Betty Wright, the R&B and soul singer known for classics like “Clean Up Woman” and “Tonight is the Night,” has died at 66 years old.

Incense was burning, Crown Royal was ready for the sipping, and even our forever first lady Michelle Obama was tuning in for the Verzuz battle between Neo Soul queens Erykah Badu and Jill Scott last night on Instagram Live.

America has always dismissed and treated black women like we’re disposable, so I’ve dedicated my life to being one of the few people who will say yes to black mothers, no matter their circumstances. During this year’s coronavirus pandemic, that means bailing mothers out so they can be safe and providing for their…Read more...

A group of white people armed with weapons demanded entry into the home of a black woman and her son in Pender County, N.C., late last Sunday night and refused to leave.

Magnolia Earl has a lot to celebrate: She is the winner of Gerber’s 2020 Photo Search contest and also turns 1 year old today.

The man behind Uptown Records, the New York City-based label that launched the careers of acts like Diddy, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and Heavy D has died at 59 years old.

“I should be better recognized today for sure,” Little Richard said in an August 2010 interview with the Wall Street Journal. “I am the beginning. I am the originator.”

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The mass closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of Americans losing their jobs. This has put people in a position where they’re unsure of how and when they’ll be able to pay their rent. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has provided some relief for those in his state.

While the release of Black Widow’s first standalone film has been delayed, fear not. There is still a way for you to get your fix of the Marvel Universe’s premier spy.

You know that “California compound” we kept hearing Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle have been calling home since relocating to Los Angeles? Multiple reports say it’s the Beverly Hills mansion of none other than Tyler Perry, who apparently has more time to shop for big-ass cribs than halfway-realistic wigs.

After a series of violent arrest videos went viral this week, the NYPD finally released citywide data on social distancing arrests on Thursday night.Read more...

May 6 through May 12 is Nurses Week 2020, and if you weren’t in the habit of appreciating our vital healthcare workers before, no doubt you are now. In fact, the American Nurses Association has extended the week to the entire month of May—and it should be noted that 2020 was already designated as the World Health…Read more...

Amber Isaac was a little more than a month away from her delivery date, and thrilled about the prospect of finally meeting her first child, a baby boy named Elias. But one issue had her worried: in February, she learned her platelet count was low, a symptom of several conditions that could result in dangerous…Read more...

As my granny used to say, “We can’t have shit to ourselves.”Read more...

Welcome to May! Did you allow the force to be with you earlier this week?Read more...

As much as we love all things Charlie Wilson, one thing we don’t give him enough credit for is his longevity. Since The Gap Band’s arrival on the scene in the early 70s, he’s blessed us with hit after hit for decades. And with his latest single, “Forever Valentine,” Billboard reports that Uncle Charlie has become the…Read more...

It was supposed to be a moment in which Vice President Mike Pence showed that he’s a man of the people, that he’s not too good to roll up his sleeves and jump in and help. But, who are we kidding; Pence is about as compassionate as Thanos and about as caring as his boss.

What happens when you act like a lady and think like a savage?Read more...

In just 36 hours, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation managed to do something that other agencies failed to do over the past 74 days: Find enough probable cause to arrest Gregory and Travis McMichael and charge the father and son with murder and aggravated assault in the death of Ahmaud Arbery.

Remember January 2020, when massive orange boxes full of Beyoncé’s relaunched Adidas x Ivy Park collection arrived in homes across Hollywood, inspiring impromptu celebrity photoshoots, immense envy, and a few imitators? Five months later, that major fashion moment feels worlds away as we shelter in place, our homes…Read more...

Kamala Harris may very well be the next vice president of America and she’s starting her silent bid to win the nomination off by winning the heart of Bernie Bros far and wide.

ESPN’s The Last Dance has been hailed by critics and sports fans alike for its thorough examination of one of the greatest dynasties in the history of professional sports: Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. But it’s also been criticized for its unfavorable depiction of former general manager Jerry Krause, who died in…Read more...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and in honor of that fact, the playlists this month will all be dedicated to it. Our first one, titled “Bring Me Peace,” is a list of songs from staffers of TheRoot.com that are used to bring a peaceful mental state.Read more...

Apparently, Princess Love hit it first…as in, she hit up the court to file the divorce papers, that is.Read more...

On Thursday, members of National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the country, staged a protest just yards away from the White House, petitioning the government to support healthcare workers who are continuing to treat coronavirus patients without proper protective gear. Clad in red shirts and wearing face…Read more...

