At this point, I assess racial progress in America by asking myself one question: Is Rev. Jesse Jackson still getting arrested at protests?Read more...

One of the things I love about Twitter is that at any given moment, on any given day—you can find a myriad of “hot takes.”Read more...

One of the biggest revelations to come out of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s widely publicized interview with Oprah was that, in addition to concerns being raised about the skin color of couple’s firstborn son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, he was denied the title of prince by Buckingham Palace. But new…Read more...

I hope John Boyega is OK.Read more...

“People always say, ‘What made you want to write about race?’” says writer Kiley Reid. “I personally feel like you cannot theme your way into a plot. It has to be the other way around.”

Throughout the Boston Celtics’ illustrious 75-year history, there have been plenty of white coaches at the helm, but a surprising number of Black coaches have also been handed the keys to the franchise.Read more...

On Wednesday, elected officials and military officials met for a House Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss the 2022 Defense Department budget—at least that’s what it would have been if Rep. Matt Gaetz and other Republicans weren’t so hellbent on turning it into an anti-Critical Race Theory interrogation as if…Read more...

I wasn’t allowed to watch scary movies growing up.Read more...

There’s a lot that goes into assessing a professional athlete’s value.Read more...

That moment when a movie genre that typically doesn’t hold my attention preemptively snatches my wallet quicker than the fastest-gun-drawing cowboy in the wild, wild west. As The Root reported in September 2020, The Harder They Fall has quite the cast, “chock-full of some of the most exciting and talented Black actors…Read more...

Since 1866, Juneteenth has centered radical joy and serves as a reminder of what is at stake, and how critical our movements for liberation are.

As we reported yesterday, audiences can expect a new horror film about racist white people.

Michael B. Jordan may play the lead in Without Remorse, but in real life, he’s issuing an apology.Read more...

In a move that gets us one step closer to actually treating the incarcerated like people, Connecticut has become the first state to make prison calls free for inmates and their families.

One reason it’s important to study Critical Race Theory in America is that Black people always appear to be statistically disadvantaged when it comes to, well, everything—from employment to income to criminal justice to education to mortgage acceptance and homeownership—and CRT explores why that might be instead of…Read more...

Originally hosted by “The Podfather” himself, podcast pioneer Reggie “Combat Jack” Ossé, Gimlet’s Mogul, a Spotify Original, has undergone a series of twists and turns since its debut in 2017.Read more...

Senate Republicans blocked one of the widest-ranging federal attempts to strengthen national voting rights on Tuesday, preventing Democrats from advancing the For the People Act toward becoming federal law.

These days it can often feel like we’re in a never-ending cycle of violence, trauma, and general fuckery, so it’s always great when you come across a piece of news that’s just a certifiable dub for the culture. India Walton, a Black woman who ran for office for the first time in Buffalo, N.Y., is projected to become…Read more...

The multi-day celebration that is the 81st annual Peabody Awards continued on Wednesday with some well-deserved flowers for HBO’s I May Destroy You, the much beloved limited series created by and starring Michaela Coel, which won in the Entertainment category.Read more...

Nikole Hannah-Jones is letting it be known that she has had it with board members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dragging their feet in making the right decision in granting her tenure along with the five-year contract with the school that she accepted.Read more...

Ciara Princess Wilson’s light shines brightly.Read more...

If you think there “Ain’t Nobody’ on this planet that would pass up a Verzuz battle between Chaka Khan and Stephanie Mills, then I’m happy to inform you that you’re absolutely right.

Earlier this year, Marvin Scott III was suffering a mental health crisis in a Texas jail. Instead of trying to help him, the detention officers in charge maced him and put a spit mask over his face. Scott died shortly after the struggle. While most of the eight officers involved were fired after the incident, a grand…Read more...

When last we left Gwen Berry, the U.S. Olympic hammer thrower was dismissed and disgraced after raising her fist during the national anthem at the 2019 Pan American Games. In response to her decision to protest racial injustice in America, she was slapped with one year of probation for violating the International…Read more...

Kenya Barris spoke out on some things in a recent profile-ish.Read more...

The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) has announced the recipients for its Voice of Culture Award, The Root has learned.Read more...

As of Tuesday, most of the votes are in, but the winner of the Democratic primary for New York City’s mayoral race is far from decided. What we do know is that so far, the leading candidate is none other than Brooklyn borough president and former police captain Eric Adams. Between absentee ballots still yet to be…Read more...

