The Root

I’ve traveled the world and been to multiple parts of the Caribbean and Africa, but I don’t think I’ve never been on a plane as black as the one I boarded to attend Essence Fest.

The Fourth of July, or the Fourth of You Lie as we black folks like to call it, is here again. And we’ll be inundated with bold-faced lies about American exceptionalism. You’ll hear it from television commentators. From politicians. From dudes wearing a red, white and blue t-shirt…made in China.

In the 10-plus years since The Root was founded, our writers have always celebrated the Fourth of July with the knowledge that America’s original Independence Day celebration only applied to white men. Since then, this land of freedom and opportunity has graciously allowed its black citizens incremental but…Read more...

Queen Sugar’s fourth season has not disappointed one bit. Not that I expected it to, but the writers continuously find new ways to hit us with shit we absolutely did not see coming. This week’s episode was no different. I had enough moments that elicited a physical reaction in episode 4, “Skin Transparent,” that I…Read more...

Intex Yellow Inflatable Duck Ride-On | $10 | AmazonRead more...

Marshae Jones, the Alabama woman who was arrested and charged with manslaughter in the death of her fetus after she got shot during a fight, will not be prosecuted, the district attorney overseeing the case said Wednesday.Read more...

That didn’t last long. Just one day after the Trump administration said the 2020 census forms would be published without a question asking whether people are U.S. citizens, Donald Trump railed (on Twitter, of course) that such reports were “FAKE!” and that his team was “moving forward” on having the question included:

U.S. presidents traditionally have been hands-off when it comes to the Fourth of July so as to avoid politicizing commemorations of the nation’s birth. But not Donald Trump, whose decision to insert himself in Washington, D.C.’s annual celebration with a speech at the Lincoln Memorial and an elaborate display of…Read more...

A wise crustacean once said that it’s better down where it’s wetter and I’m pretty sure he made this statement because he foresaw the melanin that was going to hit the Seven Seas!

Hip-hop heads rejoice!

Lawyers representing a group of five black men ranging from 15 to 20 years old announced plans to file a lawsuit against the owners of an Alabama mall and security company after their clients say a security officer profiled them, slammed them against a wall, handcuffed them and ordered a dog to attack them.Read more...

The Trump campaign will stop at nothing to look like the Trump campaign is a real campaign, including hiring paid spokesmodels to pledge their support for the president of white women who dress as handmaids.

Marsai Martin must be protected at all costs. The youngest executive producer in Hollywood and Black-ish star is not only making major moves for herself but wants to see other young black girls producing on the big screen, too. In the above clip, she shares some tips for getting into the business and why…Read more...

Leonard Pitts Jr., a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Miami Herald, was laying in his bed in Bowie, Md., early on Sunday morning when he woke up to a phone call. It was the police.Read more...

Welcome back to The Root’s 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, where our select committee of activists, consultants, politicians, and analysts decide where the candidates stand on the issues that matter to black people.

In my 38 years of life, I’ve owned Tonka Trucks, college degrees and poor credit, but a golf cart sounds like an unexpected headache waiting to happen.Read more...

No, it’s not #ThrowbackThursday, but remember a time, say, exactly four years and one week ago today (a much happier, more hopeful time), when same-sex marriage was at last legalized by the Supreme Court, and the White House was illuminated in the colors of the rainbow in celebration?Read more...

Citing rampant abuse and the increasing number of black barbecue-goers who mistakenly assumed that they were eating auntie-certified potato salad but somehow ended up with cubed cauliflower and sour cream in their mouths, America’s oldest and most respected governing bodies for negro culinary activities issued a…Read more...

Cyntoia Brown was just 16 years old in 2004 when she was arrested and charged with the murder of 43-year-old Johnny Allen. She was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison.Read more...

You know by now that Lil Nas X is better than 99 percent of the population at creating the kind of viral hit that’s catnip for children (so good in fact, you’d think he was also behind the monsters who created “Baby Shark.”)Read more...

If you ask me to share my earliest memory of clothing, in spite of the bevy of beautiful dresses my mother delighted in buying for me as a child (which I equally delighted in wearing), the first thought that comes to mind is an outfit I wore to kindergarten one day in 1980. I clearly remember strutting into the…Read more...

Despite his desire to avoid “Fucking Problems,” it looks like A$AP Rocky found some anyway.Read more...

