The Root

April Fools is a white holiday and I hate it.Read more...

I have no data to back up this claim, but I’d bet a so fresh and so clean (clean) $20 that probably 75 percent of the people I know have seen Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.Read more...

Susan Kelechi Watson is trying to make the best of a bad situation, because as she says, “you ain’t gotta panic in a pandemic.”Read more...

I hate April Fools’ Day.Read more...

This year will mark 27 years since the first episode of Living Single aired in August 1993. The popular comedy series starring Queen Latifah, Kim Fields, Erika Alexander and Kim Coles has ranked among the most revered television shows universally embraced by the black community.Read more...

A man can only take so much.

So there’s an unpopular opinion prompt thing going around Facebook—where you’re asked to list 10 things everyone loves but you kinda hate. I sometimes get annoyed with these sort of things because people don’t follow the rules and just start listing things that everyone hates (“1. funerals.”), but thankfully people…Read more...

Imagine being so iconic, so renowned, such a household name that a sweaty towel of yours can be auctioned off for tens of thousands of dollars.Read more...

On March 19, the chief physician of New York City’s jail system, Ross MacDonald, issued a warning on Twitter: “A storm is coming.”Read more...

Everything is fucked. All of us are on house arrest. There is never enough strawberry cream cheese to make it through these trying times. (Seriously, who is buying all the fucking strawberry cream cheese?) And the President of the United States is so fucking slow that despite coronavirus ravaging the globe, it took…Read more...

During the confusing times we’re currently living in, we’re being advised to stay home. However, many companies around the country have been deemed “essential business,” forcing their workers to risk their health and safety by going to work in order to help others. Medical workers, especially those employed in…Read more...

Joseph Maldonado-Passage, popularly known as “Joe Exotic,” has been linked to another famous animal enthusiast that is not Carole “cool cats and kittens” Baskin.Read more...

Note: This review contains minor spoilers. Proceed with caution.

April 1 marks Census Day, and the resounding message is clear: Go fill the Census, y’all.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson is just as fed up with being indoors day in and day out as the rest of us. He recently stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! (well, from his home) to remind us of the importance of staying safe amidst the COVID-19 brouhaha in a way only Sam L. can.

Black people are crazy.

Squatty Potty 7" | 17 Bells | AmazonRead more...

After a couple of years battling complaints of racial discrimination by both customers and bank employees, JPMorgan Chase & Co has pledged to increase efforts to diversify its workforce and make changes to how eligibility for certain banking products is decided.Read more...

It has been almost 3 weeks since the sports went away. In that time America has tried to filled that basketball-shaped hole with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Tiger King. If you need a break from your animal companions or can only stomach so much of white people doing the most, fear not. Basketball is back.Read more...

Lynching is one of the great stains on America’s legacy. Black bodies were regularly brutalized for the entertainment of the white masses, and justice was rarely ever served in these cases. In 1946, one of the last mass lynchings to occur went to trial and resulted in no one being indicted.Read more...

With billions of dollars at stake, the NBA is scrambling to salvage what’s left of its season. So while players plan to side-step their boredom with an elaborate NBA 2K tournament on Friday, the powers that be are preoccupied with formulating potential playoff scenarios should the league resume play this summer as…Read more...

As if we needed another excuse not to style our hair while self-isolating, Rihanna has provided the perfect one. With her most recent British Vogue cover, the 32-year-old fashion icon, entertainer and mogul reminded us she’s always one step ahead of a major cultural moment, sporting a durag (also fondly known as a…Read more...

The continuously escalating COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a need for President Trump to be truthful and to drop his compulsion to spread misinformation. Unfortunately, any effort to hold the president accountable is met with insults and derision. Journalist Yamiche Alcindor has recently taken the brunt of the…Read more...

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is proof that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are real; it’s just that no one is willing to go down into the sewer to find out.

Remember the March 13 press briefing where President Donald Trump berated PBS NewsHour reporter Yamiche Alcindor? Not the one where he said “you people”; the other one, the first time, when he called her question “nasty”? Well, during that briefing, he hailed this beautiful website that was going to be able to ask…Read more...

You can now add Jay-Z to the list of celebrities pledging to drop some coins as more relief is needed amid the coronavirus pandemic.Read more...

Well, we can’t say we’re surprised, but imprisoned Tiger King star Joe Exotic is now the subject of even more controversy after an unearthed viral clip questioning why he’s not allowed to say the N-word made the rounds.Read more...