Paul George had one job.Read more...

Grown-ish, starring Yara Shahidi, Trevor Jackson, Luka Sabbat, Halle Bailey, Chloe Bailey, Diggy Simmons, Francia Raisa, Emily Arlook and Jordan Buhat, is back this summer for its fourth season and the teaser trailer has dropped.Read more...

As a couple, travel is a huge part of our identity. While we were dating, we made it a point to take trips that were kind to our undergraduate and grad school budgets. Now in our fifth year of marriage and still considering ourselves honeymooners, we take trips that will deepen our love and our commitment to our…Read more...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that whenever a Black person does something, it’s usually cool and changes the world. Just look at TikTok. Or “Gen Z slang.” And, oh yeah, pretty much everything else.Read more...

“Enjoy the opulence.”Read more...

Sharpen your pencils and get ready to take notes because the newest MasterClass instructor is none other than LeVar Burton! If there was ever a person made for this teaching gig, it’s Mr. Burton!Read more...

One of the most frustrating things that arises when trying to talk about race is that white America seems to operate under the assumption that racism is literally just saying the N-word. As we all know, racism is often systemic and it can show up in places you wouldn’t even imagine. Take for instance traffic deaths.…Read more...

The still Mississippi courtroom was suspended in a silence that can only be accompanied by prayer when Mose Wright rose from his chair. He stood slowly, as if his 64-year-old back were being unbent by something up in heavens and pointed his unshaking Black hand.

When he’s not preoccupied with ruling the Billboard charts and collaborating with some of the biggest names in music, super-producer Mark Ronson is the host of the new podcast, FADER Uncovered.Read more...

It seems Chris Brown could still use a little guidance on how to keep his hands off of women and how to prevent frequent run-ins with the cops.

White people en masse seem to be on a crusade to fuck around and find out. Last summer, an Indiana man decided to fuck around and repeatedly racially harass his Black neighbor. He would soon find out he was committing a federal offense, as a judge sentenced him on Friday to 46 months in federal prison after he pleaded…Read more...

On Monday, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.Read more...

In Today’s episode of White People Are Crazy, rightwing talk radio host Michael Savage took his I-wanna-be-oppressed-so-bad ass on Newsmax, aka Republican Disney +, to turn the dial on his conservative Critical Race Theory paranoia up to 10 by declaring that the teaching of CRT is a slippery slope to *checks notes*…Read more...

Long before he was an award-winning designer and the creator of the “Bushwick Birkin,” 2021 The Glow Up 50 honoree Telfar Clemens emigrated with his family to the United States from the West African nation of Liberia in 1990. The then-5-year-old likely never dreamed that 31 years later, he’d be representing his home…Read more...

Last week, The Root reported that an unidentified Warren, Mich., police officer was under investigation after being accused of posting racist comments on Facebook. Were his alleged comments racist? Well, he reportedly declared: “Glad I wasn’t born [Black]. I would kill myself.” So yeah, I’d say this cop’s comments…Read more...

While it’s great that Juneteenth is finally receiving national recognition, it comes with the unfortunate downside of white people doing the absolute, goddamn most. Take for instance an Ikea in Atlanta that introduced a special Juneteenth menu that just screams “I had one Black friend...in high school...during…Read more...

On Tuesday, “Buy U A Drank” singer T-Pain found himself the topic of the Twitter streets after a clip from the new Netflix series This Is Pop went viral.Read more...

What’s the difference between American history and Black history? And why don’t we teach more white history?Read more...

I’m not sure when news anchors started engaging in the journalistic equivalent of releasing dis tracks, but Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and CNN’s Don Lemon have spent the last year or so cementing themselves as the Drake vs. Pusha T of the mainstream media world. (I was going to go with Dr. Dre vs. Eazy-E, but I have got…Read more...

You’ve watched them on TV, you sure as hell have seen them on your social media feeds, and there’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard their Webby Award-winning podcast, Dead Ass.Read more...

TikTok is a platform full of short-form content...but appropriation and colonization at the hands of white folks is long-form history.Read more...

Today’s piece is brought to you by the letter “T.” And no, that’s not a “T” for Trick Daddy.Read more...

Excuse me, I’m currently cosplaying as a crying white woman and am on the phone with the Hollywood police to file a complaint. Why? Welllllll...Read more...