It’s about to be a wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam bomb day for fans of Little Richard and Rick James!

The death penalty—a thing supposedly reserved for perpetrators of the most heinous crimes, typically involving intentional and cold-blooded murder—arguably makes sense in theory; but in practice, its flaws and potential for racial discrimination are undeniable. According to figures compiled by the NAACP, Black people…Read more...

Celebrities have been flinging themselves onto the front lines of Black Twitter with their unfounded COVID-19 theories, and you’d think Tyrese would’ve used the opportunity to not be the target of the platform’s trolling for once. Tyrese could’ve thrown in the tile in this ignorant COVID-19 discourse and slid by…Read more...

Anti-blackness and violent policing may have some of their most visible expressions in the U.S. given the nation’s outsized visibility on the global stage, but by no means are these issues limited to America. The latest evidence of this is the brutal treatment that Insecure actor Kendrick Sampson appears to have…Read more...

On Tuesday night, President Barack Obama returned to The Daily Show (also known as The Daily Social Distancing Show, because, appropriate) to discuss his new memoir, A Promised Land.

America sure seems to spend a lot of time correcting its history of racism and segregation by updating official records to reflect the 21st century. It’s a practice that tends to honor accomplished Black people posthumously with the recognition they should have been able to enjoy while they were alive. Still, it’s a…Read more...

A new bill proposed by a Democratic congressman seeks to create a publicly available federal database that tracks police misconduct allegations and settlements involving police misconduct cases at both the state and federal levels.

Amid increased scrutiny and pressure across media that have led to an unprecedented number of hirings, firings, and leadership roles for Black journalists and execs this year, Vogue and parent company Condé Nast seem to be making good on their promises to diversify their ranks and coverage. Since American Vogue…Read more...

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) has an idea that’s so stupid it actually might be goddamn brilliant!

As a harrowing video of Chicago Police conducting an erroneous home raid circulated around the country yesterday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot evaded questions about why her administration had attempted to prevent the bodycam footage from being released.Read more...

Jerking off is good! It can relieve stress. It can pass time. It can induce sleep. It can even help you finish your tax returns. Jerking off in front of people without their permission is bad! And jerking off in front of people without their permission while you’re at work is worse!

“Your body is perfectly yours, even if it ain’t perfect to anybody else.”

Socially distanced production is currently the safest way to go in this industry so I could imagine a platform like Audible would have ample opportunity to release a broad range of creative content during these unprecedented times.Read more...

If you still don’t believe that certain people are empowered to operate with violence indiscriminately in this country or that the repeated claims of voter fraud pushed by President Trump pose a danger to society, the case of former Houston Police Captain Mark Anthony Aguirre’s arrest on Tuesday for his alleged…Read more...

Once the president and his family are dragged from the White House, they’ve got to live somewhere, and considering how bizarre and meth-infused the last four years have been, there is really only one place for the Trump crime family to settle: Florida.

Every natural hair journey is unique, but few result in a Guinness World Record. The mane of Brooklyn, N.Y., fashion designer Simone Williams is defying the odds, breaking the record for largest afro (female) previously set by New Orleans native Aevin Dugas, with Williams’ natural halo measuring 4 feet, 10 inches in…Read more...

The first authorized Whitney Houston biopic has found its leading lady.Read more...

Our long national nightmare is over.Read more...

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Newly released body camera footage has provided details regarding the moments following the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County, Ga., on Feb. 23. The video shows officers questioning Greg and Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan directly after the shooting. Of course, all the body-cam footage really shows…Read more...

If there are three things I love in this life, it’s: good coffee, good dessert, and a good makeup day. The latter of which I’m proud to say has become quite the norm over the last few years, thanks to my borderline obsession with makeup tutorials (looking at you Jackie Aina). But as any beauty-lover knows, the type of…Read more...

A virtual talent show held for students at Sacramento State University was Zoom-bombed by two people who felt the need to drop racial slurs.Read more...

The topic of reparations is a touchy one...for white people. While the American government hasn’t touched the topic in a serious way, churches across the country are taking it upon themselves to try and make amends for the role they played in the slave trade.Read more...

For nearly two years, Anjanette Young has been trying to get Chicago police to account for the harm caused to her during a botched raid, in which officers broke down her door with a battering ram, handcuffed her and turned over her home. The entire time, Young, who had just stepped out of the shower when police showed…Read more...

Viola Davis is a force.Read more...

We have another Black-ass overall deal to announce!Read more...

If the ongoing pandemic has reignited your passion for reading (or simply deepened it), say no more, Fam. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter has already Decoded his lyrics in book form, but now, the company he founded will add to its (and his) multimedia entertainment empire, announcing a new publishing partnership with Random…Read more...

Bucks fans, have no fear. Giannis Antetokounmpo will be staying in Milwaukee after signing the largest deal in NBA history.

