The Root

Toots Hibbert, the Grammy-winning Jamaican singer behind seminal reggae tracks like “Pressure Drop” and “54-46", died on Friday.

Days after he hopped on Instagram to tell people to use “all the money” they’ve gotten from the government during COVID-19 to buy property, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has revealed that Atlanta rapper and frequent bloviator T.I. will have to pay the government a fat sum of money as restitution for his…Read more...

A groundbreaking constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to about 775,000 people with former felonies in Florida has been devastatingly undercut by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled on Friday that the would-be voters must pay all fines and fees they may owe to the state if they want to…Read more...

In Michigan, a reward has been put out for information regarding a series of alleged hate crimes perpetrated against a Black family.Read more...

South African shops are pulling TRESemmé products off their shelves after widespread protests over an online ad denigrating Black hair.Read more...

If the fashion industry’s wide variety of responses to our current—and very crucial—racial conversation have revealed nothing else, it’s that some folks were woefully unprepared to engage in this much-needed dialogue. In some cases, watching companies scramble to find the appropriate response or redress has been…Read more...

Today’s mailbag is dedicated to the people who inform Black people on how to overcome racism. That’s why we’re all here, right?Read more...

It’s no secret that amid the racial uprisings that began in earnest this spring were parallel reckonings happening across industries, including entertainment, retail, tech and media. In fact, in June, we reported on the complaints raised against several well-known media imprints as current and former employees bravely…Read more...

More than ever before, professional athletes have committed themselves to serving as catalysts for change. And while we’ve seen superstars like LeBron James launch voting initiatives, or rookies like Grant Williams create a mentorship program for Black and Brown youth, Houston Rockets forward Robert Covington and…Read more...

The family of Tamla Horsford, a 40-year-old mother of five, is speaking out for the first time about her mysterious death at a 2018 slumber party in Forsyth County, Ga.Read more...

Today is your lucky day because the fact that you’re reading this means you got a two-for-one special of trailers this week! Yes, we are back to regularly scheduled Friday programming. Let’s get to it...Read more...

Every single day, I encounter people who project their unresolved trauma out on everyone else each time they open their mouths.Read more...

A new study has revealed that despite being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Black people are underrepresented in clinical trials for a vaccine.Read more...

All four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd are scheduled to appear in court Friday, where they will request four separate trials because each officer’s version of events—and their interpretation of who was in charge at the scene—differ so greatly, reports the Washington Post.Read more...

Medicare administrator Seema Verma can’t be blamed for falling victim to the fantasy that is Instagram. Let he who has not overpaid for a Vetements sweater because the power of an IG influencer seeped into your pockets be the first to throw stones. And while most of us were spending our own money, Verma just so…Read more...

Regina King’s feature directorial debut may chronicle one epic night, but she has many prominent days and nights to follow as the buzz mushrooms into a cloud of pressure, anticipation and attention.Read more...

This Sunday, the good folks at Verzuz are bringing a “battle” most of us didn’t even know we needed: Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle. The stories alone should be amazing, but the jams, oh the jams! These two women have been present at cookouts, graduations, breakups (to makeups) to church and back. In honor (and…Read more...

The year 2020 is one for the books in terms of extra newsworthy events, so why not bring in the last few months by throwing it back to one of the major events of 2019 that just won’t go away?Read more...

About a year and a half ago, I was at a crossroads.

Bronzed, blond, and bodied—Mary J. Blige’s grow-up has been far more than a glow up. At 49, the Grammy-winner and Golden Globe and Oscar nominee might just be her best Mary yet, so if you’re one of those folks who think “sad Mary” is the best Mary, get over it and into the golden glory of the icon atop Health…Read more...

A cheap 2K webcam, a Razer Huntsman mechanical gaming keyboard, a Cornbread Hemp CBD sitewide sale, a dumpster fire enamel pin, a Cuisinart knife set, and a Jezebel X Bijoux Indiscrets collab lead Friday’s best deals.Read more...

Jamal Khashoggi was a Washington Post columnist who’d been critical of the Saudi kingdom and more specifically Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi, who was living in a self-imposed exile, traveled to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, to obtain documents for his…Read more...

The above header photo is from the year 2020.Read more...

One of the biggest issues facing meaningful police reform is the arbitration process. An officer could be fired for being a piece of shit but an arbitrator could say, “well, he wasn’t that shitty,” and order the officer to be re-hired. In New Hampshire, that exact situation is playing out but surprisingly, the local…Read more...

Much like the rest of the entertainment industry, despite all of the money and resources being thrown around, the wonderful world of podcasts is still very much a game of have and have nots—especially for Black creatives.Read more...

