The Root

Clubhouse, the invite-only social audio app, recently announced it has raised another $100 million funding round, led by Ben Horowitz’s a16z fund. The app is now firmly a Silicon Valley Unicorn, a private startup valued at over $1 billion. This is a meteoric rise for an app that launched amidst the pandemic in 2020,…Read more...

Black literature is something to be celebrated year-round but during this month of socially distanced debauchery, Black authors have set us bookworms up for success. On only the second day of February, many authors pulled out all of the stops and have given us memoirs, short stories, debut novels and untold stories.Read more...

Have you heard the story of President Joe Biden and the Great Stimulus Check?

On Wednesday morning Cheryl ‘Salt’ James and Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton of the iconic hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa co-hosted an episode of the Emmy-nominated daytime talk show The Real alongside regular hosts Loni Love, Adrienne Houghton and Jeannie Mai. (Newcomer Garcelle Beauvais was absent.)Read more...

Recreational leagues and amateur sports teams not only serve as the perfect opportunity for would-be professional athletes to live out their competitive dreams, but they also provide participants with an alternative for regular exercise and a mechanism to build camaraderie with potential life-long friends or business…Read more...

Y’all had fun Sundancing in your homes? Are there any new Sundance challenges on TikTok?Read more...

You’ve likely heard of the racial wealth gap, and you may have already seen its impact on your own family’s ability to accrue generational wealth. It’s the phenomenon of the average white family having about 10 times the net worth of the typical Black family in America. That gap has persisted due to disparities in how…Read more...

Be careful what you wish for.Read more...

On Tuesday night, the Critics Choice Association held their third annual Celebration of Black Cinema.

Ever since a national spotlight was put on police violence and systemic racism amid a wave of nationwide protests, cops across America have been big mad and big hurt. They feel they’re being treated as unfairly in the court of public opinion as Black people are treated in actual courts.Read more...

Nothing says traitor like the inability to spell the country you illegally governed (because Russian interference) for the last four years.

Y’all, it is time for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to present its 2021 nominees! This year’s Golden Globes ceremony is coming much sooner (in a panny!) than the other big one (the Oscars won’t air until April), so we actually don’t have much wait time from now until we learn who gets to flaunt their…Read more...

Easily doubling as both one of my favorite album covers of all time and one of the worst album covers of all time, Big Bear made sure he’d never be forgotten with the Pen & Pixel gem for his 1998 album, Doin Thangs. He also managed to land a fairly remarkable feat: I have literally never heard a single record from…Read more...

It’s disturbing that nooses, which are a well-known symbol of racial terrorism and violence in America, continue to be leveraged to terrorize Black people today.

I taught my last spin class at Push Pedal NYC on March 9, 2020.Read more...

Electronic Arts shocked gamers and sports fans alike on Tuesday morning when it announced out of nowhere that it would be bringing back the College Football franchise. Those hoping to officially play as their favorite college football stars, though, might want to lower their expectations.

Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m on the internet too much or if some people aren’t on the internet enough. I’m simply at a loss for how, in 2021, some whites are still posting blackface pictures on the internet and not expecting there to be consequences. A police officer in Tennessee has been reprimanded after posting a…Read more...

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police spurred an ongoing nationwide reckoning on race and intensified calls by Minneapolis residents for substantial police reform. Reform efforts have been underway in the city since last summer, with the latest policy change requiring officers to keep their body…Read more...

Marc Wilmore, the TV writer whose credits include In Living Color, The Simpsons, The PJs and F Is for Family, died last Saturday of COVID-19 and other health complications, his brother, TV writer and comedian, Larry Wilmore, announced Sunday on Twitter.

Featured Deal: Dyson V7 Motorhead (Refurbished) | $150 | WalmartRead more...

White supremacists in Georgia introduced legislation aimed at disenfranchising Black voters by restricting access to the polls. The eight proposed laws would—

It’s time for the 52nd NAACP Image Awards to give Black folks some flowers!Read more...

Amazon Studios has announced the cast for a new anthology series from Hunters creator David Weil.Read more...

There are certain things Black people don’t play with:

La, la, la, laaaaa, looks like we’re going to be waiting a bit longer for Kanye West to get his money right because reportedly, the way he’s been dispensing money (or not) is all the way wrong.Read more...

Fanny Neck Mitch McConnell sat there for four years as the Senate majority leader and never once condemned, commented, complained, castrated–or any other C-word–anything coming out of former President Donald Trump’s anus-shaped mouth.