In some ways, 2020 has appeared to mark a turning point in the United States’ long ongoing racial justice movement. This year’s Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police helped galvanize a nationwide reckoning on race that brought greater attention to other…Read more...

In what continues to be some head-scratching shit, President-elect Joe Biden is expected to be nominate Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, which is the equivalent of being nominated as the secretary of transportation. Safe to say it’s not a glamorous position. Quick, name another Transportation secretary in…Read more...

In 2018, The Root embarked upon a mission to prove our commitment to the “It’s OK to be White” movement by honoring the notable achievements of America’s underwashclothed community. Despite owning more Grammys, Tonys, Oscars and Emmys for the music, art and culture created by Black folks, we tend to ignore the most…Read more...

In July, The Root reported that 43-year-old Calvin Horton Jr. was allegedly shot and killed by a Minneapolis pawnshop owner during civil unrest two days after the killing of George Floyd. As Horton’s family and their attorney, Ben Crump, took part in demonstrations demanding justice for Horton, police officials asked…Read more...

How many times can Beyoncé snatch my wig and throw it across the stratosphere? Let us count the ways. Actually—let’s not do that; we’d be here ‘til Inauguration Day. Instead, let’s take a look at this thread Twitter user Yonce Vocals dropped that perfectly showcases Beyoncé’s natural ability to upgrade a song from a…Read more...

Rep. Paul Mitchell, (R-Mich.) has had enough. And by enough, I mean that babies in cages didn’t bother him nor did a wall to separate Mexico from America. Mitchell wasn’t bothered by the president’s unwillingness to show his taxes or his use of public office to bash dissenters. Mitchell was apparently fine with the…Read more...

If you’ve been a loyal fan of the dulcet tones of our forever first lady, Michelle Obama, via her eponymous podcast on Spotify (with occasional guest appearances from her presidential partner), the digital music and podcast platform will now also have some royalty coming across their airwaves. Prince Harry and Meghan…Read more...

Fox, the original broadcast home of Empire, apparently isn’t too hungry for its breakout character, Cookie. Well, the network isn’t too interested in hosting her own leading series, that is.Read more...

Dec. 31 doesn’t just mark the end of 2020; it marks the final day that renters will be protected by the federal ban on evictions put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amid the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy and leaving millions of people unemployed and unable to pay…Read more...

As previously reported by The Root, Moonlight and When They See Us actor Jharrel Jerome is attached to star in an upcoming series from Boots Riley entitled, I’m A Virgo. Variety announced today that Amazon has given the green light for the series, though there’s no word yet on a potential release date.Read more...

When it’s a sport’s offseason and an athlete’s name trends as often as Kyrie Irving’s does—well, an athlete not named LeBron James—it’s usually because of an injury, a trade, or perhaps even some legal issue. Kyrie, however, seems to always be in the news because of...a podcast and a couple of creatively punctuated…Read more...

If you work from home (as many more of us do these days), you’re already well-accustomed to the struggle. Aside from the fact that you may no longer know when your workday begins and ends, your idea of a work wardrobe may now consist of tie-dyed sweat sets punctuated with the odd message tee or hoodie—and on the rare…Read more...

We all knew it was only a matter of time. The clock started ticking on Attorney General Bill Barr’s time in the White House the moment that he said that the election was fair.

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While there isn’t much that has been predictable or consistent this year, there is one thing that always delivers: hearing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” over and over during the holiday season.

Hey, real quick, do me a favor and have “Space Jam” by Quad City DJs playing the entire time you read this.

Deadline reports that writer-director-producer and Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry donated $100,000 last weekend to the legal defense fund of Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, a young ER technician tragically shot and killed in her own home by Louisville Metro Police officers issuing a no-knock warrant in…Read more...

I am very much a fan of virtual reality. While I mainly use my Oculus Quest to play Tetris Effect and live out my fanboy fantasies of skirtin’ in an X-Wing, the technology is capable of so much more than just spectacle-fueled gaming. Case in point, a group of programmers are working on games that allow users to…Read more...

It’s no secret that there has been a huge push for President-elect Joe Biden to appoint Black women to his cabinet. The incoming administration has already set the tone with Kamala Harris as vice president, not to mention having Symone Sanders and Karine Jean-Pierre on its all-women communications team. Most recently,…Read more...

As police and city officials continue to investigate the chaos that broke out during last weekend’s pro-Donald Trump rally in Washington, D.C., one Black Lives Matter organizer is calling out local authorities for their failure to properly enforce the protests.Read more...

After hundreds of years, white people have yet to develop a cure for racism—though it only took them nine months to create a vaccine for the coronavirus. (Oh wait, no they didn’t. They just like to credit for shit they shouldn’t.) This reinforces the widely held belief that they have alllllllllllllll the effort and…Read more...

It looks like the legal tussle between HBO and Michael Jackson’s estate over the highly controversial documentary Leaving Neverland, which accused Jackson of sexually abusing Wade Robson and James Safechuck when they were young boys, will be heard by an arbitrator.Read more...