Following the first day of witness testimony for the defense on Monday during the sex trafficking trial of R. Kelly, additional witnesses took the stand on Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court.

Although it may seem to some that we are seeing more contributions from Black creators across the media spectrum, the roundtable conversation The Root Institute recently hosted raised some questions about the quality and quantity of what we are being exposed to when it comes to covering the Black community.Read more...

One thing’s for sure, and two things are for certain: Ben Simmons has no intention to ever play for the Philadelphia 76ers again.

Tressie McMillan Cottom is a sociologist, a professor, a writer, and a 2020 MacArthur Fellow—but above all else, she’s a truth-teller. If you’ve read her acclaimed 2019 collection Thick: And Other Essays, you already know this; likewise, if you follow her on Twitter. In fact, McMillan Cottom’s strongly argued takes…Read more...

Sephora’s signature interiors have long been clad in glossy black—but until recently, it was far more difficult to locate Black-owned brands in the beauty emporium’s aisles; a struggle I documented when attempting a month-long Black-owned beauty challenge in February 2019. Of course, much has changed since then; I now…Read more...

The tragic and unexpected passing of The Wire and Lovecraft Country actor Michael K. Williams on Sept. 6 sent both fans and his loved ones reeling, many of whom still are, even weeks after the fact. Since the news of his death, many have honored him and his legacy, echoing a common theme: that Williams was a kind, old…Read more...

On Monday, Jay-Z’s Team Roc, the philanthropic division of his entertainment company Roc Nation, filed a lawsuit against the Kansas City Police Department, alleging that it refused to hand over documents that could help identify potential coverups of police misconduct.Read more...

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this comes.” It’s one of the most famous lines from one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, The Tragedy of Macbeth—and fans of the Bard have been waiting patiently for the next translation of his work to come the big screen. On Tuesday, we got a wicked, if relatively…Read more...

If you look up the phrase “Black don’t crack” in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’ll find a picture of Jada Pinkett Smith there in the definition. (See also: Sanaa Lathan, Angela Bassett, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé—you get the point.)Read more...

Listen, I don’t know what kind of little racist, homophobic kids they are raising out in Newberg, Ore., but their school district has been making the wildest headlines lately.Read more...

It’s been nearly four years since Me Too became a global movement, forever changing how we talk about sexual violence. But it’s been approximately 15 years since Tarana Burke found the phrase she needed to inspire empathy and empowerment among survivors of sexual violence, understanding that a simple “Me Too” could be…Read more...

“And this one is for the champions. I ain’t lost since I began, yeah.

It’s been entirely too damn long since the holy trinity of Wyclef Jean, Lauryn “L-Boogie” Hill, and Prakazrel “Pras” Michel graced the stage together—15 years to be exact—and even longer since they’ve blessed us with a collaborative body of music. That critically acclaimed album, The Score, was released in 1996 and…Read more...

Say what you want, but here’s what we know to be true: the current state of over-policing in our communities combined with the prison industrial complex have created an existential crisis that needs to be sorted out, sorted through and resolved. The two women Michael Harriot spoke with in this episode of The Root…Read more...

There must be something in the water—or even in the Ciroc—that has so many people speaking disrespectfully on the musical significance, legacy and potency of one Jermaine Dupri Mauldin AKA Jermaine Dupri aka JD aka Don Chi Chi. What started out as understandable bravado from Sean “Diddy” Combs (I still call the man…Read more...

On Sept. 16, three women were visiting New York City and decided to dine at the famous Carmine’s Italian on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. That part is true. But what’s now in dispute were the first stories that came out claiming the three women beat up a hostess for requiring that they prove they were vaccinated…Read more...

For all of his accolades both in and outside of the ring, there’s one accomplishment missing from Oscar De La Hoya’s resume.Read more...

A still frame.

One of the foundational voices of one of the most innovative female vocal groups of all time has died. Singer, songwriter and actress Sarah Dash, co-founder of Labelle and one-third of the trio’s iconic No. 1 hit “Lady Marmalade,” was 76. No cause of death has been given.Read more...

After more than a month of witness testimony from the prosecutorial team during the federal sex trafficking trial against disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly, it was time for the defense to petition the court on Monday.Read more...

In 1991, a man with a video camera sparked a greater movement of civilians recording police encounters with Black citizens, igniting a revolution at the feet of America’s law enforcement.Read more...

They say that if you want something done, ask a Black woman. The women we feature in this episode of The Root Institute are undeniable proof of this adage. We connected with LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter, Melanie Campbell of the National Black Coalition on Civic Participation, and Glynda Carr of Higher Heights…Read more...

Remember when the New York Times dropped a bombshell report on July 4 about the subsequent fallout from Rachel Nichols privately accusing ESPN of only pushing for fellow NBA analyst Maria Taylor because she’s a Black woman? And then ESPN booted Nichols from covering the NBA Finals in favor of another Black woman,…Read more...

