The Root

In Ashland, Oregon, a white man was arrested and is suspected of fatally shooting a Black teen in a motel parking lot Monday morning following a heated altercation that, according to authorities, started over loud music.Read more...

Remember zines? Okay, maybe we’re dating ourselves, but younger versions of The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton and I (Managing Editor of The Glow Up, Maiysha Kai) were early fans of the format, maybe even producing a few zines of our own. (Okay, that definitely happened). Historically, zines organize various…Read more...

“Any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king” - Tywin LannisterRead more...

By the time you read this blog, you are probably overcoming the ‘itis—but it’s cool because we don’t have anywhere to go anyway! Sink back, lean into that ‘itis and enjoy your leftovers (they taste better because the seasonings had time to marinate, you know?) Want something to watch while you eat? I got you...

There have been few bright spots to celebrate in 2020—and even those have often been bittersweet. Take, for instance, the unprecedented uptick in interest in Black-owned businesses and creators (something we’ve always been invested in, but we digress) since non-Black America suddenly seemed to wake up to the…Read more...

Every once in a while, I think to myself: “You know what? Maybe I use the word “caucasity” too often in my writing.” But every time I have that thought, a fresh white person surfaces and reminds me that it is not me who uses the word too much, it is white people who perpetrate acts of caucasian-flavored audacity too…Read more...

It’s easily arguable that American society isn’t very forgiving to people who have committed crimes. For Black people and people of color especially, it often seems like rehabilitation is a concept the criminal justice system accepts in theory—not so much in practice. It’s easily arguable that America is a nation that…Read more...

Dallas Cowboys strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul died Wednesday night at the age of 54 after suffering from a medical emergency at the team’s practice facility in Frisco, Texas, on Tuesday.Read more...

A former student has sued an Illinois high school, citing multiple racist incidents he experienced and observed during his time at the school.Read more...

This holiday season is unlike any that we’ve ever faced.Read more...

Last year I spent Thanksgiving with—wait for it—17 people crammed into a two-bedroom, one-bathroom Jersey City apartment where the festivities spanned over the course of two days with enough food for each person to take home a to-go plate and still leave the host enough to last through the next week.Read more...

The first Black woman to serve as a U.S. senator, Carol Moseley Braun, has been out of public office for nearly 20 years. But she’s hoping to make a return to government—in President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet, nonetheless—with an unlikely position: Secretary of the Interior.Read more...

“Back the Blue” advocates would have you believe that the “defund the police” rallying cry is a call to end policing in America outright. While there certainly are those who wish to abolish the police, “defund the police” is a call to take some of the funding normally granted to police departments and allocate them to…Read more...

We are coming up on Thanksgiving weekend and the streets are buzzing about another Saturday/Sunday namesake—The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye).Read more...

Okay, okay, okay...we know this is a loaded topic this year, trust. Too many of us will not be partaking in the home cooking of our nearest and dearest this Thanksgiving (and arguably, too many are risking it all by doing exactly that, but that’s another post), and in an already incredibly difficult year, yes, that…Read more...

In 2017, 11-year-old Honestie Hodges made national headlines after a horrific confrontation with Grand Rapids, Mich., police, in which they handcuffed the little girl at gunpoint at her home. The incident led to a new policy dictating how the department would interact with minors.Read more...

“It could be worse” seems to have overtaken the many versions of “I’m fine” on the list of the most common responses to “How are you doing?” Understandable, considering that we’re in a global pandemic and just responding with “I’m fine” feels both disingenuous and insensitive. But while “It could be worse” is…Read more...

When the NBA made its triumphant return in July after COVID-19 tried its best to steal our joy, it looked like nothing we’d ever seen before.

The mayor of Florida’s Broward County has proposed a task force that would address issues of systemic racism.

Happy Friday-ass Wednesday, y’all! This Thanksgiving is going to be kinda meh as a result of the pandemic limiting our ability to gather. You know what isn’t meh though? Saving money on video games.

Thanksgiving hasn’t even come yet and one Black man in North Little Rock, Ark., has already been on the receiving end of racism over Christmas decorations displayed in front of his home.Read more...

A Michigan college professor has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into tweets that appear to show that, despite being a science professor, he hates science and has a bit of contempt for Jewish people. One thing he loves, though, is the n-word.Read more...

Who doesn’t love a little light pettiness?

Luke Cage creator Cheo Hodari Coker is set to write the film adaptation script for Forty Acres, based on the novel of the same name by Dwayne Alexander Smith. The film is in early development at Netflix and will be produced by James Lassiter, Jay-Z, Aaron Kaplan (Kapital Entertainment), Niles Kirchner and Bill…Read more...

In what can only be described as a vaudevillian act of racist proportions, President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, the dumber to the president’s dumb, are allegedly traveling to Pennsylvania on Wednesday for a meeting about election impropriety that didn’t happen.

In a Deadline exclusive, NBC announced the development of its new musical comedy, Dream. Former Glee star Amber Riley is set to headline as well as executive produce. The music-driven series comes from Black-ish writer-producer Lisa Muse Bryant and will also be produced by Neil Meron (who previously worked with Riley…Read more...