At least four police officers are under investigation after multiple women came forward with stories concerning multiple St Louis cops who allegedly raped and sexually assaulted area women for years. The accusations include one police officer who was named by six separate women and a policewoman who says she was raped…Read more...

I grew up on a block with killers, crack dealers, dope fiends, stick-up kids, at least two arsonists, arbitrarily unchained pit bulls that “don’t all bite like that, really,” niggas with cases, girls with bids, aunties with bounties, snitches and cops from the actual show Cops (they used to film in my neighborhood).Read more...

Earlier this year, Keanon Lowe, a football and track coach at Parkrose High School in Portland, Oreg., took a shotgun from a suicidal student and then hugged him. Now, Lowe is being awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor Citizen Honor for his bravery and for saving at least one life that day.Read more...

In the midst of a global pandemic, discussions about gender wage equality have largely taken a backseat to broader concerns about widespread economic insecurity in the wake of this crisis. Nevertheless, March 31 marks Equal Pay Day, the day that symbolizes how long it would take American women to “catch up” to the…Read more...

The one-year anniversary of Nipsey Hussle’s untimely passing has arrived, and the music world is celebrating the life and legacy of the rapper, father and community leader.

Black women’s ability to get adequate care during pregnancy and childbirth is an international issue.Read more...

On Monday, President COVID-45 (Billy Dee Williams voice) admitted that easy voting hurts Republicans even though he’s totally not a Republican but he plays one on TV.

Joy Harden Bradford, Ph.D., knows that life can feel overwhelming sometimes—and that’s when we’re not facing a global pandemic.

Glynn Turman has lived—and most importantly, he’s “being.”Read more...

With all the general feelings of frustration that come with the COVID-19 chatter, people are doing everything they can in order to keep their anxiety about the situation at bay. In Halle Berry’s household, she and her children are combatting fear with laughs—yet their attempt at entertainment brought out the worst in…Read more...

Mystery Ranch x Huckberry Mission Hybrid Bag | $190 | HuckberryRead more...

Our prayers have been answered.Read more...

People should feel safe at work. People who still need to work during a global pandemic especially need to feel and be safe at work. Safety is a basic workplace necessity, and workers at a Staten Island warehouse tried to make that point by staging a walkout, which led to the firing of one of the walkout’s organizers…Read more...

If I’m honest, I’ve had a longstanding love-hate relationship with the retail juggernaut known as Macy’s. Love, because I spent decades modeling for their catalogs and e-commerce site, working with some of the coolest, kindest people around. Hate, because growing up in the Midwest, shopping at much-beloved department…Read more...

Every new day of the coronavirus pandemic has brought with it a dizzying amount of change. Teachers explain class projects to their students over Zoom meetings, while friends and family use FaceTime to inquire about their loved ones, alternating between laughter and concern while holding pixelated drinks in their…Read more...

20% off Site-Wide Sale | Olivers | Use the promo code INITTOGETHERRead more...

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been met with a mixed response from government officials on both the state and federal level. This has resulted in aid coming from unlikely places.Read more...

The last four years have shown the Trump administration to be little more than an engine of hate. Just about every action taken by the administration has been an attack on some of our most vulnerable populations, be it immigrants, people of color or just the flat out poor. The worst of this country has taken note and…Read more...

Multitalented, multifaceted musician, entrepreneur and bad-ass Rihanna graces the cover of British Vogue for the publication’s May 2020 issue (by our estimation, her 16th Vogue cover—but who’s counting?). Inside, she not only discusses her Fenty empire and her dream of having at least “3 or 4” kids, but once again…Read more...

When it comes to confirmed coronavirus cases, the United States is number one in the world, with a reported total of more than 100,000. While stricter social distancing rules have been implemented, it appears that there aren’t many signs of the potentially deadly illness slowing its roll anytime soon.

For decades, Fred “Curly” Neal entertained massive crowds with his unique combination of humor, athleticism and exaggerated theatrics as the face of the Harlem Globetrotters. Sadly, the team revealed that Neal has transitioned at the age of 77.Read more...

Mondays, amirite? Wait—is it Monday? I’ve lost track of time...what is time, anymore? If it is Monday (and I’m pretty sure it is), this marks the third since we’ve been under official self-isolation mandates here in Illinois and many other states...with at least a month more to go. If you’re anything like me, you’ve…Read more...

I see you, fam. Really, I do.