The Root

Before we start, The Root would like to issue a disclaimer to never do what this woman did in this story unless you are this woman, who clearly trained in the House of LaBeija, has done at least three overnight shifts at the International House of Pancakes and grew up in the House of “Who you think you’re talking to?”

Earlier this spring, FX announced it had ordered a new television series pilot based on the late Octavia E. Butler’s iconic novel Kindred.Read more...

A white man in California was arrested last week after being found with an arsenal of weapons, ammo, and a manifesto saying he wanted to kill Black, Hispanic and Jewish people.

On April 21, 32-year-old Isiah Brown was shot numerous times by a Spotsylvania County, Va., sheriff’s deputy not long after the same deputy had given him a ride home after his car broke down. The deputy had been called back to the scene to investigate a domestic disturbance, and at the time of the shooting, which the…Read more...

Ain’t it just like the man to shadow ban the player who started the movement and then come back and embrace the movement but not the player?

Pregnancy means a time of joy, full of celebrations and preparations for exciting changes. But in the United States, for Black women on a journey to parenthood, it could mean a direct pathway to incarceration.Read more...

What’s new this week in the world of entertainment? Though the world was collectively shook this past March at the revelations put forth in the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview, there’s no doubt that it made for great television. In fact, we know it made great TV because the Television Academy saw fit to nominate…Read more...

The PlayStation Vita remains my favorite handheld console to this damn day. One of my favorite titles on the console was Gravity Rush, an action title with a unique mechanic—gravity manipulation. It’s not quite flying but once you get the hang of it, it sure feels like it.

Normani. Kordei. Hamilton.Read more...

The Root has published numerous stories demonstrating how voice and facial recognition software often leads to racial bias. We’ve reported stories that show Black people are found to be more vulnerable to being misidentified by this technology than our white counterparts. Despite this, many companies and law…Read more...

Disclaimer: Full spoilers for the season finale of Loki below.

Dwayne Haskins is back in the news and this time it’s not for being a bust with the Washington Football Team. Sorry, I am a WFT fan and he was a huge disappointment that is rivaled only by the WFT ownership.

Cops across the country seem to believe that civil disobedience should be met with sheer, brute force. Very rarely do they face consequences for their actions because the legal system is essentially built to protect them above anyone else. So, it’s not necessarily surprising that in one of the few times a cop is held…Read more...

One of the things that both impresses and frightens me about the internet is how it can give so many people a voice. Anyone can make or say anything online, which can be great when you see content creators rise to prominence on the back of their talent alone. It can be not so great, and frankly downright dangerous,…Read more...

Media industry peers and fans were stunned to discover that the beloved print and broadcast journalist Ayesha K. Faines had died unexpectedly on July 2. Many took to Twitter to pay tribute, including her close friends and peers at the digital series The Grapevine TV.Read more...

Michelle Obama will be making her first in-person appearance soon!Read more...

It’s been somewhat of a hard-knock life for Chrissy Teigen lately.Read more...

In 1961, James Baldwin famously said, “To be a negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost all of the time.”Read more...

Turns out Simone Biles might be human after all.

The history of Black people in America is broad, layered and nuanced—layers which M Shelly Conner tackles in her debut novel, Everyman: A Novel, out July 20. The Chicago native turned Arkansas educator spent 16 years developing her first book, which takes readers on a similar arc from the urban enclave back to Ideal,…Read more...

Imagine reading this blog text in the branded salmon pink and apple green because Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. has announcements to make!Read more...

Booooy, the hits just keep on coming for a certain peeled Mr. Potato Head-looking racist from New Jersey whose unbridled caucasity led him to harass his Black neighbors with racial slurs and then turn on his own location, resulting in more than 100 people deciding to pull up. Mount Laurel’s Edward Mathews is facing a…Read more...

On Wednesday, NFL free agent Richard Sherman was arrested after reportedly breaking into a family member’s home and scuffling with police before being taken into custody.

Somehow, the already-too-lengthy Jussie Smollett court narrative is still going...and of course, COVID-19 induced lockdowns have only extended it.Read more...

Comedian and TV correspondent for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Roy Wood Jr. will be taking the reins of a brand new original podcast series soon.Read more...

