The Root

It’s Friday and we’re headed into a holiday weekend. This week is a pretty robust one for trailers (we already gave some special love to Da 5 Bloods and Body Cam), so let’s get right to it!

Yes, we know Mother’s Day was nearly two weeks ago, and that we’re now well into graduation season. We also know feel-good moments have sadly been far and few between, as of late—so bear with us, because this mother-daughter graduation story is a bright spot.Read more...

For five decades, former White House butler Wilson Roosevelt Jerman helped make sure everything at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was as it should be. He began his career there as a cleaner when Dwight Eisenhower took office in 1952, eventually rising through the ranks of White staffers and serving each U.S. president up…Read more...

In honor of the upcoming Verzuz battle between legends Bounty Killer and Beenie Man on IG Live, The Root is bringing you a playlist full of the staff’s favorite West Indian island jams.Read more...

On March 13, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was at home with her boyfriend when police entered her residence, shot and killed her. Much controversy has surrounded the case as there are two different accounts of what transpired and the officers weren’t wearing body cameras.Read more...

A reporting investigation by the New York Times and the Baltimore Sun has uncovered deep racial disparities in nursing homes hit by the coronavirus. From the beginning of the pandemic, the elderly were identified as particularly vulnerable to suffering the worst effects of the novel virus. But the data parsed by the…Read more...

If you’ve been spending more time coloring with your kids lately—or just enjoy the occasional adult coloring book as much as we do—you know the unique joy of picking the perfect colors to execute your vision. And if you’re an adult of a certain age, you no doubt remember the days when the peachy Crayola crayon was…Read more...

According to numerous internet historians, including Social Media Today, in 1997, a website called Six Degrees was the first social media platform on the world wide web. Then came Friendster, which began in 2002. Then Myspace and LinkedIn burst on the scene in 2003. Facebook emerged in 2004, which begat Twitter in…Read more...

I am not now nor have I ever been married. It just never happened.Read more...

While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a sneakerhead—perhaps that’s some sort of reluctant denial; my wife is absolutely tired of my sneaker deliveries—I spend more than a little bit of time perusing sneaker websites and videos from people named Foamer Simpson, Jacques Slade and Seth Fowler, watching sneaker…Read more...

I’m not religious, and I know that thunder and lightning are caused by electrostatic charges superheating the air, producing a rapid atmospheric expansion that causes a sonic boom. I don’t think my hallucinations during REM sleep give me information about fertility, nor do I believe stop signs and telephone poles…Read more...

During a pandemic, your body is the biggest thing there is.

This year’s election is going to be tough and it shouldn’t be, but now I’m fully accepting that America is either voting for a Russian-loving, sun-beaten orange Skittle or a soggy white sock with a black stripe and a Southern old white man blaccent.

With each passing day, it’s looking more and more likely that NBA basketball is imminent.Read more...

When they retired from the slave trade, Isaac Franklin and John Armfield had amassed a fortune worth billions in today’s dollars by building a business that was essentially the Amazon of slave-selling.Read more...

Oh, you thought we were having a regular Verzuz weekend? Nope!Read more...

On Wednesday, President Trump attacked states like Michigan and Nevada for protecting voters’ from COVID-19 in upcoming elections by sending applications for absentee ballots. Voting by mail is a key way for states to protect voters’ health and safety, which states have a moral and legal obligation to do. It was yet…Read more...

President Trump is a senior citizen. The coronavirus hates senior citizens. One of the ways to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is to wear a mask. The president refuses to wear a mask—mostly because he’s a maverick, and by maverick, I mean asshole.

We’ve long lived under the assumption that everything’s bigger when there’s a billionaire involved. But leave it to Oprah to prove that theory true on Thursday, showing off a mammoth cabbage plucked from her presumably all-organic, undoubtedly perfectly manicured garden located somewhere we can’t afford.Read more...

Welcome to VSB Ruins Your Favs, a series where we’ll take a look at some of the most beloved parts of our culture—movies, cities, television characters, people, foods, decades, etc.—and ruin them for you. You’re welcome.

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Earlier this month, graphic video depicting the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery was publicly released. The video resulted in Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, the men who allegedly murdered him, to be arrested on murder charges. In recent weeks, calls have increased for William “Roddy” Bryan, the man who…Read more...

