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.

President Donald Trump was fully aware that on Jan. 21, the coronavirus had hit the United States, the land he’s been elected (by Russian oligarchs) to govern. He may have also known of the disease’s devastation as early as December but on Jan. 21, a 30-year-old Washington state man who had visited Wuhan, China had…Read more...

You know what America wants to know? Why Trump can’t give a straight answer to journalists about his response to the coronavirus crisis, why he hasn’t consistently instituted protocols consistent with the advice (and warnings) of medical experts, and why he won’t ensure that all the states get the resources they need…Read more...

As the world’s leaders attempt to diminish the startling effects of COVID-19 on its citizens, many people are taking to the internet in order to find ways to cope with strict nationwide social distancing regulations. From Instagram challenges to streaming shows and movies, to worry-Googling their sanity away, there…Read more...

In this time of crisis and uncertainty, there is something to be said for people who can maintain the goodness in their hearts. In Detroit, chefs from local restaurants that were forced to close their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic have become shining examples of heroes who wear aprons instead of capes as they…Read more...

If your soul so beckons you to fly to Atlanta in April, right now, you can literally buy a round-trip ticket from Washington, D.C., for $36. You might not be able to do shit while you’re there, but hey, that ticket price is hard to beat. Granted, it’s on Spirit Airlines, but shit, Door Dash-ing two cheese pizzas right…Read more...

TikTok has become a cultural phenomenon, and like most things in pop culture, the black community is leading the narrative on what’s considered trendy. With the newest popular social media platform, the concept of “digital blackface” is still thriving, unfortunately. While the platform’s content is rarely meant to be…Read more...

So it’s been a little over two years weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in everything under the sun being delayed and/or canceled. The 2020 Summer Olympics were one of the final holdouts until last week when the organizing committees finally announced the games were postponed.Read more...

Like most black men and women of a certain age, I’m obsessed with Stevie Wonder—which means spreading the gospel of Stevland Hardaway Morris at every given opportunity and catching the Holy Ghost at the countless “Wonder-Full” tribute parties that DJ Spinna throws throughout the country.Read more...

“Three-fifths. That’s all we were counted for. We were voiceless.”

Lonnie Franklin Jr., the convicted serial killer nicknamed “The Grim Sleeper,” was found dead in his cell this weekend in California’s San Quentin Prison.Read more...

On Sunday, the president of people who didn’t wash their hands before the coronavirus and probably still don’t held a rally disguised as a press conference in which he rated questions on a scale of nice and ugly, berated a reporter for quoting him and continued to lie to the American public about what he did and…Read more...

Rap battles aren’t for the weak, so while they might lead to openly questioning a rapper’s credibility or exposing their upbringing through song, Pusha T’s scathing “The Story of Adidon” did the unthinkable: it accused the biggest recording artist in the world of “hiding a child.”Read more...

Every day we stray a little further from God’s light.Read more...

Correctional facilities across the nation have been struggling with the issue of overcrowded prisons. This had been a major problem all on its own, but one that has become exacerbated trough the coronavirus pandemic that threatens inmates and prison staff with exposure to infection.Read more...

If you were a child at any point between 1983 and 2006 and Reading Rainbow wasn’t instrumental in kicking off your educational experience, did you even have a childhood?Read more...

On March 13 in Louisville, Ky, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was shot to death in what appeared to be a botched police raid as officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department attempted to execute a search warrant at the home of a suspected drug dealer.Read more...

A 5TB external hard drive, a buy 2 get one free video game sale, 30% off Patagonia, a $52 office chair, and more lead for Sunday’s best deals.

Buy $20 in eBooks, get $5 in Credit | AmazonRead more...

The cat’s out the bag. And Da Brat is out the closet – apparently.Read more...

His is the epitome of a life well lived.Read more...

After months of speculation, weeks of wrapping up royal obligations, and the announcement on Wednesday that Prince Charles has been diagnosed with COVID-19, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly exiting not only the British monarchy but the British Commonwealth, as well.Read more...

If you’re anything like me (or the majority of The Root crew), the stresses of self-isolating are already taking their toll—we’ve been stress-eating, panic-buying and lowkey freaking out, in general—and we’re the lucky ones. If you are one of the few who has the luxury of working from home and still collect a paycheck…Read more...

No matter the state of the world, ‘Ye is gonna ‘Ye, I guess.

Now that you have read parts one and two of our tutorials on how to play black America’s favorite pastime, it is time to learn the official way to play Black Spades.Read more...

It looks like Nathaniel Woods isn’t the only person Gov. Kay Ivey is willing to put to death.

*Movie Trailer Narrator Voice* In a world where content is plenty and bandwidth is rare, The Root has decided to corral the superfluous amount of trailers that get promoted in our inboxes and spotlight a few of them on a weekly basis.Read more...

The compulsion to convince ourselves that bad things will eventually happen to bad people can be seductive and cathartic. It’s also embedded in most of the lessons taught to us as kids. Children’s stories and fairytales usually end with the “good” winning and the evil receiving some sort of punishment. The concepts of…Read more...

Today’s mailbag is dedicated to the people who are laughed at, made fun of and dismissed as a joke. Every day, the entire staff at The Root engages in a brutal act of bullying against certain members of our team. It’s becoming institutional and I’m tired of it.Read more...

Whether its crowding beaches, prioritizing “freedom over health” or, in this case, just being truly vile human beings, white people seem intent on making this pandemic worse than it already is.

Like a lot of black men who grew up in the ‘90s, hip hop is the soundtrack for my life and has been for as long as I can remember. I can remember “borrowing” cassette tapes from my older sister—she had a new music plug in high school—dubbing them, and sneaking them back into her room before she noticed. It was through…Read more...