The family of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man fatally shot by deputies in North Carolina earlier this year, has filed a $30 million federal civil rights lawsuit.

Sometimes white people take their sense of entitlement and authority to levels that make them dangerous to people around them—especially to Black people.

Grandparents all over the nation who “don’t know how to work no damn streaming” and grandkids who bonded with them while watching classic Black-ass sitcoms can rejoice!Read more...

If you eat, sleep, and breathe all things money, power, & respect— then this latest Verzuz news might be right up your alley!Read more...

In what sounds like a bad TLC reality show just waiting to happen, a family of five from Texas has been charged for their alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Do you expect to open up a book, get into it, get really invested and then BOOM! have it tear you to shreds emotionally? I sure do.Read more...

I abhor all conservatives, but I hold special contempt for Black conservatives. This isn’t just because of their ideology; it’s also because they don’t have to be qualified experts in literally anything for white conservatives to uplift them as lackeys who are willing to tow a generic, substanceless white nationalist…Read more...

Outspoken NFL free agent Richard Sherman was arrested early Wednesday after reportedly breaking into a family member’s home in Redmond, Wash.

Lovecraft Country may have been canceled after one season—much to the dismay of many fans—but its creator Misha Green is keeping the discourse alive.Read more...

Candace Parker is a goddamn beast. She always has been.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) recently criticized Texas state Democrats for leaving the state to protest efforts by the state GOP to pass restrictive voting laws. Cruz, of all people, should’ve probably kept his mouth shut on this one because Texas Democrats and politicians were quick to remind him of his history fleeing…Read more...

Did any of y’all watch the show Sons of Anarchy? I loved the show and have watched the entire series multiple times. One thing that always struck me (I mean, besides the realization that white writers can’t write Black dialog for shit) was all the times the mostly white biker gang committed murders, attempted murders…Read more...

Simone vs. Herself is not just a new show on Facebook Watch—it’s a declaration of fact. Simone Biles, the elite gymnast who is constantly breaking boundaries such as becoming the first woman to ever land a Yurchenko Double Pike, winning more national women all-around titles than any other American woman...hell, she…Read more...

On Tuesday, nominations for the 2021 Emmys were revealed. While there were any well-deserved and arguably long overdue recognitions (looking at you I May Destroy You and Lovecraft Country), one actor’s nomination in particular stood out from the pack.Read more...

Apologies are for accidents.

Time and time again it’s been proven that police violence isn’t only blatantly fucked up, it’s incredibly expensive for taxpayers, as well. A Black woman in Virginia was awarded $300,000 by a jury after being injured by a police officer during a 2015 traffic stop.

A grand jury indicted a former Houston Cop on a felony assault charge stemming from a 2019 incident where he allegedly assaulted a handcuffed man and threatened to shoot him.

The state of Texas is really out here becoming the boss of all bosses when it comes to awful and dangerous legislation pushed in the name of conservatism. It’s bad enough the state’s officials are passing white fragility laws that control how racism is taught as well as a law allowing Texans to carry handguns without…Read more...

Move over chicken sandwich—there’s a new craze in town!Read more...

There are many reasons I refuse to discuss racism with white people. They debate race from a place of willful obtuseness; they both figuratively and literally have no skin in the game; their breath smells like hot bologna even through a computer screen, etc. (That last one was petty and I’m not proud of it—OK, I’m a…Read more...

When we last checked in with Pear Nova founder Rachel James, we were enjoying an in-person mani-pedi at her then-newly opened studio space in our shared hometown of Chicago. The pre-COVID space was one where clients—and particularly Black women—could relax, unwind, and bundle their beauty regimens—booking appointments…Read more...

On Tuesday afternoon, DaBaby found himself the topic of online discourse after a video surfaced showing a particularly interesting interaction between him and a pair of neighborhood kids.Read more...

In Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender claims the then-president wanted the bunker leaker executed.

I’m honestly surprised that Hidden Figures didn’t spur some kind of anthology series about all the untold stories of Black greatness throughout American history. Simply put, there are so many instances of Black men and women achieving incredible things that have not gotten the recognition they deserve. Take for…Read more...

It’s time to look forward to television’s biggest night once again—and this year, the ceremony will be back in person.