Like many film festivals, the March on Washington Film Festival (MOWFF) is typically held in a physical location (in MOWFF’s case, Washington D.C.) but in 2020, everyone is all about the pivot to virtual.Read more...

Residents of the Pleasure Ridge Park neighborhood in Louisville, Ky. woke up to copies of the Ku Klux Klan newspaper on their doorstep.Read more...

The Kenya Barris Cinematic Universe (KBCU) continues and this time, we’re focusing on the OGs!Read more...

As with many prominent athletes this year, tennis star Naomi Osaka has felt compelled to use her platform to spread social justice messages. After sitting out a semifinal match tournament last month in support of the Milwaukee Bucks’ wildcat strike, Osaka chose to draw attention to the victims of police brutality and…Read more...

The city of Richmond has done something that is sure to leave Proud Boys, Antifa haters, “Back the Blue” advocates and other Second Amendment enthusiasts in their G.I. Joe wannabe feelings. Virginia’s capital city has passed a law banning guns on public property during protests and other events.Read more...

Hey, you. Are you in the market for noise-cancelling earbuds? If you are, have I got a product review for you.

In 2002, Halle Berry became the first Black woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress, thanks to her work in the film Monster’s Ball. In the speech, she thanked Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne and Diahann Carroll for paving the way for her, and said she hoped that “every nameless, faceless woman of color” watching…Read more...

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.Read more...

Robert “RZA” Diggs is not only one of the foremost members of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, but he’s also proven through the years to be quite the astute businessman and entrepreneur. Alongside his older brother Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, RZA announced on Tuesday that Downtown Music Publishing signed a global publishing…Read more...

World-renowned journalist Bob Woodward has the distinction of being one of the only journalists (along with Carl Bernstein) who brought down a presidency, so I don’t know why presidents keep talking to him. That would be like Al Capone sitting down with Eliot Ness or the one white Atlanta Housewife sitting down with…Read more...

The Academy is changing—and we don’t just mean its members.Read more...

As if you didn’t already know, Michelle Obama is the gift that keeps on giving. Since leaving the White House, she’s written an inspiring bestseller—accompanied by the world’s biggest book tour and a stellar Netflix documentary, as well as produced award-winning content alongside her husband. Via their Higher Ground…Read more...

While Rihanna’s Navy could very well be awaiting the mythical ‘R9’ album until...Heaven only knows...at least they’ll have a new documentary about the superstar to hold them over.Read more...

With an ugly Eastern Conference Finals defeat at the hands of the Toronto Raptors still looming in the background, Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst had plenty of work to do prior to the NBA’s 2019-20 season.Read more...

A lot of people would mock the idea of sending social workers or mental health professionals to do a police officer’s job. For example, people who share memes like this:Read more...

In an Instagram post on Labor Day, Dr. Umar Johnson lamented that he would be able to build multiple schools for Black boys if we gave our annual grit money to him instead.Read more...

Say what you will about Barbara Lee, but one thing you can never accuse the California congresswoman of is backing down from a fight.Read more...

2020 has been a dumpster fire of a year.

With the kids (and many adults) back in school and Labor Day now behind us, it’s safe to say the best of summer is behind us, too—and though 2020 has set the bar for “best” pretty low, this season did deliver us some pretty stellar music, especially from Black women. Among the many bops that buoyed our…Read more...

“If only you knew” that this would happen...because “neither one of us” was expecting this!Read more...

In what can only be described as the most fuckity fuckshit coming out of September (I would love to say this year, but we all know that 2020 has been nothing but flaming hot fuckshit), the Department of Justice (run by the president’s fuckboy, Bill Barr) is moving to replace Trump’s personal legal team with DOJ…Read more...

It’s been nearly two months since Megan Thee Stallion was shot and subsequently hospitalized after a night out in Los Angeles. Last month during an emotional Instagram Live session, the chart-topping rapper told fans singer/rapper Tory Lanez was the one who pulled the trigger.Read more...

While a return to the NFL is unlikely, Colin Kaepernick has made his return to the next best thing: Madden.Read more...

The saga that began with a bold public plea to #TakeBackEssence seemed one step closer to ending as of Tuesday, as Essence released the results of yet another independent legal review, this time conducted by the law firm Morgan Lewis. The firm’s report appeared to quash claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, and…Read more...

There are those who believe that Black Lives Matter protests are inherently violent and that the violence always happens at the hands of liberal-left-Marxist-communist-socialist-Antifa hooligans. Those people will ignore report after report after report that shows white supremacists are responsible for much of the…Read more...