The Root

The event known as “the biggest night in music” has come and gone! There were some bumps in the road due to the global pandemic and a globally reported snubbing mishap, but the Recording Academy managed to pull it off.

The “back the blue” community would have us all believe that police brutality is a rare occurrence. But if that’s the case, why is it that many police officers appear to be comfortable discussing their own acts of brutality like it was common water cooler talk?Read more...

On Tuesday, The Root reported that Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, was permanently cleared of charges of attempted murder and assault of a police officer which he was initially charged with after the deadly raid that took Taylor’s life on March 13, last year.Read more...

Marvelous Marvin Hagler—a man who was so marvelous in his sport that he had his name legally changed to reflect it—died Saturday at age 66, according to his wife, Kay Hagler, who announced his death via Facebook.Read more...

A 70-inch Hisense smart 4K TV and a 25-pack of KN95 masks lead Sunday’s best deals.

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Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson—but not that Ron Johnson—is apparently one of the few GOPhers who is willing to just come right out and say that he’s racist AF.Read more...

Today marks exactly one year since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in Louisville, Ky., by reckless police officers who were executing a search warrant that should never have been issued. It’s also been just over five months since it was officially decided that no one murdered Breonna Taylor and that nothing in the…Read more...

By now, many of you have heard about the high school basketball game announcer in Oklahoma who definitely wishes Klan-sketball was a thing. A lot of people are upset at 44-year-old Matt Rowan for referring to members of the Norman High School girls basketball team who kneeled during the national anthem as “fucking…Read more...

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A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a Black teen shot and killed by Portland, Ore., police has ended with the city paying over $2 million to the family.

A Black man from Michigan is seeking financial compensation from the rental company Hertz, which he has accused of failing to produce a receipt in a timely manner that would have proven he had nothing to do with a murder he was convicted of.Read more...

Happy Friday, folks! This week’s list has a little something for everyone, no matter what you’re playing on. We got a fighting game, a platformer, and a whole-ass service, so let’s get to saving you some money.

“The biggest night in music” may come with some setbacks this year. In addition to having to reschedule the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony due to the global pandemic, there’s been some controversy about this year’s nominees—specifically, who isn’t among that esteemed list of musicians and artists.Read more...

Last summer, a group of Black peaceful protesters gathered outside an ice cream shop in upstate New York to protest its owner, David Elmendorf, for allegedly sending a series of racist texts and claiming he wouldn’t hire a Black person at the shop. Elmendorf responded by calling the police, claiming they threatened to…Read more...

It’s said that on the ninth day of creation, God got hungry and because it was late, the only thing open was a 7-Eleven, and God was forced to eat day-old taquitos, which made him vomit and thus, Florida was born.

I think it’s safe to say that Cameron Jerrell Newton didn’t have a particularly great 2020.Read more...

The family of George Floyd settled a civil lawsuit on Friday after the Minneapolis City Council approved what the family’s attorneys are calling the “largest pre-trial civil rights wrongful death settlement in U.S history.”Read more...

I’m sure we all pretty much expected some sort of ripple effect to come after last weekend’s interview special featuring Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey, but it’s seriously been a next-level nuclear bomb of news! Not a day (or moment) goes by without something else spawning from that interview and going…Read more...

America finally ended her abusive-ass relationship with Donald Trump—who, if you look back on all my writings about him, I never referred to as “president”—and I couldn’t be more grateful.Read more...

The Clapback Mailbag is over.Read more...

So I was soft-hedging off my man because I knew that the ball-hander would be coming off the screen looking to pass, not shoot. I’d played with him—and most of the rest of the people on the court that evening at LA Fitness—enough to know his tendencies. Whether he liked to turn to his right or his left shoulder when…Read more...

What does it feel like to be heir to a renowned legacy? For Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells, it has meant commemorating the life of the revered activist, educator and journalist in the towns she once called home—including her adopted home of Chicago—as well as preserving the writings of Wells,…Read more...

Ask any hoops head who’s the greatest New York Knick of all-time and you’ll get one of three answers: Walt Frazier, Willis Reid, or Patrick Ewing. (Jerome James is also an acceptable answer.) Yet despite being the centerpiece of the franchise for 15 years—13 of which the team made the playoffs—there are apparently…Read more...

