The Root

Tim Fielder is a force of nature. His enthusiasm for life is evident in his consistent booming laughter and the kinetic energy of his 6’4 frame as it grabs you in the friendliest bear hug. He’s the type of guy who remembers meeting your mama at a conference for five minutes and then shows her love the next time he…Read more...

Ain’t no way in the world this monthlong series would pass without a nod to one of the greatest albums ever that also happens to feature Michael Jackson at his Blackest. 1979's Off The Wall is a certified classic. It’s the album that launched Thriller. But the cover let’s you know it’s about to be the jams. Mike has…Read more...

It all started over the past year when like many of us, I made a very hard turn into damn near exclusively buying clothing pieces by and for Black people. While I’ve always been very much into F.U.B.U. as a philosophy (while oddly never buying an actual FUBU apparel) my Buy Black meter hit an all-time high.…Read more...

Dyson Ball MultiFloor Upright Vacuum | $220 | Best Buy

I know you read that headline and thought “OK, but isn’t that generally Los Angeles policing as a whole?” You’re not wrong, but a group of deputies have alleged that there are functioning gangs embedded within law enforcement that target Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Republicans don’t want non-Republicans voting. This statement is as factual as “Two plus two equals four.”Read more...

It’s been going on close to two months since the redneck Taliban attacked the U.S. Capitol building because the Republican mafia led them to believe the 2020 election had been stolen. But the FBI is still identifying and arresting people suspected of taking part in the whiney and wrong wypipo war on non-MAGA votes. A…Read more...

Well folks, it seems that we’ve come to the end of this year’s Black History Month Road—but I can’t let you go just yet without providing another installment of virtual events to help you say goodbye the right way. However, there is good news to report! Next month is Women’s History Month—or as we call it, “Black…Read more...

White folks are so desperate to be oppressed that a simple plea to be considerate of the feelings of others is seen as a slight against their constitutional right to be an asshole. Staff and students at a Massachusetts middle school rallied behind their principal on Wednesday after he faced racist backlash for asking…Read more...

Finally, all my years of “thugging” have paid off! I’m getting my own law!Read more...

The first-ever Black media empire, Ebony, is getting its own documentary. Lisa Cortés (All In: The Fight For Democracy, The Apollo) will direct the film and Academy Award and Emmy Award winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams’ (The Apollo, Life Animated) will produce via One Story Up. Cortés will also produce, as well.Read more...

Earlier this month, we reported that Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks are experiencing a bit of marital strife. At the time, they weren’t quite sleeping in separate beds yet, but I could imagine Russell was bad-mouthing the organization in front of their kids and those Sunday dinners got awkward as hell.

The U.S. Capitol is still at risk of a domestic terrorist attack—potentially one even bigger than the violence white supremacist extremists targeted the halls of Congress with on Jan. 6.

Halle Berrrrrry, Halle Berry! (For all my Hurricane Chris fans, that was for you.)Read more...

Remember when music videos used to play on television? Of course you do, because nostalgic internet users talk about it all the time, often with wistful sighs.Read more...

“Defund W Magazine!” exclaimed The Root’s contributing entertainment writer Shanelle Genai on Thursday, after seeing the most recent images released from W’s annual “Best Performances” issue—which we should note is a bevy of Black excellence. In truth, we’ve been clowning the cover story for days, a side-eye turned …Read more...

January brought big news to the business world, as Starbucks COO Roz Brewer was named the new CEO of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, making her the only Black woman to currently helm a company in the Fortune 500 (and only the third, after former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns and Ursula Burns and Bed Bath & Beyond Interim CEO…Read more...

Once upon a time, back when black and white TVs were still a thing and the 3-point-line was not, there was a bad motherfucker who played for the Minneapolis Los Angeles Lakers.Read more...

Since the very start of late night television talk/variety shows (Broadway Open House was the first to air in a late night slot in 1950 on NBC), we’ve all become accustomed to watching a succession of white men sitting at a desk and interviewing famous folks—after warming us up with a relevant monologue, of course.Read more...

White fragility is a hell of a drug.Read more...

There are only a few things harder than getting your hands on Trump’s tax returns. The first is getting Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder not to objectify his cheerleaders. The second is having fewer commercials for Coming to America 2. The third and probably most difficult is getting Jared Kushner not to look…Read more...

The recent revelations of a Pentagon report sent to Congress ahead of the 2020 election probing white supremacy in the ranks of the U.S. military back up Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent “stand down” order tasking the armed forces with addressing the urgent problem.

