The Root

Writer George M. Johnson has yet to see himself represented accurately in media. Growing up black and questioning in Plainfield, N.J., he was simply aware that he was “different.” Feeling neither entirely boy nor girl and devoid of the language to express his evolving identity, the only thing he knew for sure at a…Read more...

And with the 159th pick in the 2020 NFL draft’s fifth round, the New England Patriots select...the right-wing, paramilitary-supporting kicker from Marshall.

Everyone is talking about The Last Dance—a docuseries on NBA icon Michael Jordan and his final 1997-98 season with the Chicago Bulls. As of Sunday, four episodes of the 10-part miniseries have aired and have prompted a conversation about late NBA superstar Kobe Bryant’s final season with the Los Angeles Lakers and the…Read more...

Tabitha Brown is a walking good mood pill.Read more...

You would think that during a global pandemic that has united us all (OK, maybe just the reasonable folks) in fear for our lives and livelihoods that folks would have better things to do than to troll and be toxic on the internet—but my friends, you would be wrong. In fact, many of us seemingly don’t know what to do…Read more...

Tyler Perry is never not working, and he’s about to drop a new show that focuses on the friendships between black men.Read more...

President Trump fucked up.

Rapper Scarface of the Houston rap group Geto Boys was one of several musicians who contracted the coronavirus in March. He broke the news in a conversation with fellow Geto Boy Willie D via YouTube, where he said he felt like he was going to die.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is getting mixed reactions for his decision to appoint his wife to head a new coronavirus recovery task force aimed at bridging racial inequity by prioritizing aid for the city’s communities of color.Read more...

Last week, Verzuz creators Timbaland and Swizz Beatz discussed the possibility of getting music moguls and cultural behemoths Dr. Dre and Diddy to battle on Instagram Live for their popular series. Over the weekend, Diddy seemed to confirm that something is in the works.

Spoiler Alert: La La La Laaaa, you don’t have to wait until Kanye West gets his money right anymore. Oh, and you definitely can’t tell him nothin’.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 may not even bang with like that could also get in the way of you finding something that tingles your consumer taste buds.

The disproportionate number of black people who are dying from the coronavirus disease continues to grow.Read more...

Correlation doesn’t necessarily equal causation, but it’s hard to say we didn’t see this coming after the president ruminated out loud a few days ago on the usefulness of injecting disinfectant into the body as a kind of “cleaning” to get rid of the coronavirus.Read more...

I don’t know everything about the racist history of America. But tell me if I have my facts wrong when I say that Michigan state was not part of the Confederacy. Because based on the recent behavior of a Michigan state senator, anyone could be forgiven for thinking differently.

Set of 8 Whiskey Stones | $15 | Amazon | Use code B2373AE3Read more...

Imagine being in an online meeting with colleagues and other professionals and not expecting anything spectacular to happen during this meeting of minds when suddenly, BOOM—Oprah Winfrey appears on your screen with words of encouragement. This was what educators for Atlanta’s Ron Clark Academy experienced during a…Read more...

It doesn’t take much for black people to prompt attacks by racists. All Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms wants is to keep her citizens safe during an ongoing global pandemic. That’s it. She decided it was better that the people of Atlanta stay as healthy as possible rather than risk lives in an effort to save…Read more...

Two Detroit-area black men locked up for the better part of 20 years for crimes they say they didn’t commit were recently freed from prison after the investigative officer was found to have allegedly coerced witnesses into lying about what they saw.Read more...

This month, two of the highest profile games to be released were remakes. I myself have been putting time into Final Fantasy VII: Remake and so far, I’m loving it. Seeing the iconic art style brought to life with modern graphics and a banger of a battle system has made my little weeb heart sing. My time with the game…Read more...

Advocates have long fought for children in underserved communities to have the same educational opportunities as their more affluent peers. A new ruling in a federal appeals court could be the first step toward that goal.Read more...

For months, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has played coy on the topic of being someone’s running mate for the 2020 election. But now that former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive nominee, Abrams is making her intentions a lot more clear, recently saying she would have concerns if he…Read more...

Well, what do you know: Turns out that President Trump, aka “Let me get money out of the country because my name is no good here,” owes a shit ton of cash to a state-owned Chinese bank, and that chicken is coming home to get its bread.

Tina Knowles-Lawson, patron saint of coordinated outfits and mom jokes, struck a serious note on her Instagram the other day as she addressed the potential reopening of non-essential businesses.Read more...

A Clapback Mailbag original songRead more...

Getting your name called during the NFL Draft is the perfect reward for a lifetime of discipline, sacrifice and dedication. And in finally being drafted, you officially become a part of a group of some of the greatest athletes in the entire world. But with mo money comes wayward white women trying to steal your shine…Read more...

Current status: I’m wiping away the tears from an uproarious bout of gigglefits.Read more...

$200 Gift Card With Apple iPhone SE Purchase | VisibleRead more...