“Sipping rosé” has new meaning now that Donae Burston owns the brand La Fête du Rosé. Loosely translated as “Rosé Party,” Burston’s spirit creation, not to be confused with the traveling event of the same name, is an inclusive affair that acknowledges what we all know: Black people drink rosé. Like, a lot—and bougie…Read more...

Danielle Brooks has *some personal news.*Read more...

A recent study has found that adults with access to legal cannabis not only use it to help with pain and trouble sleeping, but they often use it as a substitute for prescription medication, including opioids.Read more...

After what by all accounts was a harrowing visit to immigrant detention facilities, the last thing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) probably had time for was commentary from the peanut gallery, aka someone who wasn’t there: in this case, one Kellyanne Conway.

Donald Trump son-in-law-turned-White House aide Jared Kushner’s use of WhatsApp, as well as personal email and other unofficial message services in his official capacities, is coming under increased congressional scrutiny.Read more...

Looks like Donald Trump blinked. The Justice Department announced Tuesday that there will be no citizenship question on the 2020 census, a week after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the addition of the question by raising concerns about the reasoning the Trump administration gave for wanting the change.Read more...

Gizmodo If You Just Bought an Nvidia RTX 2060, You Should Be Super Pissed | Jalopnik The Honda E Is the Electric Car I’ve Been Waiting For | Kotaku Fighting Game Tournament Has Too Much Actual Fighting | Lifehacker How to Learn to Drive as an Adult | The Takeout Ask The Salty Waitress: The server threw out my leftoversRead more...

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

Before we begin, how is it already July? As in, we’re in the later half of the year. What is time?!Read more...

It looks like Nipsey Hussle’s murder case has added yet another layer to its investigation.Read more...

Democrats visiting three detention facilities in Texas on Monday had to raise their voices—despite having microphones—to be heard over the shouts and heckling of pro-Donald Trump, anti-immigrant groups.

The Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee is out here like Training Day-Denzel Washington and they putting cases on everybody.Read more...

When I was in high school, I was an idealist—especially when it came to my education.Read more...

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) is an asshole. He’s also part of a group of assholes known as Republicans. This asshole conglomerate supports President Donald Trump. Trump’s mouth is shaped like an anus.

Over the weekend, left-wing and alt-right protesters faced off in Portland, Ore., which, quite frankly, has become a fairly regular occurrence. What makes this particular clash at a Portland Proudboys rally noteworthy is the dumbassery on display by the Portland Police Bureau, who claimed—without any evidence—that…Read more...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced its class of 2019 and the winner is…Wakanda! Well, one of the winners, that is.Read more...

Up to 70% Off Activewear | Sweaty BettyRead more...

Cardi B may have brought the catchphrase “okurrr” into the mainstream (and even into the Super Bowl ad echelon, via Pepsi), but like Madonna and voguing, she did not originate the concept—a fact recognized by Bronx natives, members of the drag and ballroom communities, and now, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

When you inherit millions in property and money from your father and spend your entire life sheltered from the realities of the real world, you are bound to say stupid shit.

Things we automatically associate with supermodels: runways, magazine covers, fashion-related reality shows, and cosmetics lines. But Tyra Banks continues to prove that she’s not your average supermodel—an oxymoron, we know—with out-of-the-box ideas that include a model-themed amusement park, an upcoming body-positive…Read more...

Clipa2 Bag Hook | $14 | Amazon | Promo code 7HEJILCCRead more...

Just in time for the Fourth of July comes a report that Nike yanked a sneaker embellished with a Betsy Ross flag after NFL footballer-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick complained the image conjured up slavery and all its ills.

If you’re going to come for New York State’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Letitia James, know that she is no one’s “tool” and that you had better say her name: “Tish.”

#BlackGirlMagic was on display at Wimbledon Monday, whether in feeling the pain of defeat or in tasting sweet victory, as second-seeded Naomi Osaka got ousted in the first round, while Cori “Coco” Gauff bested tennis legend Venus Williams.

Authorities filed assault charges against a Pennsylvania man, whom they initially declined to arrest, after he was caught on video forcibly restraining a child in a park.Read more...

Clarisonic Mia Smart | $159 | AmazonRead more...

Lawyers for Marshae Jones, the Alabama woman charged with manslaughter after her unborn baby was shot and killed in utero, filed a motion to dismiss the case on Monday morning, calling the indictment against her “unreasonable, unfounded, and unjust.”Read more...

On Monday, the Apollo Theater announced that Ta-Nehisi Coates—the critically acclaimed writer who recently presented his case for reparations during a riveting Congressional testimony—has been named its inaugural Artist-in-Residence.Read more...