The Root

For its final season, black-ish is starting things off in style. The comedy has released the first images of Forever First Lady Michelle Obama in the Season 8 premiere, airing Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 9:30 pm on ABC..

Acclaimed author, activist and intellectual bell hooks, a deeply influential figure in intersectional feminism, has died. According to a press release issued by her niece, Ebony Motley (h/t Lexington Herald Leader), hooks died Wednesday at her home in Berea, Ky., following an undisclosed illness. She was 69.Read more...

The trial for former officer Kim Potter has shifted focus this week toward whether it’s believable that the 26 year veteran could mistake her gun for a taser. One witness, a sergeant, testified Tuesday that he’s never heard of an officer doing that before.

The long-running battle for James Brown’s estate has finally been resolved—kind of—with a very lucrative deal. As previously reported by The Root, the late soul icon’s heirs and estate administrator Russell Bauknight teased a resolution to the approximately 15-year war in July, issuing a statement that “The matter has…Read more...

One of the hilarious stars of A Black Lady Sketch Show is set to bring more funny into the world. Variety reports Ashley Nicole Black has signed a multiyear overall deal with Warner Bros Television Group.

On Tuesday, partial human remains found over 40 years ago in Twinsburg, Ohio were identified as former O’Jays group member Frank “Frankie” Little Jr.

It’s hard to top a year that includes becoming the first woman to grace the cover of NBA 2K, dropping a new dope-ass footwear and apparel collection with Adidas, and bringing your hometown Chicago Sky its first WNBA title. But would Candace Parker be Candace Parker if she didn’t continue to outdo herself?

Disney’s Onyx Collective’s first scripted series Reasonable Doubt has added a lineup of familiar favorites to its cast.

It finally happened.Read more...

If you could prevent your loved ones from experiencing the grief associated with losing you in the event of an untimely passing, would you? To what lengths would you go? How much would you be willing to sacrifice?Read more...

Last month, we told you that rapper Tory Lanez was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing related to the felony assault charges he faces for allegedly shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion back in 2020.Read more...

Chicago officers barged into Anjanette Young’s home while she was naked and getting ready for bed one night in Feb. 2019, only offering her a jacket and blanket after handcuffing her.Read more...

It’s a done deal that the men who murdered Amaud Arbery are headed to prison for life, but a judge will finally make it official in a Georgia courtroom next month.

If you’ve been waiting to see Tiffany Haddish get her Sherlock Holmes on, this is your moment. AppleTV+ has released the first trailer for its murder mystery The Afterparty, which premieres Friday, Jan. 28.

It’s been a month since Howard University students stopped their protest because of the poor housing conditions they were dealing with on campus. Now, another issue has arisen, alumni of the prestigious HBCU have filed a lawsuit that claims the governing board of the University is excluding students, alumni and…Read more...

Rebecca Carroll is not the face of transracial adoption.Read more...

USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee have agreed to pay a $380 million settlement to victims of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. The organizations also agreed to structural changes to prevent further abuse, including reforms to misconduct reporting.Read more...

With the NCAA finally allowing student-athletes to cash in on their names, images, and likenesses as of July of this year, Nike is officially staking its claim with the announcement that it’s partnering with its first college athlete: UCLA soccer star Reilyn Turner.Read more...

A white man who planted bombs in downtown Pittsburgh the day after a Black Lives Matter protest ended was just given probation by a judge.Read more...

While the Chicago trial for Empire star Jussie Smollett may be over, it appears the fallout from the case is still running its course.Read more...

As award season continues to roll on, nominees for the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced. The Spirit Awards focus on smaller indie films with lower budgets and up and coming filmmakers.

In recent years, true crime has become its own genre. With every other memorable celebrity case getting the limited series treatment, we can’t be surprised that it’s Snoop’s turn.

Insecure is leaving, okay?!

Since my beloved Orlando Magic have spent a vast majority of the past decade being complete trash, I spend a lot of time watching other NBA teams—as in actually good ones—compete on the basketball court. Unfortunately, one of my all-time NBA League Pass favorites, the Golden State Warriors, have been almost unbearable…Read more...

On April 11, former Minnesota Officer Kim Potter shot and killed Daunte Wright. Since then, it’s been a mystery how a 26-year police veteran could mistake her gun for a taser.Read more...