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds recently made history by adding the first black female officer to its ranks.Read more...

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Around this time of year we’d typically be wrapping up the basketball season and in the midst of the baseball season, while pretending we care about tennis in the lead up to Wimbledon. Obviously, that ain’t happening and with The Last Dance wrapping up last Sunday, there really isn’t much going on in the world of…Read more...

The Michigan attorney general doesn’t have time for Trump’s maskless fuckshit and told him that he has a “legal responsibility”—under state law—to wear a mask when he visits a Ford Motor Co. factory Thursday, or he should not come back to visit factories.

Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) was founded to bring attention and a much-needed platform to designers of color—and it’s done so for over a decade, garnering groundbreaking respect throughout the industry and enviable corporate partnerships. In the midst of the coronavirus, HFR’s mission continues, as on Wednesday, its CEO…Read more...

Cory Booker is at a crossroads.

Tiwa Savage, Davido and Mr. Eazi are the cover stars for Billboard’s latest special issue, which is entirely devoted to the continent of Africa.

In recent years, United Airlines has been battered by accusations of racial discrimination and failing to prevent mishap after mishap as its reputation has gone from pristine to swirling around the bottom of a toilet bowl. Unfortunately, that notoriety has grown after an unnamed NFL player has decided to sue United…Read more...

There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will pick a black woman to be his running mate in the upcoming 2020 election. Well, there still aren’t any definitive answers as to who his vice president pick will be, but in the meantime, Biden has chosen another black woman…Read more...

Question for Lana Del Rey:

Rihanna already told you she’s a savage—and her Savage x Fenty collection may have found its spirit animal in Megan Thee Stallion, whose “Savage Remix” featuring Beyoncé is still riding high on the Billboard 100 as we speak. But one savage turn deserves another, which is why it should come as no surprise that Thee…Read more...

Trying to solve a murder isn’t a game, but luckily, we’re in the safety of our own homes while we play a game of “Frame, Marry, Kill” with Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani.

President Donald Trump is a liar. I can’t stress this fact strongly enough.

Unlike the general populous, I’m very lucky to be able to express my opinion for a living. Be it on television, radio, podcasts, on stages, in classrooms, on panels, or even as a consultant, I’m compensated rather nicely to basically say, “This is what I think.” After a decorated 19-year career in the NBA, future Hall…Read more...

An Alabama mayoral candidate—in the 21st century—wants to bring back public hangings as punishment for drug dealers.Read more...

Sometimes, you prepare to watch a movie trailer expecting one thing and something else happens.Read more...

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend, which typically serves as the kickoff to summer with barbecues, parties, and more. However...you know what’s up this time around. If you don’t have any plans to keep yourself occupied this particular weekend, social media is chock full of entertainment at your fingertips, and The…Read more...

A Louisiana police officer is out of work this week after posting comments in which he appeared to lament that the coronavirus hadn’t killed more black Americans.Read more...

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BET Week is a key part of enjoying a black-ass summer.Read more...

We’ve seen an outpouring of support for essential workers risking their lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But for all of the attention nurses, doctors and other workers are getting, activist Ashlee Marie Preston found that many of these efforts tend to ignore stereotyped and marginalized workers: sex workers, the…Read more...

Every now and then, Fox News likes to play dress up and act like it isn’t the president’s personal YouTube channel. During this time, the right-leaning news station likes to invite guests from the other side of the aisle to come on the air only to try and berate them in front of its audience. But why, why, would Fox…Read more...

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It’s essentially an open secret that Republicans have to cheat to win. With the go-ahead from federal courts, the party is prepared to do just that.

Nearly three months after the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the U.S., more than 1.1 million people have been infected with the coronavirus, with at least 92,000 deaths recorded. But despite the clear and pervasive toll the virus has had on Americans and American life, a substantial number of states and territories…Read more...

One of the populations most at risk for contracting COVID-19 is prison inmates. The cramped living spaces combined with substandard conditions have made it difficult to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Prisons across the country have been dealing with rising numbers of COVID-19 and the situation is no different…Read more...

Is it just me or are Karens getting more Karen-y by the day?Read more...