A sale on Amazon Echo devices and bundles of knit caps lead Wednesday’s best deals.

When it comes to living American presidents, it’s indisputable (and infuriating, if you’re Donald Trump), that President Obama remains the leader who retains the most influence and goodwill in the global sphere. On Wednesday, PEN America recognized the indelible impact of our favorite president to date, announcing …Read more...

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This pandemic hasn’t exactly given us much to celebrate, so for the Memphis Grizzlies’ upcoming season, they’ll be relishing the team’s bright future by taking a bit of a voyage into the past.Read more...

In the crush of a year that began with “Megxit” (which now feels a million years ago) and has since devastated us in myriad ways, there has barely been a moment to catch our breaths between fresh onslaughts of grief (ironic, since so many of us have found ourselves with unprecedented time to reflect). But as Meghan,…Read more...

Man, Black folks have really kept their foot on history’s neck, and I love to see it. In the latest bit of history making, both of the Democratic caucuses in Georgia’s state legislative chambers will have Black leadership for the first time.

To say we’re ready to be done with 2020 would be an understatement—this year has been a ride on this crazy, careening planet called Earth. With the world seemingly on fire, it’s no wonder some of us have turned our attention to more celestial pursuits, whether losing ourselves in the less-than-earthbound fantasies of …Read more...

It’s incredibly sad to me that a cop being charged for on-duty homicide is a first in 2020, yet that’s exactly what happened in the case of a San Francisco cop who shot an unarmed Black man almost three years ago.Read more...

Another day, another instance of the legal system plainly disregarding the rights of transgender people. A trans woman has sued the Georgia Department of Corrections for the second time, alleging that correctional officers have failed to protect her from abuse.Read more...

In a recent conversation with People magazine about his new memoir, A Promised Land (maybe you’ve heard of it?), former President Barack Obama shared that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, were among the millions of Americans who participated in racial justice protests this past summer.Read more...

Steve King—the white nationalist who can’t understand why people keep calling him a white nationalist and won’t accept “BITCH, BECAUSE YOU’RE A WHITE NATIONALIST” as a credible answer—is a man who has quite the track record of reaching near-unprecedented levels of caucasity. This is a man who once essentially argued: …Read more...

We aren’t your moms—but we love up on you like you’re our own. We’re always here with an ear and ready to come through in the clutch. We give the best hugs, the best advice, and the best gifts. We know how to turn up—but always hold you down. We’re your aunties...and what have you done for us, lately?Read more...

WTF was Mike Pence doing there? No, seriously. What in the hell was the outgoing vice president doing at Trump’s 90-seconds press conference when people from his home planet of Abstinencia were trying to reach him out in Utah?

In a past life, retired NFL star Marshawn Lynch once warned younger players to “take care of y’all chicken,” and now, months later with his playing days in the rear-view mirror, he’s since moved on to spreading the gospel with a different bird altogether.Read more...

Netflix has removed the often controversial, yet ever-popular sketch comedy series Chappelle’s Show from its streaming platform at the request of Dave Chappelle himself.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told New Yorkers not to have people over during Thanksgiving. We are in a fucking pandemic after all and having people outside of your household, even during the holidays, isn’t safe.

High levels of distrust toward the federal government—as well as a knowledge of historic medical abuses in the Black community—can hamper efforts to get Black Americans to take a free coronavirus vaccine, should one be available, finds a new study.Read more...

A white man was arrested in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday because he apparently thought “racists are dangerous” was too much of an understatement and decided to show that “untethered from reality” is a more accurate descriptor—at least for him. The man is accused of waving a chainsaw at a Black woman and using racial slurs…Read more...

Y’all, we have made it toward the end of the year, which means the formally designated awards season (not just the informal awards season that pretty much happens all year in Los Angeles because...Hollywood) is here! First up, we’re getting Grammy nominations!

If you’re the Cincinnati Bengals (or Miami Dolphins), you woke up Monday morning with way more questions than answers after rookie phenom Joe Burrow tore his knee apart on Sunday against the Washington Football Team.Read more...

Black Friday is hitting a little different this year, and for your sake and everyone’s, we hope you plan on doing any deals shopping online. Luckily, retailers far and wide are lining up to grab your attention with amazing deals, and they’re starting even earlier than usual. We’ve seen loads of great Black Friday dealsRead more...

While she may not be hosting the Grammys this year, the talented, Grammy-winning songstress Alicia Keys is still staying busy. MasterClass has announced that Keys has joined the streaming platform to teach songwriting and producing. She’ll also be breaking down her personal philosophy for channeling vulnerability,…Read more...

From the outside, singer-entrepreneur Ciara’s latest pregnancy looked aspirational: She teetered through a pre-pandemic awards season in couture gowns, cradling her growing belly for photo ops. And as the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus changed all of our lives, the Wilsons seemed to take it in stride, sharing…Read more...

Thank you, President Trump for raising the sun this morning and keeping my car console fully stocked with throw-away masks. Thank you for the Supreme restock on the Air Force 1s, and thank you for Starbucks unlimited supply of chocolate croissants.