The Root

Cue the “Toosie Slide!”Read more...

Now that vaccines are becoming more widely available, we have a genuine shot at being able to move into a new normal sooner rather than later. For some though, simply getting to a vaccination site can be an obstacle unto itself. To help combat that problem, the Biden Administration has partnered with Uber and Lyft to…Read more...

Jigsaw is back at it again with yet another film in the popular Saw franchise—and this time, the game he wants everyone to play is spades! OK, OK, I’m kidding and only said that because Spiral: From the Book of Saw has a Black lead.

Two things that connect us all: music and fashion. This May marks the release of W’s Music Issue, featuring none other than “Icy Girl” Saweetie, among its multiple covers. All personal drama aside, Miss Saweetie has had an amazing 2021. With the release of “Best Friend” featuring Doja Cat in January and her most…Read more...

The man accused of killing eight people—including six Asian women—in a shooting spree at three Atlanta-area spas has been indicted by a grand jury on murder charges, and the prosecutor has indicated that she will also seek hate crime charges as well as the death penalty.Read more...

How dare we tell children anything close to the truth about race in America? That’s the takeaway after a Florida school district—the second-largest in the state—suspended Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes’ award-winning young adult novel Ghost Boys from a fifth-grade curriculum after a local police union complained it was…Read more...

The shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery stood out last year because unlike so many instances of an unarmed Black man being shot, it wasn’t by a cop; it was by a group of white men who grabbed their guns and wanted to play cop. Arbery’s tragic death has led to the state of Georgia repealing its Civil War-era citizen’s…Read more...

Stop the presses.Read more...

The Capitol riot has seemingly awakened white America to a fact we’ve known for quite a while: racists work everywhere. There was genuine shock that vets, enlisted service members, and members of law enforcement participated in a violent act of insurrection. That event has resulted in multiple state legislatures…Read more...

When a leftist goes to sleep, are they not “woke”? If an antifa retires, do they become profa? How many thugs make up a gang?Read more...

Fans of the Atlanta Dream are in for a treat.

After bullying boxscores for the past 13 seasons, Russell Westbrook has accomplished a feat that was once thought humanly impossible. On Monday night, the nine-time NBA All-Star etched his name in the record books when, after snatching his 10th rebound off of the rim with 8:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, he broke…Read more...

Oh, “Cancel Culture” discourse hasn’t been canceled yet?! Alrighty…Read more...

On Monday night, the social streets went from zero to 100 real quick when Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams posted a pic of herself with new fiancé Simon Guobadia on Instagram.

It’s a privilege to play in the NFL, and while there are plenty of talented players deserving of such a prestigious honor, Tim Tebow has proven time and time and time again that he’s not one of them.Read more...

Toward the end of his legendary standup special Never Scared, Chris Rock goes into a bit about the history of slavery and how slave masters used breeding to try to create “super slaves” and how that continues to affect America today.

Hollywood is known as the place where the streets are paved with gold. However, the Golden Globe has been quite tarnished in the past several weeks. It definitely doesn’t shine the way it did back in the day—or perhaps its shine was always an illusion.Read more...

If there’s one thing Laverne Cox knows how to do, it’s work a red carpet. On Monday, it was announced that the primetime Emmy-nominated and Daytime Emmy-winning actress-activist-producer best known for her breakout role in Orange Is the New Black will soon be working the red carpet for E!, as the network’s newest host…Read more...

We have another victim, y’all.Read more...

It’s incredibly frustrating seeing white people spin a statement as innocuous as “Black Lives Matter” as politics. It’s not political; it’s literally just a more concise way of saying “the color of our skin shouldn’t dictate the way we’re treated.” Of course, facts have never gotten in the way of white feelings, and…Read more...

I’ve been all about masks during the pandemic. Honestly, wearing my mask and glasses is the closest thing I’ll ever have to a secret identity, so I’ve had some fun with it. That said, now that I’m fully vaccinated and back to doing hoodrat shit with my friends (within reason, of course), I’m looking forward to when…Read more...

Barbz—ASSEMBLE!Read more...

Racism.

As you may or may not know, the month of May is nationally recognized as Mental Health Awareness month.

Attorneys for the family of a North Carolina man who was killed by law enforcement officers have asked the district’s top law enforcement officer to recuse himself from investigating and charging his coworkers because...did you even read the sentence?Read more...

As we continue to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Earl “DMX” Simmons, one of the primary ways he will live on is through his music.Read more...

You never forget your first love.

