The Root

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...

In improv comedy, there’s a rule-of-thumb in which comedians introduce an idea that subsequent participants expand upon. This concept is known as “Yes, and…” because you’re never supposed to say, “No” or “This is a terrible-ass idea.” You’re supposed to encourage this free-spirited creative process by going with the…Read more...

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is the answer to the question: Where’s the merit in Critical Race Theory? Because for an academic study that examines how race affects American structures such as our legal system, Parson’s method for how he decides who’s worth his official pardon would make for a perfect case study.Read more...

As previously reported by The Root, the long-awaited trial for R. Kelly is set to begin this month.Read more...

There are few progressive voices on the left wing of the Democratic Party more respected and admired than Nina Turner. Her devotion to Sen. Bernie Sanders during his 2016 and 2020 races and outspokenness against the moderate voices of the party establishment empowered her standing on the far left, but weakened her…Read more...

On the same day we learned that both Simone Biles and U.S. shot-putter Raven Saunders suffered personal tragedies during the Tokyo Olympics—Biles’ aunt died just two days prior to her competing in the balance beam event; Saunders lost her mother shortly after she won the silver medal in the shot put—came the news that…Read more...

Over the weekend, actor, director and martial artist Michael Jai White (Spawn, Black Dynamite, Arrow) confirmed his eldest son had died of COVID-19 at the age of 38. In an interview with VLAD TV, the 53-year-old actor revealed that his son—who was a father of 6—died “a few months ago,” following a lengthy stay at the…Read more...

Sean Combs has entered the “Love Era.”

Lil Nas X is claiming his space.Read more...

In May, we learned that Shaqir O’Neal, son of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, would be taking his talents to Texas Southern University to play for the men’s basketball team. Now comes the news that Shaq’s daughter, Amirah, will be following in her brother’s footsteps to play at the same HBCU.Read more...

On Tuesday, voters in Northeast Ohio headed to the polls to elect a Democratic candidate for Congress. The hotly contested race between Cuyahoga Councilwoman Shontel Brown and former state Sen. Nina Turner has made headlines for the amount of intra-party shade thrown between the campaigns. Political pundits,…Read more...

The Caramel Curves, an all-Black women’s motorcycle crew from New Orleans, are used to turning heads and taking names through the city as they cruise around each Sunday. Their over-the-top and vibrant fashion gives them a distinct and noticeable edge, sporting only the brightest clothing—think highlighter yellow and…Read more...

On Sunday, Bill Melugin, a correspondent at Republican Disney Plus network Fox News, tweeted video of what he called “the largest group of migrants we’ve ever seen being held by Border Patrol under Anzalduas Bridge in Mission, TX.”Read more...

As previously reported by The Root, the next battle in the Verzuz Cinematic Universe is taking place tonight.Read more...

U.S. middle-distance runner Athing Mu will be the first to admit that while competing in her Olympic debut, a gold medal wasn’t always on her mind. But after becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the women’s 800 meters since Madeline Manning accomplished the same feat in 1968, it’s likely the…Read more...

Move over Leos, it looks like it’s about to be Lizzo season soon!Read more...