The ex-cop convicted of murdering George Floyd—a killing that reignited nationwide anti-police violence protests—has apparently had enough of losing in court. According to multiple media reports, Derek Chauvin is expected to change his not guilty plea on federal charges that he violated Floyd’s civil rights during the…Read more...

BREAKING NEWS: Despite your penchant for galavanting without a mask whenever you go to take out the trash, COVID-19 is still very much a thing.

Yo, what is Minnesota on? Or, do they just love treating Black men like this.Read more...

Some advice is priceless, but Deion Sanders has put a number on what he thinks Brittany Renner’s is worth.Read more...

From the moment fans thought she would take on a larger role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Letitia Wright has been surrounded by controversy.

Some residents of Chicago’s South Side worry that its most famous son is about to gentrify the neighborhood.Read more...

Correction: 12/13/2021, 8p.m. ETRead more...

Once Christmas is over, studios like to hold back their big movies until March or May. Winter tends to be the domain of rom-coms and action movies trying to stay out of Marvel’s way. However, Winter 2022 does hold a few high-profile releases that we might actually leave the house for, and a couple we’ll definitely be…Read more...

Christopher Trogan, a professor in the English department at the University of Fordham, was fired after confusing the names of two Black students in his class, in what he called an “innocent mistake,” according to The Observer.Read more...

Much to NBA legend John Stockton’s dismay, it’s possible that mercurial point guard Kyrie Irving could be making his triumphant return to the court a lot sooner than any of us expected.

What happened to Fred Rouse was so dark and unthinkable that for nearly a century, his family never spoke about it.Read more...

The wide variety and range of Black actors’ performances this year is truly astounding. We got the reinvention of a fan favorite, superheroes and villains, famous figures and heartbreaking goodbyes. Normally, this is where we would say how hard it was to pick our 10 best, but honestly, these performances were so…Read more...

Though the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the Golden Globe Awards, has been trying to remedy its lack of diversity for months this year following that revelatory exposé back in April—it appears the show will, in fact, still go on.

Fruitcake is the most controversial dessert in all of food. Yes, we know your mom/grandma/aunt/roommate’s cousin has the best recipe ever, but here’s the thing, they don’t.

It’s been a hot minute since the Chicago Bulls were actually worth a shit, but after pilfering Nikola Vucevic from my Orlando Magic at the NBA trade deadline in February, and following that up with trades for Lonzo Ball and a rejuvenated DeMar DeRozan this offseason, The Artist Formerly Known as Michael Jordan and The…Read more...

On the third day of trial, the jury heard from officers on the scene who feared former Minnesota officer Kim Potter would harm herself after she fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright.Read more...

Every Monday, Very Smart Brothas Senior Editor Panama Jackson and Contributing Freelance Writer Shanelle Genai break down the latest episode of season 5 of HBO’s cultural flashpoint show, Insecure. Okay?! Spoilers ahead.

Taking a page out of the 1950s, Republicans have pretty much stopped trying to compete in elections and gone full Jim Crow in Georgia, yanking Black people off local election boards and replacing them with conservative whites, including ride-or-die Trumpists who pushed lies about the 2020 vote.

Greetings, Earthlings.Read more...

Following the tragic events of the Astroworld Festival, Travis Scott is reportedly no longer playing the 2022 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Okay Dr. Williams! – This weekend, super producer Pharrell Williams received an honorary doctorate from Norfolk State University after he gave the commencement speech to the graduating fall class.Read more...

Black women aren’t just deserving of their flowers, they’re deserving of their coins – guaranteed, government issued, no strings attached coins. Well friends, I’m happy to spread the good news today that at least somebody is out here getting the memo. The somebody I speak of is in fact a Georgia based program by the…Read more...

Over the weekend, our certified hot girl coach, Megan Thee Stallion, took a mid season break to claim a new victory, her baccalaureate degree. She high stepped her famously strong knees across the Southern Texas University stage, and all of her internet cousins across the globe (including us) offered virtual twerks in…Read more...

As it turns out, conditions for incarcerated individuals do matter to politicians, but only when it comes to the melanin deficient among them. Oh, and it helps to have taken part in the January 6th coup d’etat attempt on the U.S. Capitol.Read more...

In the Jim Crow South, there were few places Black artists and musicians could perform in without being harassed, threatened, robbed, or just downright refused, there were a select number of venues that in solidarity, became safe spaces for them to gig. This collective of juke joints and bars ultimately became known…Read more...