Whether it’s a debate about “good hair” versus “bad hair” or whether or not braids are an appropriate birthday hairstyle (yes, that happened), Black hair never ceases to be a wildly popular topic of conversation.Read more...

It wasn’t just the public that thought the officers who shot Breonna Taylor were in the wrong; apparently a couple investigators in the Louisville Metro Police Department felt the same as well. A recently released report revealed that the investigators determined that the officers involved in the shooting shouldn’t…Read more...

Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to Vice President Harris, put her reputation and her life on the line trying to propel then-candidate Joe Biden into the White House, so the least he could’ve done was throw her the White House press secretary job. But that job ended up going to a white woman, Jen Psaki, with no…Read more...

Mark Ronson, a human cheat code who’s more commonly known as “Your Favorite Producer’s Favorite Producer,” has joined forces with The FADER to bless us all with a new podcast, FADER Uncovered.Read more...

A lot has happened in Hollywood in the past few days, folks! The folks behind the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), recently announced their reform plan, following the—I really cannot put this any other way—PR nightmare of news surrounding the organizations reported diversity and inclusion…Read more...

Serena Williams is easily one of the greatest athletes of all time, and in serving double duty as one of the most decorated Olympians ever—her four medals (all gold) are eclipsed by only her sister Venus and Kathleen McKane Godfree, who each have five—it was a foregone conclusion that despite being 39 years old, she…Read more...

“Education, not incarceration.”

Rep. Jim Clyburn is a political juggernaut.

During Black History Month, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt tweeted, “We can never forget the tragedy that happened 100 years ago,” in reference to the 1921 race massacre in Tulsa, Okla.Read more...

New details have emerged regarding the senseless killing of 20-year-old rapper Pop Smoke. Last July, The Root reported that four suspects were charged with murdering the rapper, whose real name is Bashar Jackson, during a home invasion in Los Angeles. On Friday, a detective testified that the youngest among those who…Read more...

Cops be like: “Follow the law or pay the consequences! But also, if you hurt my feelings, I’m definitely going to break the law.”Read more...

By now, you must be aware of what I call the Republican war on blackness in education. GOPropagandists with GOPoor critical thinking skills have been GOPushing white fragility bills across the nation that would bar institutions of learning from implementing Critical Race Theory and/or The 1619 Project from being…Read more...

First, let me just say that I refuse to call this one a “Karen.” The internet has already dubbed her the “New Central Park Karen”—meaning she’s the uninspired sequel to Amy “Central Park Karen” Cooper that nobody asked for—but in this America where Black people have managed to force a spotlight on systemic racism in…Read more...

I want Mother’s Day to mean that Black mothers can have joy without the ever-present fear of violence and harm.

Another day, another mediocre white man joins the “You Bout to Lose Your Job” chorus line because he couldn’t keep his racism to himself.Read more...

In a just world, Mother’s Day would be a time when every person could freely choose how to express gratitude for the mothers, caregivers and the maternal figures in their lives. I imagine many people would choose to celebrate in different ways, from delicious meals, extra-long embraces and words that communicate how…Read more...

Booooy, when I tell you these white “educators” are going to learn to keep the names of Black victims of police violence out of their mouths.Read more...

The SEC might boast some of the most powerful programs in all of collegiate sports, but until Thursday, not a single school in the conference had ever had a Black president.Read more...

We talk about redlining like it’s a thing of the past, but like most of America’s racist systems it hasn’t really gone away—it’s just simply evolved. A Black homeowner in Indianapolis has filed a discrimination complaint after an appraisal on her house increased by $100,000.Read more...

Some great advice can go a long way, so building off of this premise, Spotify’s latest podcast, Best Advice, features both up-and-coming artists and legacy acts opening up about their successes and missteps throughout their careers. On each episode, guests reflect on the advice that they’ve received from mentors,…Read more...

Shortly after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the holder of Satan’s aux cord during long drives, was convicted in April for murdering George Floyd, Barack and Michelle Obama issued a joint statement noting, “Today a jury in Minneapolis did the right thing.”

Friday. The freakin’ weekend. The day that we all wake up looking forward to the moment our eyes open on Monday morning. As it gets warmer and we shift into a new season, the week’s music releases have been too good to wait until Monday. So I’ll be putting you onto the weekly hits to propel you through the weekend.Read more...

Can you imagine being an attorney for any of the hundreds of people who have been arrested for their participation in the melanin-not MAGA meltdown at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6? Imagine being tasked with finding clever, polite and professional ways to tell a judge that your client is a fucking idiot who believed…Read more...