The Root

It isn’t like hot windbag and white hotep—he even wears bowties—Tucker Carlson to want proof before spouting out wild conspiracy theories in support of his president for life, Donald Trump.

Jason Reynolds famously didn’t read a novel cover-to-cover until he was nearly 18. At 36, he is one of the preeminent—and most prolific—young adult authors of this or any other generation, earning accolades and awards and carving a niche for both himself and an oft-overlooked demographic of would-be readers just like…Read more...

A Virginia high school is divided this week after a chemistry teacher was suspended for using a George Floyd pun for a student quiz, with students of color saying they felt unsafe as a result of the casual reference and white students complaining that the entire incident has been overblown.Read more...

We survived Gucci Mane Verzuz Jeezy, y’all. In fact, it looks like there were no actual casualties...other than our peace of mind. Sure, things turned out fine in the end, but the super tense lead-up? Yeah, I’m still recovering…Read more...

Y’all won.Read more...

It remains one of the most striking demonstrations from a year defined by protest: tens of thousands of people dressed in white t-shirts, wearing white face masks and white head wraps, from all backgrounds, all marching the streets in defense of Black trans lives.Read more...

Extra extra, read all about the extra sizzling hotness coming your way on Friday!Read more...

President Trump lost the election.

The year 2020 has been tragic for myriad reasons—and a terrifying one for the transgender and non-gender-conforming community, which has lost 37 lives to violence this year, the majority of which were Black and Latinx transgender women. It is a staggering statistic rightfully called “an epidemic of violence” by USA…Read more...

There are a few notable figures in Black Hollywood who we all attribute to the “No Sleep” gang—Beyoncé, Issa Rae, Ava DuVernay, Tiffany Haddish...just to name a few. These folks are always in the news announcing a huge project, leaving the rest of us to wonder—when the hell do they ever get any sleep?

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Remember (RED)—or rather, Product (RED)—the philanthropic retail campaign co-founded by U2 frontman Bono that was wildly popular in the early aughts for its cleverly branded product lines? While its once-splashy profile may have become less so in the intervening years, the charity’s reach and impact have only…Read more...

Classy, bougie, ratchet (yeah). Sassy, moody, nasty. Megan Thee Stallion is a lot of things—as is her debut collection for Fashion Nova, which debuted on Wednesday. Ahead of the release, Meg boasted that the line would have “better representation” than most, specifically pointing out the size-inclusivity of her…Read more...

Throughout the year, the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the recession it spurred have disproportionately hurt Black and Latinx communities across the country. A new study from the nonprofit Me Too has found that survivors of sexual violence in these communities have been particularly vulnerable to…Read more...

Kyle Rittenhouse—the teenager from Antioch, Illinois, who was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of two people and the injury of a third during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wis., on August 25—said in his first interview since his arrest that he bought the assault rifle he…Read more...

Dashcam video depicting what led up to two Black teens being fatally shot by two Florida deputies last Friday has been released.Read more...

Poor Klay Thompson, y’all. For the second year in a row, the Golden State Warriors player has suffered a season-ending injury.Read more...

Tonight is the first Verzuz battle.Read more...

Tyson Foods has been embroiled in controversy since April when supervisors for the company chose to keep a meat-processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, open despite a surge in employees testing positive for COVID-19. The plant was forced to shut down after more than 1,000 employees tested positive for coronavirus…Read more...

The incredibly talented force known as Radha Blank is 2020’s Sundance Vanguard Award recipient.Read more...

If there’s one thing that deserves the GOAT award for 2020, it’s streaming platforms. From Netflix to Hulu, Amazon Prime to HBO Max—the amount and quality of content this year has been increasingly overwhelming, yet creatively astounding. And it doesn’t seem like things are about to let up anytime soon.

For all the people who criticize The Root for our lack of coverage of Black-on-Black crime, we present MSNBC host Joy Reid’s heinous attack on one of America’s foremost MAGA negroes, Ja’Ron Smith.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) seems dead set on doing everything but addressing the pandemic currently ravaging his state. His latest venture into headassery is calling for $3 million of the state’s budget to be set aside for the “Patriotic Education Fund.”Read more...