The April 2020 shooting death of Michael Ramos in Austin, Texas, was one of those events that remind us that “back the blue” enthusiasts don’t know what they’re talking about when they say that as long as we follow police instructions, we are sure to walk away from a police confrontation alive and unscathed. It’s also…Read more...

The New York state assembly speaker has authorized an impeachment investigation into embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who knows good and damn well he should step his ass down.

Now that the second week of March has come to a close, I’m not sure what to be more excited about: the fact that we get to spring forward this weekend or the fact that the end of this seemingly never-ending quarantine may be closer than originally thought? While each option is enough to make me actually want to dream…Read more...

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Y’all already know that here at The Root, we like big books and we cannot lie. Accordingly, we love big book news from our extended family of writers and thought leaders—and the past few weeks have brought a few announcement that are, in a word, lit.Read more...

Last month, President Biden declared that he would not support student debt forgiveness and took a huge step backwards in fulfilling the pledges he made to Black voters and Black women during his campaign. When asked about Senator Schumer, Senator Warren and other lawmakers’ proposal to wipe out $50,000 per person of…Read more...

Imagine being a capitalist structure, yet fumbling the bag in the name of racism. Then again, capitalism is a system founded on white supremacy in and of itself, so I guess it tracks.Read more...

Never let it be said The Glow Up can’t spot an emerging trend. Back in January 2019, as Rihanna was debuting her first Valentine’s Day collection for Savage x Fenty, we wrote about the bad gal’s growing fashion and lifestyle empire, writing:Read more...

Of all the things that bring me joy, two things remain at the top of the list: Black movies and Black television shows. Why? Partially because most of the fun, laughable memories of my childhood can be traced back to a moment involving TV or film. The other reason is that I’m a creative at heart, and to see something…Read more...

Let’s get the obvious out of the way—we know the British monarchy is a racist institution. The U.K.’s royal family owes most of its riches (which currently amounts to over $28 billion, according to Forbes) to enslaving Africans and colonizing half of the world—including my home country, Jamaica, and, at one point, the…Read more...

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The latest instance of academic racism takes us to Georgetown Law, where a professor lost her job after making disparaging comments about Black students.

Over the last two years, the GOP has managed to lose the House, the Senate, and the White House, so obviously that means the party is going to learn from its mistakes, condemn white supremacy in the party, and craft policies that don’t fuck over anyone not rich, white, and male, right?Read more...

Following up on an internal email sent to Teen Vogue staff earlier this week, incoming editor-in-chief Alexi McCammond has published an expanded letter addressed to the Teen Vogue “community, staff, readers, writers, photographers, content creators and friends.”Read more...

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: A lot of white teachers have no business whatsoever teaching Black students.Read more...

With his political obligations in the rearview, our forever President Barack Obama has settled into a comfy life of content creation.Read more...

Some things get better with age...like the now 76-year-old designer and renaissance man Dapper Dan of Harlem, N.Y. (also the inaugural recipient of The Glow Up 50's “Dap Award,” a lifetime achievement honor we named for the fashion legend). But another male cultural icon recently hit a major milestone—Mattel’s Ken…Read more...

In an effort to avoid having an entire nation blasting Rihanna’s 2015 banger “Bitch Better Have My Money” during his televised address this evening, President Joe Biden has signed the COVID relief package a day earlier than expected.

A few years ago, my family took a trip to Atlanta to celebrate my nephew’s graduation from college. We all stayed with my older sister and, of course, various members of the family came through over the weekend.Read more...

Welp, it happened, Black people: Stacey Dash was finally able to Get Out.Read more...

I think we can all recall the exact moment when the coronavirus disrupted our day-to-day lives. And for many of us, that confusion, dread and uncertainty has lingered in the 12 months (and counting) since. Gone are mainstays like concerts or family nights at the movies, and they’ve been replaced by outdoor-only dining…Read more...

I don’t know my neighbors.

On Thursday, the Academy of Country Music announced the hosts for its 56th annual awards ceremony.Read more...

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin will face an additional charge during his trial in the killing of George Floyd.

As previously reported here at The Root, Just Mercy star Michael B. Jordan will be making his directorial debut with the third installment of the Creed franchise. And now it looks like we’ve finally got a premiere date!

Michelle Obama’s new show Waffles + Mochi drops next Tuesday on Netflix, and as she promotes her new gig, the mom-in-chief also gave some insight into the Obamas’ quarantine coping mechanisms during an exclusive video interview for the newest issue of People magazine.Read more...