The controversy that has surrounded Critical Race Theory seems to have reached fever pitch. As we’ve reported at The Root, angry white parents have lashed out at school board meetings over the so-called taboo teaching, politicians have used the subject as a partisan lightning rod and all of this fervor often comes…Read more...

Acknowledging The Root’s commitment to engaging the Black community around the myriad issues impacting on our lives, President Joe Biden joins us to help kick off The Root Institute 2021.Read more...

For the record, activists are not just paying attention to police violence against Black people, but to all cases in which officers abuse communities that they are supposed to protect. It just so happens that more often than not, cases of deadly police encounters involve Black victims, hence the focus of the Black…Read more...

The family of Manuel Ellis, a Black man killed by police last March, filed a wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit against the city of Tacoma, Pierce County, and officers from the Tacoma Police Department and Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.Read more...

Candace Parker has a lot on her plate.

Gun-toting Mark and Patricia McCloskey—who made national headlines in June 2020 for coming out of their St. Louis home carrying automatic weapons when all they had to do was stay indoors and drink their Nescafe–may have their law licenses suspended.

...And on the seventh day God tried the fish sandwich from Popeyes–which he declared the work of Satan–and stumbled into an alley and vomited.

Editor’s note: This article includes descriptions of sexual and physical abuse and coercion.Read more...

Anthony Johnson, an actor and comedian best known for his role as Ezal in Friday, has died at age 55. There has been no word yet on the cause of death.

Y’all already know what time it is so let’s get to it.Read more...

The Root Institute, now in its second year, is a virtual, collaborative conference exploring socio-political, cultural, and entertainment topics to advance the agenda of Black Americans, as exemplified by the current state of race relations in the US. The virtual event uses its platform to amplify leading Black voices…Read more...

On day 558 of what feels like a neverending pandemic, Pfizer-BioNTech announced that its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine is effective in children. In a press release on Monday, the companies, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, revealed that their vaccine was tested in a trial of 2,268 kindergartners and elementary…Read more...

Actor and comedian Chris Rock has tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.Read more...

In what can only be described as a major head-scratcher, the man who inspired Hotel Rwanda, the man that would be played by Don Cheadle, the man who would be seen as the hero in the movie, was found guilty of terror-related offenses.

For the record, we didn’t need the Emmys to validate Michaela Coel’s genius. Nevertheless, after a Golden Globes snub and a rather rote evening of all-white acting wins, it was wonderful to see Coel’s genius duly celebrated with a historic win for Writing for a Limited Series (for the equally genius I May Destroy You …Read more...

The 73rd primetime Emmy awards took place on Sunday, with the fully vaxxed in-person ceremony airing live on CBS from L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

There’s a lot to love about Ken Burns’ latest creation: the gripping PBS documentary, Muhammad Ali.

The Root Institute, launching virtually on Tuesday, Sept. 21, provides a much-needed forum where our community can question the status quo, discern where the truth resides, and share alternative points of view that hew more closely to reality than most mainstream conversations would currently have us believe.Read more...

An attempt by Republican lawmakers in North Carolina to enact a statewide voter identification law was blocked by members of the state’s court of appeals, who wagged their fingers like Dikembe Mutombo and said the law was discriminatory against Black voters.

Two former Stockton, Calif. police officers accused of violently beating a Black teen last December were indicted by a grand jury on felony assault charges.

You know what they say: “Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice ... well, you can’t get fooled again.”

In a recent interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, LeVar Burton announced he’s no longer interested in taking over as host of Jeopardy!

The future of the Minneapolis Police Department’s direction is now in the hands of voters after Minnesota’s highest court gave the OK for a controversial measure to be added to the ballot for the impending municipal elections.

Friday, the last day of R. Kelly’s Brooklyn federal racketeering trial’s fifth week, featured testimony from a woman who alleged the R&B star threatened her as a way to ensure he had her support during an impending lawsuit against him.

An unapproved haircut might become an extremely expensive one; a Michigan father seeks one million dollars in financial restitution after an unapproved haircut by an employee at his daughter’s school garnered only a “reprimand” from district officials. As The Root first reported in April, Jimmy Hoffmeyer pulled…Read more...

While I was extremely late to the Big Brother party—my formal induction to the show was during Derrick Levasseur’s complete annihilation of his opponents during Season 16 in 2014—I quickly became obsessed with the quirky reality show in which contestants catch the wrath of hell from an insult-slinging robot and…Read more...

It seems we have very good taste here at The Glow Up—though truthfully, we already knew this. After all, we honored legendary luxe streetwear pioneer Dapper Dan with our lifetime achievement award when we launched the TGU 50 in 2020, making it extra official by naming the award after him in perpetuity. (The “Dap…Read more...