I know that I was in full cape mode for all of President Joe Biden’s picks when I learned that Republicans were being extra hard on those of color. Then I learned about Shalanda Young, and sadly it has made Neera Tanden’s bid as the director of the Office of Management and Budget expendable for me.

If you haven’t been listening to The Ringer’s Higher Learning, co-hosted by Van Lathan—who might be taking home an Oscar very soon—and The Bachelorette alum Rachel Lindsay, you’ve been missing your blessing.Read more...

Barry Jenkins, the masterful director behind the Academy Award-winning Moonlight and Academy Award-nominated If Beale Street Could Talk, is teaming back up with A24 for an all-new feature, directed by Raven Jackson.Read more...

Dear Mr. Carlson,Read more...

Black joy is unmatched.Read more...

There is no such thing as “white people.”

The cover for jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock’s debut album, 1969's Black Woman, could have easily doubled as a movie poster for the 1970s version of Queen & Slim. The photo taken by Ray Gibson (with design by Haig Adishian) features Sonny and his wife and frequent collaborator—until their divorce—Linda Sharrock lookin’…Read more...

Can you be attracted to your own beard? Not the face it covers. Just the beard. My face is fine, I guess. It’s a nose and some eyes and a mouth, like most faces. I’m grateful for it. But I’m not, like, thinking about boning it, like the way I’d try to bone my Chewbacca pandemic beard, if such a thing were possible and…Read more...

The leading character of the 1995 neo-noir mystery Devil in a Blue Dress, Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is getting his own TV series. Originally portrayed in the feature film by Denzel Washington, Rawlins is a character created by author Walter Mosley and is featured in his bestselling books.Read more...

Lord, I come before you this evening asking that you grant me the strength you gave Jamie Foxx when he ended Doug Williams’ whole career. Apparently, I woke up in 2006 today because a string of recent carjackings has led an Illinois state legislator to call for Grand Theft Auto to be banned.Read more...

Proving once more they’re the biggest snowflakes of the bunch, a group of unknown vandals repeatedly shot two historical markers in Georgia dedicated to Jackie Robinson and victims of lynching.Read more...

Another COVID-19 vaccine is likely to hit the scene in the coming weeks, hopefully hastening the day when the nation (and world) can get on the other side of this horrendous pandemic.

Always Pan | $145 | Our Place

Former Desus & Mero writer and comedian Ziwe Fumudoh will be making her small screen debut soon, thanks to Showtime.Read more...

Black Lives Matter is multiple things; it’s a statement, a movement, a network of local organizations and a global network. Like anything that is a lot of things all at once, BLM has seen its share of messaging issues and clashes between activists and organizers with different visions of what the movement is and…Read more...

Aside from being exceptional athletes, the WNBA is full of players who’ve made it their mission to serve as catalysts for change. That’s why the league’s latest partnership should come as no surprise.Read more...

Illinois on Monday became the first state to eliminate cash bail, the system under which people are kept in jail without being convicted of a crime—simply because they cannot afford to pay bail.

“Be less white.”Read more...

Over the past several years, we’ve increasingly been asked to listen to, believe, trust and protect survivors of sexual violence—and coincidentally, to do the same for Black women. Hopefully, we’ve been doing so; but what would it look like to create a truly safe space for open, honest and supportive conversations…Read more...

In the 1980s TV series Fame, Debbie Allen, as Lydia Grant, famously implored her dance students to start paying the cost of fame in sweat. Years later, that energy is still present and accounted for in the real life of the actress, dancer, choreographer, director, producer and all-around entertainer.Read more...

Jazz singer Billie Holiday was unequivocally a Civil Rights icon, but history doesn’t remember her as such.Read more...

Nobody likes to get snubbed.

Editor’s Note: The Rise of the Black Superhero is a three-part series breaking down the past, present and future of Black superheroes across comics, film, and tv. This is part 2

Spike Lee will once again be back in his movie-making bag for Netflix, this time partnering up with See You Yesterday director Stefon Bristol for a second time.

New York City’s skyline is arguably the most recognizable in the world, with the cinematic scenes of skyscraper clusters throughout much of Manhattan. Nestled in between those tall buildings are communities made up of small businesses and people who fuel the lifeline of the city. One could argue that they function…Read more...

If you’re immersed in the TikTok world, you are intimately familiar with challenges. Whether your challenge is being a savage or a renegade, throwing it down to bussit or even swaying sexily to a silhouette, a TikTok user is always down to create trendy content.Read more...

Harry Belafonte, the artist and activist who played a pivotal role in the fight for Civil Rights, will be celebrating his 94th birthday on March 1. In true quarantine fashion, he’ll be celebrating via virtual celebration and let’s just say the guest list is BOMB AF.Read more...