On Tuesday, Netflix announced its latest project from actor, producer, and America’s freshest prince Will Smith and producer and comedian Larry Wilmore.

When it comes to combating sexism, Halle Berry believes it starts at home and should start young. Accordingly, the Oscar-winning actress and first-time director of the upcoming Bruised, debuting this week at the Sundance Film Festival, is already challenging problematic beliefs and rhetoric as they arise with her…Read more...

A familiar voice opens the trailer for the filmed reading of George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue. It’s the “Mother of Black Hollywood” Jenifer Lewis—in this case, portraying Johnson’s beloved grandmother and part-time guardian, better known to readers of the bestselling book as “Nanny.”Read more...

A Missouri man died in a hospital parking lot after his third attempt to get emergency medical treatment, his wife says.

Early Tuesday morning, a corpulent, fur-covered woodchuck waddled out of its rathole burrowed beneath the surface of facts, logic and common sense. As the blinding light of truth radiated on its dust-colored rodent skin, darkening the earth beneath the feckless furball, the assembled audience could see that this long,…Read more...

Way back yonder—in late 2018—I co-founded a book club with the owners of MahoganyBooks, Derrick and Ramunda Young. This was a no-brainer of a collaboration. For one, all of us are avid readers and they own a physical book store that focuses on books by and for Black people. It was an opportunity to bring our two…Read more...

All the brotha was trying to do was get his refrigerator fixed.

If there are two things Black people love to be, it’s the “right one” and the “wrong one.”Read more...

In response to the Trump-encouraged coup attempt in Washington, D.C., last month, Senate Democrats are drafting a resolution condemning white supremacy.Read more...

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez knew during the Capitol insurrection that she was a target. She knew this because ever since she took office, white supremacists, both in and outside of Congress, couldn’t keep her name out of their mouths.

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In the immediate aftermath of the officer-related death of George Floyd, countless corporations openly pledged to address racism within their workplaces and poured resources into supporting social justice initiatives throughout the country. And while those ongoing efforts have thus far yielded mixed results, there are …Read more...

It is once again Black History Month—that singular (and short) month of the year when America is called to recognize the tremendous contributions of Black Americans—and all manner of clever branding ensues. We have historian Carter G. Woodson to thank for this annual celebration of our legacy, but as Black Americans…Read more...

If you thought “don’t touch my hair” only applied to Black women, you’re sadly mistaken.Read more...

Atlanta rapper Silento (born Ricky Lamar Hawk), best known for his hit song “Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae),” was arrested and charged with murder on Monday in DeKalb County, Ga., in connection with the shooting death of his 34-year-old cousin Frederick Rooks, according to NBC San Diego.

If you listen to Black music and disco (or either/or, really) you know A Taste of Honey. They had a monster hit with “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” a song whose hook you can probably sing in your sleep (which I don’t recommend; people freak out over stuff like that).Read more...

It looks like Ryan Coogler will continue to bring both “di strenf” and di talent of the Black Panther to The Walt Disney Company.Read more...

Welcome to February, the Blackest month of the year! Okay, it may be the shortest month in the year (yes, even when we have a leap year, like we did last year), but there is twice the amount of Black-ass content. Of course, when you work at a Black publication such as the one you’re reading right now, this becomes an…Read more...

Have you ever encountered an act of racism that—even in America, the land of acts of racism—leaves you so confused you’re forced to ask, “But why though?”Read more...

Welp, it’s official! Black History Month is finally here, and I for one couldn’t be happier. Though I’m Black 24/7/365 and don’t ever need a set date to bask in that glorious fact—there’s something about the first day of February that makes me wanna pick out my fro, put salt (NEVER sugar) on my grits, moisturize my…Read more...

It’s officially Black History Month, and all I can say is that this month’s music is starting us off with a bang. The diversity of music produced and released is always astounding, and this week is no exception. Bringing us their A-game are artists who I wished I’d heard of sooner, artists I’ve been obsessed with for…Read more...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cops don’t need to be called to every emergency.Read more...

I got some real ass déjà vu right now, and no I’m not talking about the slept on 2006 Tony Scott/Denzel Washington banger. I honestly wish I was though, as that would be a lot more fun than talking about how Black people are still receiving coronavirus vaccinations at a lower rate than white people.

In case you’d somehow missed it, we’re now in Black History Month—and yes, still in a panny. For most of us, it’s now been almost a year spent largely on lockdown, and we’ve all had to pivot repeatedly to adapt. For some of us, the pivot has been literal; for many fitness enthusiasts, Peloton has been a blessing,…Read more...