The Root

On the awards season calendar, there are a few shows set to specifically honor Black excellence. And because we are not a monolith, each show is unique, celebrating a different aspect of Black life and culture. Among these are the 30th Anniversary Bounce Trumpet Awards, which are set to take place April 23 at the…Read more...

After going virtual for two years, WonderCon returned to Anaheim, Calif., with a somewhat smaller, but no less fun, convention. There were panels on new film, TV, comic book and graphic novel releases, along with an exhibit floor full of artists, small press and vendors. With strict COVID protocols in place, there was…Read more...

The pressure is on New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander to hold Wells Fargo accountable for racial discrimination against Black homeowners. Wells Fargo is going up against 29 other banks for contracts to host revenue, payroll and other bank accounts for NYC agencies. But a coalition of 21…Read more...

When it comes to classroom curriculum, voting rights, and abortion access, the unsaid rule is this: if one Republican-controlled state government passes a law, you can expect more will follow, which is why it’s crucial for us to pay attention and participate in the midterm elections in the fall. Florida passed their…Read more...

The Georgia Senate race is slated to be one of the most competitive during the 20202 midterms–34 seats will be up for grabs across the country. Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, the same one who claimed to have a COVID cure, is narrowly winning an early poll against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), according to…Read more...

Though originally scheduled for April 18, the Academy has now pushed up its Board of Governors meeting to discuss reprimands for Will Smith stemming from the slap incident that took place at the 2022 Oscars.Read more...

Coachella organizers are really going through it. After announcing Kanye West as the headliner for Sunday, April 17 and 24, they had to deal with his erratic demands, including a nonsensical request that Billie Eilish apologize to Travis Scott. Then his escalating harassment of ex-wife Kim Kardashian led to increasing…Read more...

Today is the day. The Senate is expected to vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman ever to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Miami police are conducting an investigation into the fatal stabbing death of a man at a luxury Miami high-rise building. The police are calling the incident, which occurred on the night of April 3, a “domestic dispute.”Read more...

The $10 Billion compromise between Senate Democrats and Republicans for COVID funding is desperately needed given the more transmissible Omicron sub-type BA.2 is becoming the dominant strain in the U.S. However, the passage of the funds has hit a snag right before the Senate takes a two-week recess.Read more...

MomsRising, a grassroots organization dedicated to achieving economic security for mothers and women, is leading the fight against the recent legislative blocks to reproductive freedom. MomsRising found the people who need access to abortions are often mothers. As a result of these abortion bans, we could see a rise…Read more...

Pregnancy is an exciting time for expectant parents, but it can also be lonely, confusing and scary. For Black expectant parents, the nine months they spend waiting for their baby can be filled with even more anxiety. According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues…Read more...

Virgil Abloh cast a long shadow over design, fashion, marketing and culture. Now, the late creative director and collaboration specialist’s latest posthumous collaboration shows how his influence resonated in another arena: luxury automobiles.

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The family of John Neville is demanding justice after a grand jury decided not to indict the five deputies charged in his death. He was killed while in custody at the Forsyth County Sheriff’s office in North Carolina, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.Read more...

I always thought the moment I got my very first ultrasound sonogram that it would be special.

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It seems we’ll have to wait a little longer to be rid of R. Kelly.Read more...

The family of Stanley “SJ” Davis III and community members are calling for the officer involved in his death to be held accountable, reported ABC News. Davis, 13, died after crashing his bike as a Boynton Beach police officer pursued him. Currently, no charges have been brought against the officer.Read more...

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Today is #NationalWalkingDay, which means it’s time to leave the car keys at home and let your feet get you where you need to go. If the rising gas prices aren’t enough to motivate you to start walking, you should know that incorporating walking into your lifestyle has some serious health benefits.Read more...

While the legal battle between Cardi B. and blogger Tasha K may finally be coming to a close, on Monday, a federal judge ordered an injunction making it mandatory that Tasha delete all posts and videos that defame the “Up” rapper.Read more...

In January, former Senator and current Republican Gubernatorial candidate David Purdue called for an ‘election police unit,’ to “do what Brian Kemp has failed to do” to make Georgia elections “the safest and securest.” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger stated that voter fraud is not widespread in Georgia. That…Read more...

No charges will be brought against the SWAT team officer who shot and killed Amir Locke during a no-knock search raid in Minneapolis, reported NBC News. Officials say there was no sufficient evidence to suggest criminal charges be brought against Officer Mark Hanneman or the other officers involved.

It’s not exactly breaking news that Rihanna is a badass, but now you can add that she’s one of the richest people in the world to her lengthy resume—because the singer/actress/fashion mogul is making her first appearance on Forbes’ annual billionaires list.Read more...

Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge was initially named after Pettus, a Confederate general and reputed Ku Klux Klan leader, in 1940. Then in the 1960s, it became a powerful symbol of the ongoing civil rights movement. Marchers, including the late great John Lewis, led a peaceful protest across the bridge and were met with…Read more...

President Joe Biden recently announced that his administration would open a variety of means of entry to the United States for nearly 100,000 Ukrainian immigrants seeking asylum from the violent conflict in their country. The president said Ukrainian refugees would receive Temporary Protected Status, which would…Read more...

Springfield Police Department Officer Aaron Paul Nichols, 46, resigned following the surfacing of a multitude of racist and white supremacist social media posts, reported Huffington Post. Anonymous Comrades Collective (ACC), first exposed him leading to an investigation by his own department.

When I need some change, I’m only accepting Bessies from now on.Read more...

FX’s acclaimed drama Snowfall will be returning for its sixth and final season, The Root has learned.

Milwaukee made history by choosing its first Black mayor in the city’s history on Tuesday. Voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots for Cavalier Johnson, a 35-year-old former alderman who was already serving as the city’s interim mayor.

BET+ is headed to Canada for its next limited series. The streamer has acquired CBC drama The Porter and set it for a May 5 U.S. premiere. Per a press release provided to The Root, the series is set in the early 1920s and “follows train porters Junior Massey (Aml Ameen) and Zeke Garrett (Ronnie Rowe Jr.) and their…Read more...

Updated as of 4/6/2022 9:30 a.m ETRead more...

One of Vice President Kamala Harris’ top aides is about to leave her staff, adding to a list of her staffers who have departed as the vice president takes on growing responsibilities.

Pete Carroll seems to have developed his own, personal language for telling NFL owners he DGAF.

Updated Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 1:46 p.m.

America loves true crime. Whether it’s a documentary or fictionalized, no form of entertainment is more popular right now. And looking to add her own twist to this phenomenon is journalist/talk show host Tamron Hall, who’s returning to the genre with the Court TV show Someone They Knew.Read more...

When the Department of Education instructed companies not to send notices to borrowers about payments resuming, it was a question of when federal student loans would be paused again by The White House. Bloomberg is reporting the Biden administration plans to freeze federal student loan payments through August 31. The…Read more...

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The state of Georgia will pay the family of Julian E. Lewis, a 60-year-old Black man killed by a state trooper in August 2020, $4.8 million in a settlement—the largest settlement in the state since 1990--according to CNN.Read more...

As the pandemic protections for tenants are lifted, Black women are expected to suffer the most from a potential overflow of evictions, found a USA TODAY investigation. The investigation closely examined King County, Washington which has the highest eviction filing rate for Black women than any other group.

On Tuesday, “Luv” rapper Tory Lanez was remanded into custody and handcuffed for violating a protection order put in place in connection to the Megan Thee Stallion assault case.Read more...

It’s well-known that everyone involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps more secrets than the CIA. Longtime actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle are very good at dodging and distraction when it comes to MCU questions. With his role in Morbius, Tyrese Gibson has now joined the ranks of the Marvel…Read more...

As I waited for the birth of my now ten-year-old son, my doula was an important part of my birth team. Although it was my second childbirth experience, it was the first time I was doing it at home. I still remember how incredibly supportive she was, sharing pain management techniques and words of encouragement that…Read more...

The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the disparity in public schools, especially regarding things like clean air, electricity, and heating. The White House notes that public K-12 districts spend about $8 billion a year on energy bills, the second-largest expense after teacher salaries. Thankfully, there is a new…Read more...

For the last 52 years, WCCO Minneapolis’ film archives had footage of an 11-year-old Prince being interviewed about the Minneapolis Public Schools teachers strike in April 1970. Up until now, nobody had seen it. Now, fans of His Royal Badness get another great piece of history from this music icon.Read more...

It looks like the relationship between power (ha!) producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and STARZ is becoming more and more contentious.Read more...

A recent Variety investigation has uncovered a mass exodus of women of color from the British Broadcasting Company’s staff. The publication reports that at least 15 women of color have walked away from the network in the past year due to the frustration of working within an environment that doesn’t support diversity.…Read more...

A quarter of Africans are at risk of experiencing hunger due to climate change, conflict and rising food and fuel prices, reported Reuters. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimated about 346 million people in Africa are at risk of hunger.

One of the most touching moments of the Grammys on Sunday was the in memoriam tribute performance. The recording academy honored icons who have died such as DMX, Betty Davis, Shock G and Young Dolph.Read more...