The Root

Like fellow Queens, N.Y., native, L.L. Cool J, Erica Ford has been here for years. She’s been in these streets. Always a standout, with gray tresses since she was in her 20s, Ford has long been at the intersection of hip-hop and activism. At turns playful and stern, like a drill sergeant, sis is serious about…Read more...

We may have not known who Edawn Louis Coughman was when he was playing for the NFL, but we do now.Read more...

Stupid is as stupid does.Read more...

Never ever forget the great ones who came before you.

A Brondell Swash Luxury Bidet Seat at Home Depot, Cable Organizer Bag, and a Calphalon Flash Event kick off Sunday’s best deals from around the web.Read more...

Up to 50% Off Select Bathroom Fixtures | Home DepotRead more...

Buy Two, Get 30% Off Your Order | MiiR | AmazonRead more...

Poor POTUS!Read more...

Full disclaimer: I’ve heard of some n-word nonsense in my time but this has me scratching my head.Read more...

Well, it was a good idea while it lasted.Read more...

Is she or isn’t she? That was the question consuming Black Twitter after images and video from Rihanna’s 5th annual Diamond Ball surfaced, raising speculation that her delayed ninth album might be due to another, far more important project currently in production...Read more...

A Dyson V8 Absolute Cordless Stick Vacuum, Cottonelle Ultra ComfortCare Toilet Paper, and TaoTronics SoundLiberty 53 True Wireless Headphones kick off Saturday’s best deals from around the web.Read more...

Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o will soon be appearing on the small screen as star of her long-time passion project, Americanah, based on the best-selling 2013 novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Donald Trump may be in line to get his comeuppance sooner rather than later, now that the “conscious” of the House Democrats, civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis, says he’s closer to making known his views on impeaching “this so-called president.”

With tears of misspent white privilege streaming down her face, actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced Friday to 14 days in prison for paying a fixer to change her daughter’s SAT scores in order to secure her a spot in the college of her choice.

Editor’s note: The Root was a media sponsor of this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference event and panel discussion exploring the marriage of art and activism.Read more...

You may know Keke Palmer as a lovable childhood star, but y’all: She’s all grown up now.Read more...

HOUSTON—Let’s get straight to the point: Joe Biden showed his ass on the debate stage last night and there is no way in hell he should have the support from black voters that he has. Much of this has to do with a mainstream, white punditry establishment and press corps that treats him like an elder statesman whose…Read more...

On the morning of Sept. 4, Hendry Country sheriff’s deputies doused the flames of a PT Cruiser in a rural Clewiston, Fla., neighborhood. Inside were the charred remains of Bee Love Slater, a black transgender woman. She was 23.Read more...

“Harriet’s a film about freedom; it’s not about slavery,” director Kasi Lemmons mused amid the clinking and clanking of silverware as myself and several other black critics surrounded her during an intimate dinner at a swanky Toronto hotel.Read more...

We’re back! Yes, after a short break, The Root 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings are back just in time for the Hunger Games of the third Democratic debates and the post-Labor Day campaign push.

When I sort through the emails, tweets, direct messages and comments for the mailbag every Friday, I am always surprised at the suggestions The Root’s readers are willing to offer. You have no idea how much invaluable advice I receive from our readers every day.

Between two and four times a week, I come home from whatever it is I was doing before, I change into gym-appropriate clothes, I stuff a four-year-old Gap Kids baby bag repurposed as a gym bag with a pair of Kyrie 5s, a knee brace, extra socks, and a T-shirt, and I make the drive to one of the places I hoop. Some days…Read more...

If you think about some of the most innovative, gorgeous hair looks of your favorite celebrities, there’s a solid chance Ursula Stephen’s hands were involved. The star stylist is the talent behind any number of Rihanna’s most iconic and shape-shifting looks, and, in recent years, has helped create the same…Read more...

Among the demographics celebrated by the beauty industry, darker-skinned and older women have historically been ignored. While the marginalization of darker skin has been dramatically shifting in recent years (thanks to Fenty Beauty, among others), the industry has been significantly slower to embrace aging as a facet…Read more...

