The Root

Rabbit Lily Vibrator | $36 | Ella Paradis | Promo code WELL

2020 is unprecedented-ish.Read more...

Beauty influencer, YouTube sensation and 2019 Root 100 honoree Jackie Aina will be taking part in a special feature-length documentary film focused on highlighting Black women who are creating social change through the beauty world.

To put it bluntly, being a gamer can be expensive as shit. Between dropping hundreds of dollars on hardware and having to spend upwards of $60 on the latest games, blasting fools, or orbital striking them as The Root’s news editor Monique Judge is fond of doing in GTA Online, can sometimes put the hurt on the wallet.…Read more...

In Louisiana, a Black veteran currently serving life without parole over a $30 weed sale is set to be released.Read more...

Two police officers in Georgia are on administrative leave after firing shots at a car full of minors.Read more...

This wasn’t supposed to be remotely hard; in fact, the groundwork had already been laid down. It works like this: Black women are the backbone of the Democratic party and they needed to be rewarded with a vice-presidential pick in this upcoming election.

Black Lives Matter’s past and present were both represented on Saturday in Kentucky when the father of Michael Brown attended and spoke at a memorial for Breonna Taylor. The protest also happened to be on the eve of the six-year anniversary of the day Brown was fatally shot by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer in 2014.Read more...

A major seat at fashion’s proverbial table has just been filled; on Thursday, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) announced the promotion of former Chief Administrative and Financial Officer CaSandra Diggs to president of the famed fashion organization.Read more...

If you’ve been on Twitter for a good amount of time, you’ve probably seen whole-ass relationships, babies, careers, projects and deals materialize from Twitter. “It’s not just Twitter,” isn’t just a saying—it’s reality.Read more...

This weekend was a big one for Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. The new dynamic duo in town released their sexy rap song “WAP” at midnight on Friday, which came complete with a steamy, JaQuel Knight-choreographed music video. As of Monday, the visual—which features splits, tigers and cameos from Normani, Mulatto and…Read more...

1. “Too Close” Next

Mere days after UConn became the first major college football program to graciously bow out of playing this season due to the coronavirus, the Mid-American Conference—yes, an entire conference—will follow suit.Read more...

“Everybody hates cops until they need one.” - Wypipo proverb.Read more...

Prior to COVID, I’d have all of these speaking gigs and book events all across the country; shit was sweet.Read more...

The Apollo Theater is a church.Read more...

Chaos erupted in downtown Chicago overnight as hundreds of people took to the streets and dozens of stores, banks and other businesses were broken into and looted. It’s unclear what caused the unrest, but many believe it was connected to a standoff between Chicago police officers and community members following a…Read more...

Finally, a Public School we’re actually excited about returning to! Public School NY designers Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow have come up with two fashionable new ways to support some incredible initiatives—with no social distancing required. As reported by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), the duo…Read more...

Jurnee Smollett is starring in quite a timely upcoming project on HBO—the much-anticipated Lovecraft Country. The series, which is a period piece, is especially relevant since we’re following its protagonists on the “quest to disrupt white supremacy,” which is both intriguing and frustrating. We’re still fighting this…Read more...

There is a trend with ex-employees of the Trump administration and it looks like this: Bash the president that they once happily served—which is why it will always be fuck all of them. Fuck Omarosa. (Where is she, anyway?) Fuck John Kelly, James Mattis, John Bolton, H.R. McMaster, and most spectacularly, Anthony…Read more...

We get it: With everything going on in the world, it can be difficult to carve out time to discover new music. Industry-pushed tunes that you may not even bang with like that could also get in the way of you finding something that tingles your consumer taste buds.

I know, I know. I wanted to see Roy Jones Jr.—or at least what’s left of him—get his ass whooped too.Read more...

‘Tis the season for a summit! As you hopefully know by now, this week marks the second week of The Root’s monthlong inaugural Root Institute, our absolutely free to the public virtual conference taking place each Tuesday and Thursday through August.Read more...

A good troll has to work hard to sell it or else it doesn’t work. And Trump has been trolling for years. In fact, he’s been trolling since Obama was in office, but I’ve mentioned this to several friends at different times: I don’t really know where Trump stands on any issue because he’s, well, a troll.

