The Root

Being a Black person in the film industry often means having to create your own lanes in a highway filled with whiteness.Read more...

A number of former Jeopardy! contestants are demanding action from the show’s producers following a recent disturbance from a current player that was caught live on television.

What does it cost a culture to ignore or outright deny its most marginalized and abused? One need look no further than America, which struggles under the weight of its hypocrisy each time it claims to be the “land of the free.” Simply put, it’s an integrity issue: How can you trust a country that refuses to prioritize…Read more...

The Department of Justice has charged three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery with hate crimes.Read more...

The huge success of Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special means that every possible way to milk that content will be explored. Hell, The Root (and I’m sure many other outlets) has gotten multiple stories and clicks out of it (including this one)!

At this point, I just need the Republican Party to admit that it’s the answer to the age-old question: Is there a heaven for a Klan member?Read more...

A few years ago, The Root’s Michael Harriot wrote what I consider to be a brilliant response to white people’s “Black-on-Black” crime narrative. In the piece, Harriot pointed out all of the most obvious things, such as the fact that the vast majority of violent crime that happens in America is intraracial and the fact…Read more...

You know, maybe it’s because I grew up in the Wild West era of Xbox Live voice chat, but I generally find the current crop of right-wing trolls and provocateurs more bemusing than offensive. I just can’t take a group of people calling folks snowflakes seriously when they get so in their feelings they do shit like…Read more...

Going into business with friends is almost always a recipe for an ulcer or seven. I’ve experienced it first hand in many of my own professional pursuits, and it’s quite clear that rapper-turned-media personality Joe Budden has experienced much of the same with his podcast, The Joe Budden Podcast.Read more...

Unfortunately, it should come as no surprise at this point that teachers can be just as racist as any other group of people. You would think working around kids all day would make you a little more privy to their technological prowess, but apparently that’s not the case, as a group of Black students at a private…Read more...

The widely popular and always hilarious weekly podcast The Read with Kid Fury and Crissle will be partnering up with Issa Rae’s record label Raedio for an all-new comedy album, The Root has learned.Read more...

A North Carolina judge has ruled that publicly owned footage of public employees killing a member of the public cannot be released to the public, citing stuff and things. Meanwhile, the district attorney fought the request from a coalition of media outlets by showing exactly why it should be released.Read more...

The funeral for Ma’Khia Bryant will be take place Friday at the First Church of God in Columbus, Ohio. For Timothy Clarke, the church’s bishop, the sadness of burying a victim of police violence has become all too familiar.

I have yet to experience the joys of retirement, but I would imagine that suddenly having so much free time on my hands would be a major adjustment.Read more...

Bzzzzz—you hear that? That’s the sound of Lil’ Kim reclaiming her time!

First, a prayer.

We know, we know—you’ll always love your mama....she’s your favorite girl (shoutout to The Intruders). But to quote another (world-famous) mama, what have you done for her lately? Mother’s Day is swiftly approaching (that’s May 9, if you’re nasty); if you believe your mother is the best to ever do the damned thing—and…Read more...

On Tuesday’s episode of Wendy Williams, former Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta star Joseline Hernandez stopped by to spill the tea on season two of Joseline’s Cabaret: Miami.Read more...

You know what white people hate more than Seinfeld’s ending? Admitting that America was and still is racist AF.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and there isn’t a bigger crown in professional sports than the one nestled on LeBron James’ head.Read more...

1. No one gives a shit

It’s hella rare that we regular folks get a glimpse into the lives of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, arguably one of the richest and most famous couples in the world (a billion dollars in an elevator, at last count). But now, thanks to a recent interview, that rarity is no more! Okay, maybe not no more, no more but at least we’ve…Read more...

There are white people who are racist, and then there are white people who are so dedicated to their racism that any mundane, non-offense will do when looking for excuses to lose their shit on a Black person.Read more...

When I recently wrote that legendary 90s R&B group Jodeci was unbeatable in a Verzuz battle, I truly didn’t think it was controversial or even much of a debate. I thought, like I do with most of my thoughts, that I was just writing down that which was obvious...but not written down. I was getting my facts on.Read more...

On Wednesday night, President Joe Biden will address Congress and reportedly unveil a $1.8 trillion plan to aid social welfare and family assistance programs that will try and do the heavy job of lifting America out of poverty.

If you’ve ever watched a movie or TV clip with Leslie Jones’ commentary in the background—you probably realized in that moment you couldn’t watch movies or TV normally ever again. Your movie and experience had been forever changed and elevated.Read more...

