In the midst of an impeachment trial that is fraught with obfuscation, transparency in politics is a rare and beautiful thing. So, too, is the bravery it took for Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) to trust The Root with the recent disclosure that she has alopecia and had been wearing wigs to hide her bald head in recent…Read more...

Question: What do Trump’s bullshit border wall and the London Bridge have in common?

I distinctly remember the day I realized my femininity.Read more...

Whenever Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross thinks about anything, it’s always through a prism of whiteness and opportunity. Learning that a deadly disease is on the verge of causing a pandemic, the first thing Ross thought was how many white people are in China, and then, “Do you have any idea how many companies…Read more...

Privileged parents say they want their children to attend integrated schools—but their choices tell a different story.Read more...

As a black man in America whose survival instincts require me to avoid police at all costs, I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about how a broken taillight or brake light can invite harassment, an introduction to our criminal justice system, or worse.Read more...

Wednesday marked the first day that senators got to ask questions of both the House managers, aka the A-Team, and Trump’s defense lawyers, aka National Lampoon’s Goes to Congress.

It’s not hyperbole to say that for most of the now-60-plus years that Barbie has been a household name, the fashion doll represented a prototypically feminine, Eurocentric beauty standard that was largely unattainable for its increasingly diverse, predominantly young female fanbase. But in recent years, parent company…Read more...

I like Richard Jefferson—or rather, I want to.

1, 2, Step…into 3! It’s official—Ciara and Russell Wilson are expecting another baby!Read more...

Vanessa Bryant spoke publicly Wednesday for the first time since her husband Kobe and 13-year-old daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant died in a horrific helicopter crash Sunday morning.Read more...

Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Gold Box | AmazonRead more...

Oh, Joe Biden. What a poor, simple fool.Read more...

The fallout continues from Iran’s missile strike on the Al-Asad airbase in Iraq earlier this month.Read more...

Last week, a professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., came under fire after video was released of him calling the cops on a student for not switching seats mid-lecture. Unsatisfied with the university’s response, students have decided to take action.Read more...

Georgia rapper Pastor Troy is still with us? Apparently the answer to this question is yes as he has crawled out from whatever rock he was hiding under to make a homophobic Instagram slur referring to Lil Nas X’s outfit at the Grammys.

Black people are paranoid.Read more...

Earlier this month, Anne Branigin, The Root’s resident hot pot connoisseur, revealed some startling statistics:Read more...

Lawyers for Dylann Roof, the avowed white supremacist convicted of killing nine black parishioners in a South Carolina church in 2015, want his death sentence overturned.Read more...

A black student was suspended and later expelled from an Ohio high school — not for possessing or using marijuana—but after multiple school employees agreed that he smelled like the substance. While the student’s parent has questioned the legal or ethical basis for the suspension, one moderately experienced writer…Read more...

Ghana has such a rich history and culture, one that makes it a prime gateway into connecting those in the diaspora to their West African roots. There was much to see, do, learn, and savor.

Nothing says totally legal and above board like giving a potential voter an envelope filled with cash, but that’s exactly what Trump folks have been doing ahead of November’s election.

There are three universal truths: we have to pay taxes, Facebook will never die, and outdoor gear is perpetually pricey.Read more...

Imagine spending 10 years playing a character on a lily-white show that was a direct and complete appropriation of a black show already in production for a year when yours started, then pretending to know nothing about that show’s existence.

There are, according to my research, three grades of ash; each uncomfortable in its own way, but one a bit deeper and, um, ashier than the rest.Read more...

There are hits, there are misses, and there are “nobody asked for this-es.” But since creating the world’s most beloved sandwich wasn’t enough, Popeyes is attempting to take their zeitgeist moment one step further by capitalizing on another recent pop-cultural phenomenon.Read more...

After news of Kobe Bryant’s tragic death began to circulate Sunday, former teammate and confidant Rick Fox was rumored to have lost his life in the deadly helicopter crash as well. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and on Tuesday, the retired basketball star revealed how those erroneous reports brought unspeakable…Read more...

As someone who finds herself inside of a Target at least once a week on average (what can I say? It’s my happy place), I consider myself pretty familiar with their affordable-yet-fashionable clothing lines—and in addition to a long history as a model for the juggernaut in my pre-Root life, I’ve been known to surprise…Read more...