Atlanta-bred emcee 2Chainz is as serious about the upcoming presidential election as we all should be and wants to turn voting skeptics into believers during this incredibly crucial year.Read more...

Reusable Face Masks | $25 | Nordstrom Rack

Zoë Kravitz’s latest TV show may be canceled, but you can’t cancel her outspoken nature.Read more...

A survey of employees at Veterans Affairs has revealed that nearly 80 percent of them believe that racism is a serious and widespread problem within the government agency.

Democrats are calling out the head of the U.S. Postal Service, who is a donor to the Trump Campaign and chair of the finance committee for the GOP convention, even as he continues to barrel forward with a series of changes that have been majorly slowing down mail ahead of the 2020 elections.

It’s apparently open season on Black people in America, and that includes our children.

A cheap pack of disposable masks, ComiXology’s sale on comics starring Harley Quinn, JACHS NY blazers, a nice foot scrubber, and more are some of Sunday’s best deals.

Race and racism continue to be a pivotal issue in American politics, and there’s no question it will matter in this year’s elections.

Who’s surprised to hear this news?

There’s something especially disgusting about a Black person who eagerly jumps at any opportunity to publicly tell Black people they are expendable and that their value is determined by how much they can provide and perform for white people.

A set of Kirby figurines for pre-order, deals at Sunday Scaries and Fomo Bones for National CBD Day, fancy Klipsch speakers for $549, and more top Saturday’s best deals.Read more...

Leading actors Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield will deliver stirring performances in an upcoming cinematic retelling of the life and assassination of Black Panther Fred Hampton, if a newly released trailer for the movie is any indication.

Y’all, I’m thinking Michigan might be gunning for the position of most racist state, because it’s the only way I can make sense of a state official just casually dropping the hard-R at the start of a public meeting.Read more...

Despite most medical professionals saying “Hey, don’t do that,” schools across the country are steadily beginning to reopen. In Mississippi, the death of a beloved teacher while self-quarantining has increased fears of a COVID-19 outbreak during the first week of school.Read more...

Corporations just can’t seem to stop doing racist things, despite all the flowery statements and promises of change that have come from them this year and other times before.

Milwaukee’s chief of police was demoted to captain Thursday due to the way he handled multiple situations, including the protests that happened in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Last month, a number of Black Lives Matter demonstrators smashed windows and splashed red paint all over the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office during a protest against racial injustice. Now, they might be facing up to life in prison because prosecutors are adding a gang enhancement to their felony criminal…Read more...

President Trump believes that if Joe Biden is elected president, his first days in office would include Biden placing the Bible on the floor of the White House bedroom and the 77-year-old diving off the bed to deliver a big elbow to the helpless Bible. The president of people who’ve thrown out all their watches…Read more...

With months of quarantine now behind us (and who knows how many more to go), hopefully, you’ve been indulging in some online education as well as entertainment—and starting on Sunday, New York City’s famed 92nd Street Y debuts an online course that offers both.Read more...

Managing Editor Genetta Adams is off today, so I do not have to adhere to the usual format.Read more...

Don’t just talk about it; be about it. That’s the subtext of Zendaya’s stunning September 2020 cover story for InStyle, creative-directed by Zendaya’s longtime stylist Law Roach (a 2019 Root 100 honoree) and photographed by Ahmad Barber and Donte Maurice of AB+DM Studio, who also joined forces with Roach to capture…Read more...

When he’s not fighting for touchdowns on the field, Dak Prescott is apparently fighting for justice off of it.

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are indeed bad influences.Read more...

First, oh, the stories you will tell. I awake from a four-hour surgery with an epidural and pain pump full of Fentanyl to sounds of a man dying on the gurney next to me, separated only by a threadbare curtain. Codes blare over the PA system, calling for every available physician to assist while next door, there’s the…Read more...

147 days.Read more...

Every now and then you have to reach into your bag for your inner “bad bitch.” Sometimes, that’s what it takes to get the job done. This week’s playlist is chock full of jams to harness the power of that inner “bad bitch.”