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Our world is changing. Weather consistency is a thing of the past and we are clearly dealing with the repercussions of climate change. Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, and it’s not looking too good for mother earth. Read more...

Cardi B don’t need more press, but she’s getting some today! Okurrr!Read more...

More than a year after Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson indulged in a $31,000 dining room set for his secretarial suite—more than six times the $5,000 legal limit for office redecorating—the HUD inspector general has cleared Carson of any wrongdoing.Read more...

For years, we’ve struggled to comprehend the science behind Donald Trump’s bizarre orange hue; how his epidermis acts as camouflage inside of a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos or how he’s often mistaken for half-eaten candy corn in the fall. Is his tangerine tone a result of a poor diet or is his body preparing for the…Read more...

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The California judge who got ousted from the bench in a recall after he handed out a light sentence to a Stanford University student convicted of sexual assault is now out of yet another job, that of high school girls tennis coach.

LeBron James will have to take an “L” on his desire to trademark the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” a phrase he often employs while sharing his family’s dinner menu with his followers on Instagram, but he’s sees a silver lining.Read more...

Gregory Cheadle, the black Republican Donald Trump once referred to as “my African American,” has finally had enough of Trump’s shenanigans and is quitting the GOP and making a run for Congress as an independent.

HOUSTON—Will Kamala Harris drag Joe Biden up to high heaven before her colored brethren at Texas Southern University? I don’t know if white men have edges, but I am sure the Senator from California will try and snatch Biden’s for sure. And will Cory Booker make another Kool-Aid reference? The youngins love Bernie…Read more...

It’s the cross-over many Tracee Ellis Ross fans (uhhh, all of us) have been thirsting for for years: watching her Black-ish and Girlfriends universes colliding.Read more...

We see a lot of deals around the web over on Kinja Deals, but these were our ten favorites today.Read more...

The NCAA is a lot like Death Row Records.Read more...

Dubbed “one of the most exciting black films of the year,” festival-circuit darling Burning Cane will be screened at this year’s 23rd Urbanworld Film Festival, which will take place in New York City from Sept. 18-22.Read more...

HOUSTON—Montgomery Morris expressed optimism that one of the 10 candidates who will appear on his campus at Texas Southern University tonight can beat Donald Trump, but that they all will need to focus squarely on black issues that will turn out support in the primaries next year.

They may not have the most iconic and recognizable logo of all time (I’m sure the folks involved in that debate argue about this frequently), but Nike is absolutely near the top. Should you decide to look at folks’ feet all day long, I’d wager that you’d see more Nike swooshes (also called the Nike check) on shoes…Read more...

The Root’s Senior Writer Michael Harriot will be documenting his first time attending the Congressional Black Caucus’ Foundation Annual Legislative Conference in Washington DC, colloquially known at CBC Week.Read more...

Cat lovers, your recommendations were all great, but now it’s time to pick out which cat brush gets the Cat Headbutt of Approval.Read more...

Three Mississippi men have been charged with civil rights intimidation and attempted robbery after allegedly attacking two black men in a downtown Memphis, Tenn., parking garage earlier this month.Read more...

If only Operation Trump Gotta Go was as easy as signing a Change.org petition and changing all the locks in the White House. Sadly, impeachment proceedings are a bit more arduous than that—though it would appear that the Lord heard our cry and he pulled a few strings to expedite the process.Read more...

If you’re putting away your sandals and water shoes for the winter, these Sterlite storage boxes are perfectly sized for the task, or for any number of other organizational needs.

Kobe Bryant is doing some serious damage control setting the record straight after an Instagram post that appeared to show him throwing a 7th-grade girl under the bus went viral on Wednesday night.

America can be a dog-eat-dog world, but what if the hungriest dogs are bad bitches?Read more...

Last week was a good week. Well, socially, that is.Read more...

Neewer Ring Light Kit | $63 | Amazon | Promo code NWRING919Read more...