I tried to watch it. But the sudden death of Kobe Bryant and his beautiful daughter Gianna mixed with Trump attorney Jay Sekulow’s punchable face? I just wasn’t in the best mental space to hear more lies on top of mistruths on top of misdirections.

To hear Prince George’s Police Chief Hank Stawinski tell it, it was a case so egregious, the department had to act quickly.Read more...

As millions of sports fans throughout Los Angeles and the rest of the world struggle to make sense of the tragic death of basketball icon Kobe Bryant, an ongoing investigation into the hows and whys of what transpired is underway.Read more...

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is a government agency that terrorizes innocents, separates families and now drives people to suicide.Read more...

There are a few things you probably shouldn’t say, like, ever really. Tonight, we’re going to talk about one of those things.Read more...

If there are two things the modern Republican party loves, it’s voter suppression and racism. Yes, yes I know the common refrain is “We’re just trying to protect against voter fraud!” but come on now. Luckily, a federal court has stepped in to prevent yet another egregious voter fraud law from continuing.Read more...

Dear Daniel,Read more...

Lately, the Mississippi prison system has been doing a lot to challenge my assumption that HBO’s Oz was a complete work of fiction. The sheer violence and harsh living conditions inmates suffer alone is enough for Mississippi prison stories to inspire another season or two of the show.Read more...

A black college student was kicked out of a prestigious university after a white fellow student allegedly attacked the black undergraduate and became an unwilling participant in the groundbreaking study: Don’t Start None, Won’t Be None: Consequences Related to the Involuntary Reception of “Deez Hands.” But, while the…Read more...

“As a survivor, I struggled for years to tell my own story,” writes Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), “and I know how it feels to be a survivor in a country where believing and supporting survivors has become a partisan issue, where survivors are made to feel marginalized and ostracized. I tell my story both because it…Read more...

“La La Laaa, wait ‘til I get my biopic white,” Kanye West crooned to himself while washing himself (likely excluding his legs) with a milky soap bar in his ivory shower on the top floor of his monochromatic mansion.Read more...

I’m sure you’ve seen the “Success Kid” meme by now. It’s the one of the little chubby-cheeked kid caught in mid-fist pump. It’s a meme that’s gone viral many times over, and while the image of the little blonde-haired boy is about as cute as they come, you know who’s not? Iowa Rep. Steve King.

An unidentified man died in the front passenger seat of a police cruiser in Prince George’s County, Md., on Monday night—fatally shot by the officer driving the car. What’s not clear is what led the cop to shoot the handcuffed suspect in the first place.Read more...

The D.C. Police Department is showing us a shred of decency and common sense often found lacking in law enforcement. They’re not doing anything extra praiseworthy like freeing and expunging non-violent convicts or storming the White House lawn to arrest Trump because they don’t need no stinking charges or legal…Read more...

Howard University, aka “The Mecca,” has been known to produce greatness, and one of those products is none other than Taraji P. Henson. Henson, the multi-hyphenated talent is adding another notch to her belt with her new haircare line, TPH by Taraji.

Maybe former national security adviser John Bolton wasn’t just a publicity thot who took his five minutes of infamy to hawk a book. Maybe John Bolton had a secret plan. Who knows? Maybe he’s not Johnmorosa after all.

BBC’s hit sci-fi show Doctor Who is known for having more than a few tricks up its sleeve, but this past Sunday night, the TV series had a history-making surprise for its viewers: its first black Doctor.Read more...

Continuing his legacy of desecrating the highest office in the land and undoing all of former President Obama’s good work, the Trump administration is looking to change rules enacted to fight housing discrimination.

As people are still coming to grips with the sudden and untimely deaths of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, who died Sunday in a helicopter crash that killed seven others, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the University of Connecticut will honor them in the wake of tragedy.Read more...

Nicki Minaj’s brother’s legal case has reached a conclusion.Read more...

Best advice I’ve heard, as of late? “You should’ve just sat there and flexed your pecs” (h/t Thickey Smiley, via Twitter). Hopefully, Terry Crews heard it too, because the perpetual pec-flexer might’ve been better off sticking to his guns regularly programmed shtick than continuing to weigh in on the self-created…Read more...

A huge Anker sale, computer Gold Box and stainless steel coffee mugs lead of Tuesday’s best deals from around the web.Read more...