As Black History Month segued into Women’s History Month this year, a new platform emerged, centered solely on the vulnerable intersection of those two identities: We, As Ourselves was launched to center Black female and femme survivors of sexual violence and compel a culture in which they can be heard and supported.Read more...

It seems like a combination of forever ago and just yesterday when the word “entanglement” became an elevated term in pop culture, thanks to Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith’s appearance on Jada’s show, Red Table Talk. To refresh your memory, social media went ablaze when August Alsina revealed he’d had a prior…Read more...

All these brothas wanted to do was have some IHOP for lunch, but a white woman came in and messed up their meal.

For two long years, former NFL linebacker Geno Hayes fought as hard as he could in his battle against liver disease. Sadly, ESPN reports that while awaiting a liver transplant, he died Monday evening. He was 33.Read more...

Good news, everyone! The CDC announced on Tuesday that people who are fully vaccinated will no longer need to wear masks when engaging in small-scale outdoor activities.

I guess all it took was lawmakers, current and former service members, as well as members of law enforcement to attempt an insurrection for white people to realize that crazy, racist assholes exist in all fields of work. The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that it would begin an internal review to…Read more...

On Monday, a Los Angeles judge ruled to dismiss a 2013 lawsuit brought against two of Michael Jackson’s entertainment companies by now-38-year-old choreographer Wade Robson, Fox News reports.Read more...

Attorneys for a North Carolina man killed by police say an autopsy and newly obtained footage confirms that he was ambushed by local deputies before being struck by five bullets, the final one piercing the back of his head. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened an inquiry into whether federal laws…Read more...

The older I get, the more I seem to struggle with finding the answers to life’s most plaguing questions.

On Sunday, Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert and the most-hated doctor by Republicans who don’t believe in flossing their single tooth, noted that people can minimize mask use outdoors.

If I told you that a former Trump adviser filed a lawsuit claiming that white people were being discriminated against, how long would it take you to come up with Stephen Miller, and why did it take less than two seconds?

I have a Black dog.Read more...

In light of the recent death of beloved New York rapper Earl “DMX” Simmons, his home state has decided to set a day aside to honor his life and legacy.Read more...

Because we live in a white supremacist, capitalistic society in which Black people audition for their humanity on a daily basis and are routinely denied the luxury of police de-escalation tactics, the officer-related shooting murder of Ma’Khia Bryant is somehow a polarizing topic.Read more...

Tarana Burke will never stop centering Black women and girls in her work. Those of us who’ve followed the founder of ‘me too’ since before its global recognition know its initial iteration was as a vehicle to support Black and brown communities—particularly the women, girls and femmes who’ve so often proven most…Read more...

Fox News is the place where racism goes when it needs some alone time. Fox News is the grease on Matt Gaetz hair. It’s the oil sheen in Rand Paul’s white man jheri curl. It’s Republican OnlyFans.

A Texas appeals court will begin to hear arguments on Tuesday in the case of Amber Guyger, the Texas cop who shot and killed Botham Jean in his own home in 2018.Read more...

For many fans of the late Chadwick Boseman, his Oscar loss left a bad taste in my mouth—not because of the loss itself, but because of the seemingly manipulative way it all played out.Read more...

On Sunday night, Daniel Kaluuya took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Black Panther Party Chicago Chairman Fred Hampton in the Shaka King-directed film Judas and the Black Messiah.

For the first time in House history, a Black person will assume the role of the chamber’s chief law enforcement officer.

If you’re a sports organization, your home opener is kind of a big deal. Not only does it kick off your season, but it helps establish expectations for the year moving forward. It sets a tone for your entire franchise and is the culmination of grueling offseason preparation. So if you’re gonna make a statement, your…Read more...

When it comes to our deodorants, some of us are recognizing that what we’ve been doing for years just isn’t working for us anymore. Have you noticed your deodorant is no longer making you feel safe to be around people? Do you feel like a musty mess? Do you know for fact you put your deodorant on today, but for some…Read more...

A four-time Grand Slam champion now has gold on her mind. Naomi Osaka, currently the highest female paid athlete, has now made good on her recent tease to “watch this space”; on Tuesday morning, it was reported that the tennis phenom, who already has partnerships with Nike and Louis Vuitton, will soon launch a…Read more...

My mama and aunties always said, “what doesn’t come out in the wash, will come out in the rinse.” Well, it looks like that may be true in the case of the 2004 controversy surrounding Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl halftime show. Though there were two people on that stage, let’s just say one of those…Read more...