Joseph Robinette Biden

Maria Taylor’s recent exodus from ESPN has drawn attention to a disturbing pattern of exceptional Black talent departing from the network on questionable terms. In recent years, we’ve seen familiar names like Amin Elhassan, Michael Smith, Cari Champion, Jemele Hill and others exit the network in favor of more…Read more...

Debuts don’t just mean new, fantastic books—but new fantastic authors to read, too.Read more...

If you’ve been burning with “fire and desire” to see the life and career of Rick James played out on the small screen, then boy, have I got some good news for you!Read more...

While I’m still very much concerned and on edge about news about the recent Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago being a potential COVID-19 superspreader event, I admit there is related news with much more lighthearted energy. Besides, we need occasional breaks from the stress.Read more...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was hoping to survive the numerous accusations of sexual harassment levied against him. But New York Attorney General Letitia James’ report on those claims have not only damaged his reputation even more than one could imagine, top Democratic leadership at the state and federal levels are…Read more...

Looks like all that “work, work, work, work, work” paid off.

Barack Obama was ready to have hundreds of his homeboys and homegirls for his 60th birthday bash in Martha’s Vineyard, but the new Delta variant was like, “Naw, bitch. Take y’all happy asses back in the house.”Read more...