Trump’s personal lawyer is having a rough go at it. Not only is he grossly incompetent at living, breathing and doing his job, but now it seems that either his hair dye or his human skin mask given to all Gremlins who want to live a normal life is failing him.

Here is where we are: America is drowning in a sea of despair and Congress is holding all the life jackets. Instead of reaching a stimulus compromise that would help some stay afloat, they are going on Thanksgiving vacation while, in Texas, many are forced to join miles long food lines just to have something to put on…Read more...

For nearly 40 years, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been imprisoned for a crime he says he didn’t commit. On Monday, prison abolition activist and former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick renewed calls for his release, saying if Black lives matter, “it means that Mumia’s life and legacy must matter.”Read more...

Another week, another Zendaya cover? Well actually, there are, in total, four versions of Zendaya’s December-January collector’s edition cover for Essence. But there’s also more than one woman being immortalized in this series of highly stylized black-and-white images conceived by Zendaya’s longtime stylist and…Read more...

Just in time for the season 2 debut of Verzuz, the Instagram Live music battle showdown, the creators and award-winning producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland sat down with GQ to discuss how this pandemic-themed party became so popular, so fast.

I don’t hate anyone...but man, I hate Republicans.Read more...

After being informed that Wisconsin didn’t have time for Trump and his mall lawyers’ fuckshit and that if he wanted the state to hold a recount it would cost a cool $8 million, Trump’s campaign has come up with a partial payment in hopes of a partial recount.

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Y’all have already heard of the Critics Choice Awards (which first began in 1996)—well, get ready for the Critics Choice Super Awards! It’s critics choice, but make it super critics choice.Read more...

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Robert Barisford “Bobby” Brown Jr., the son of R&B icon Bobby Brown, has died at the age of 28, according to TMZ.Read more...

I recently attended the advanced virtual screening for Netflix’s film adaptation of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (whew, still processing the amazing performances in that one, but I’ll share more on that later), and following the film, Samuel L. Jackson moderated a Q&A with the cast and crew. At multiple points in the…Read more...

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In today’s episode of Uh...Karen, I’m Pretty Sure You Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud, an altercation that occurred in Northern California’s Discovery Bay between a Black family and a racist AF white woman was recorded and posted to social media.Read more...

A Milwaukee cop responsible for fatally shooting three people over the last five years while on duty has resigned.Read more...

I can’t lie, The Game Awards is one of my favorite events of the year. The folks who worked mad hard to entertain us are celebrated and we get to see sneak peeks at the new hotness to come. What’s not to love?Read more...

After much buzz and excitement, Amazon has just dropped the long-awaited trailer for the Venice Film Festival favorite, One Night In Miami. The film, based on the Kemp Powers stage play of the same name, will serve as the directorial debut for Regina King, who’s been having one helluva moment. (Looking at you,…Read more...

James Baldwin famously said in 1961: “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost, almost all of the time.” We know that to be true, but when it comes to the fashion and beauty industries, to be Black and fat is to be largely invisible. (Trust—as a Black woman who…Read more...

Hallelujah! Trump could soon be booted off of Twitter as well as out of the White House.

The cacophony of celebratory sounds that rang out last week in reaction to Joe Biden’s win was based on a sundry of emotions—ranging from relief at ending a racist regime dominated by white men who were fanatical about protecting their own wealth and privilege to jubilance over a historic win for Kamala Harris, the…Read more...

The only thing worse than a racist is a cowardly racist.Read more...

As a Guyanese actor who moved to the United Kingdom as a child, Letitia Wright had not heard the story of the Mangrove Nine growing up.

We don’t want a lot for Christmas (because 2020 has already been a lot—tew much, in fact); there is just one thing we need. We need Mariah Carey, also known as the Queen of Christmas, to bring in the holiday season with her unmatched joy!Read more...

The American Medical Association (AMA), the largest association of physicians in the United States, this week revealed it has developed a new policy identifying racism as a threat to public health in America.

The big day has arrived! Tonight, Pops (Laurence Fishburne) and Ruby (Jenifer Lewis) will be getting married for the second time!

1. Americans