Raven Barrett is “paying homage to every black mom, one tee at a time.” The Charlotte, N.C.-based founder and “create[her]” of the black mom-focused online boutique Cocoiv has hit a sweet spot in capturing quintessential aspects of black motherhood; culling generations of wisdom, humor and tributes into an…Read more...

Although Michael Harriot is on vacation this week, he still agreed to write our weekly Clapback Mailbag. However, instead of responding to trolls, haters, disgruntled readers and anyone who has a question about the content on The Root, Michael submitted this open letter to Ahmaud Arbery.Read more...

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On Tuesday, video was released showing the graphic shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. As the video went viral, public outcry intensified with many outraged that the men responsible hadn’t been arrested or faced any charges.

It really must be nice to be a white man in America. Imagine pleading guilty twice to a crime and still getting away with it. That is the case for former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

A large crowd came together in protest near the scene where a black man was fatally shot by police officers in Indianapolis Wednesday night.Read more...

It’s time to bust out the popcorn and wine because you still have a chance to relive all 7 seasons of one of Shonda Rhimes’ monumental creations!Read more...

On Tuesday, video was released showing the graphic shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was unarmed and on a jog through a predominantly white neighborhood when Greg McMichael and Travis McMichael shot him after a brief struggle. The release of the video resulted in a Georgia prosecutor recommending the case be…Read more...

America is American-ing like shit right now in our collective response to the coronavirus. Of course, there’s the reality that we (black people) are disproportionately harmed by it—something that makes the aggressively white protests of the stay-at-home orders less about “freedom” and more about “freedom...but for…Read more...

We don’t know about you, but all this extra time spent at home has proved an excellent opportunity to play in our makeup and try out some new hairstyles—protective and...not so much. But even us armchair hair-and-makeup experts can use some professional help, and celebrity hairstylist and salon owner Yene Damtew,…Read more...

For many of us, 2020 has been a year we’d prefer to fast forward through. From losing Kobe and Gianna Bryant in late January to the onset of the coronavirus that has brought much of our normal lives to a halt, most of us in this country (and across the globe) have had to make significant life changes. Most of us have…Read more...

With the Los Angeles Clippers on the brink of a first NBA title this season—before COVID-19 had other plans—it’s easy to forget that not too long ago, the team was mired in ineptitude for decades, courtesy of the worst owner in the history of professional sports: Donald Sterling.Read more...

Video footage of a police officer slamming a black woman to the ground over her failure to wear a face mask in a Birmingham, Ala., Walmart on Tuesday has been shared on social media thousands of times, and now authorities are investigating the incident.Read more...

Michelle Obama’s Becoming, the former first lady’s first chance to step into the spotlight in such an intimate way, is now available for our consumption.Read more...

It’s well-discussed fact around here at The Glow Up (and The Root, at large) that Issa Rae’s glow up is our favorite glow up. Already a beautiful woman—albeit by her own branding, both “awkward” and “insecure”—Rae has emerged as one of Hollywood’s number one stunnas, shutting down red carpets on the regular with hair…Read more...

Spike Lee’s newest joint, a historical drama titled Da 5 Bloods, will be released on the streaming giant Netflix early next month.

The “clip of a person killed while doing a thing while black” phenomenon is such a part of our national zeitgeist that the most passionate conversations about it now revolve around the ethics of viewing and sharing the footage. This sort of video-captured brutality and terror has become so common, so rote, that our…Read more...

Instead of spending his birthday hurling confetti and devouring chocolate cake, Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas has some explaining to do.Read more...

After a lengthy stint at ESPN, former NFL Pro Bowler-turned-sports commentator Marcellus Wiley expressed his desire to pursue greener pastures at Fox Sports in 2018. I was a big fan of his previous show, SportsNation, and looked forward to him expanding upon his unique skill set of league experience, eloquence—though…Read more...

Axl Rose, lead singer for Guns N’ Roses is tired of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s bullshit.

Either President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are the outbreak monkeys destined to infect the entire White House with the coronavirus since they insist on not following any of the orders that the rest of the country must follow, or they’ve moved one step closer to contracting the virus, as one of the…Read more...

When it comes to the devastation caused by COVID-19, many celebrities are doing more than offering verbal support. T.I. and Killer Mike are about that action and made sure to suit up in order to help others in their native city of Atlanta.

Since taking office, Trump has declared war on two enemies: Obama and America.

Most of us may not know the privilege of fame or wealth, but there is a certain privilege in having a TIDAL subscription, especially if you’re a fan of Jay-Z and Beyoncé. When either of the two drops a project, TIDAL typically gets first dibs, and subscribers happily indulge while the rest of us scramble to sign up…Read more...