A prison in Fort Worth, Texas, has seen coronavirus cases increase by 275 percent over the course of a week. New models have shown that failure to reduce prison populations could result in 100,000 more deaths. Despite these facts, the Department of Justice has now limited the number of inmates eligible for early…Read more...

This playlist is in honor of Breyon Prescott, Teddy Riley’s homie/hypeman during his initial social-distancingless Verzuz battle against Babyface that never really happened. For Breyon’s dedication to the jam, this week we chose songs that make you move as soon as you hear them!Read more...

I remember well the age I was when I demanded to take over the maintenance of my own hair. I was 8 and a soon-to-be latchkey kid (with minor supervision from our landlords upstairs), and felt it was high time that I graduate into doing my own hair since my TV journalist mother rarely had patience for more than two…Read more...

I don’t know what former President Barack Obama did to y’all—and by y’all, I’m referring specifically to the 53 percent of white women who voted against their own self-interest to elect a shit heel for president—but we now have a man in office who suggested swallowing light bulbs and shooting up disinfectant.

What a week! Here in Los Angeles, we went from a mild, yet effective earthquake to a temperature average in the 90s (which is another form of torture when you’re self-isolating in weather that makes you want to participate in hoodrat brunches with your friends). Plus, Pompous Prez said some dangerously dumb shit about…Read more...

I’ve never played Fortnite a day of my life, but with COVID-19 forcing the music industry to undergo a virtual revolution, it was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to capitalize on the game’s enormous popularity.

If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of extra money to spend, you might be wrestling with what purchases to make. Something indulgent maybe, but not frivolous. Something comforting, but not disposable. Something that supports small businesses, or black entrepreneurs. Something you can feel good about.Read more...

April 23, 2020 might mark the fourth anniversary of the release of Beyoncé’s magnum opus, Lemonade, but there’s clearly no “Love Drought” when it comes to the singer’s philanthropy. (Yeah, we saw y’all making the song trend today—and agree it’s a perennial fave.)Read more...

A few years back, I wrote an article about Raphael Saadiq being the most underappreciated R&B artist of all time. I still believe this to be true. We’ve been stuck in the house for weeks now watching IG Live battles of artists going back and forth with their catalogs, and when people are proposing matchups, Saadiq’s…Read more...

When I call my father on the weekends, we talk about a myriad of things. How the family is doing, politics, food, my mental health, and…of course, the halcyon past when his beloved, comical aunts were still cracking jokes, when his kind mother was still doling out hugs, when he and his brothers were young and causing…Read more...

It was already horrible news that the $349 billion set aside for small businesses struggling during the pandemic ran out of money on April 16, barely two weeks after it was released. To find out that much of that money went to large restaurant chains and publicly traded companies while many local favorites are…Read more...

If there’s one thing black folks can do well, it’s make a way out of no way.Read more...

Coronavirus has had a disproportionate impact on black communities throughout the country, and while a few states have started to track data along racial lines, others have started to take more aggressive steps.

“What does it mean for a black woman to work in the U.S. academy today?” This is the question longtime Rutgers University professor and author Cheryl A. Wall posed while introducing a panel of black female academics in 2009. It was a question central to Wall’s career and life’s work, as she strove to make both the…Read more...

Damn.Read more...

The 2020 NFL Draft promises to be unlike any that we’ve experienced before. In part because, unlike the swank venues and lavish decor of yesteryear, Commissioner Roger Goodell will be presiding over the draft from the comfort of his Bronxville, N.Y., man cave.Read more...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is not just a human bobblehead doll. Currently, he’s leading Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz in the hotly contested GOP punchable face list, so it’s only right that on Wednesday, the Republican senator came out of his turtle-faced mouth to suggest that those states that have been…Read more...

In an effort to demonstrate how much they want to “reopen the economy” (or perhaps how badly they hate social distancing and other protective measures in place to ensure people aren’t out here catching the coronavirus), some white folks across the U.S. are protesting outside in the middle of a pandemic with signs…Read more...

If we can find just one moment of national unity this week, let it be the collective scream we all let out as Virginia Senator Mark Warner dumped a Mitch McConnell-sized helping of mayonnaise on what we’ve been told is a tuna melt.Read more...

Juice WRLD was open about his mental health struggles in his music, with songs such as his hit single, “Lucid Dreams.” Until his death last year at the age of 21, the rapper served as the voice of many young people who were feeling the same. Now, the musician’s mother is making sure to pay homage in an important and…Read more...

The entertainment industry is facing the devastation brought on by COVID-19 head-on. With concerts and music festivals being canceled, Broadway having its lights out until at least June, and a slew of film release dates being pushed back or canceled entirely, many are wondering when the industry will be able to…Read more...

With names like The Clipse, Kelis and Robin Thicke to his credit, it’s not a secret that super-producer Pharrell Williams has a knack for breaking new artists. And in looking to continue that tradition, The Man Who Refuses to Age is joining forces with SoundCloud to showcase some of the nicest unsung talent in the…Read more...