The committee absolutely loves Halloween—and by the committee, I mean me (Dr. Johnson, politics editor of The Root), because other committee members have said they hate haunted houses and sexy nurse costumes (not to mention this ongoing battle on The Root Slack about the evils of candy corn). For political purposes,…Read more...

The black dollar is big business.Read more...

A wristwatch Gold Box, an EyeBuyDirect sitewide sale, and discounted crew socks lead off Friday’s best deals from around the web.

When most people think of Harriet Tubman, the first thing that comes to mind is how she helped hundreds of black people escape slavery through the Underground Railroad. Other aspects of her life, such as how she led a raid near the Combahee River that freed 700 enslaved people or how she was a founder of the National…Read more...

A prominent Midwestern brewery has settled a discrimination lawsuit with a former employee who claimed he was fired after reporting various incidents of racial discrimination at the business.

When Georgetown University students voted this spring to use student fees to pay reparations to descendants of the enslaved people Georgetown sold to keep its doors open in the 1800s, they made headlines in what’s become a national conversation on how to repay a very real debt owed to African Americans.

The Russians targeted African Americans in the run-up to election 2016 with deceptive social media accounts and websites purporting to be legitimate sources of information, and now, it looks like they’ve taken their disinformation campaign across the ocean to Africa.Read more...

A federal appeals court has ruled the homeowners of a Greenwood Village, Colo., house blown to pieces after a SWAT team attempted to get a shoplifting suspect out of it are entitled to absolutely no compensation from the city.Read more...

After years of torment and global embarrassment, we finally live in a world in which our resident Idiot-in-Chief may actually be impeached.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 American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles’ policy of automatically suspending the driver’s licenses of people unable to pay traffic tickets, a policy which disproportionately affects poor and nonwhite people.Read more...

Govee Dreamcolor LED Strip Lights | $23 | Amazon | Use promo code DQRBITSPRead more...

O Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou, Romeo! Deny thy eye patch and refuse thy rumors.Read more...

Walking around Flint, Mich., the epicenter of one of America’s most prominent self-inflicted environmental tragedies, residents feel that its water crisis was purposefully allowed to happen. State officials, from the former GOP governor on down, are letting the mostly black city suffer through lead-laced water as a…Read more...

As I write this, snow is (prematurely) falling upon Chicago, a pointed reminder that tomorrow, Nov. 1, kicks off the holiday season (in other words, cue the gift guides). And since it’s now the season of spending, it should come as no surprise that Rihanna expects us bitches to have her money, as evidenced by the…Read more...

So, you finally decided to become a Cat Person. Welcome! You’re about to be covered in fur and severely unappreciated. It’s all worth it though when your cat bestows you with a nighttime cuddle or a soft paw tap to the face in the morning.Read more...

According to a new report, Kamala Harris’ campaign has pulled the trigger on a major shakeup in order to increase her odds in the upcoming presidential election.Read more...

Is Halloween The Glow Up’s favorite holiday? Well, we do love to play dress-up, so we’ll let you deduce that for yourselves. But we also love watching other people play dress-up, which is why we spend an ample amount of our time each Halloween week checking out how celebrities celebrate the holiday. This year, they…Read more...

The sound of the Hollywood trades’ phrase “in talks” can finally come to rest because we have an actual confirmation, folks! Well, at least in the case of a certain important DC Comics casting. Jeffrey Wright will officially be joining the cast of The Batman as Commissioner Jim Gordon, according to the film’s helmer…Read more...

It’s Halloween so we thought we’d do something fun. But then, Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton strictly forbade me from dressing as Megan Thee Stallion and having a twerk-off against Monique Judge who, of course, dressed as Cardi B.

The circumstances under which financier Jeffrey Epstein died raised more than a few eyebrows, and now a forensic pathologist hired by his family has lent credence to everyone’s suspicions.Read more...

The familiar sounds of a three-part chorus filled my bedroom as I did the first listen of Jesus is King. Anticipating the iconic gospel/rap mashup, I looked forward to something fully black with melodies over heavy beats. This album, however, missed the angst of “Jesus Walks,” the complication of “Ultralight Beam,”…Read more...

Even if you take the shackles off Robert “R.” Kelly’s feet so he can step in the name of love, apparently, it would be a little bit difficult for him to do so today.Read more...

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Nonbinary and transgender identities are increasingly being accepted and normalized throughout society, but not when it comes to high-tech facial recognition software developed by some of the largest tech firms in the world.

Rep. Ilhan Omar is drawing fire for basically abstaining on a House vote taken to formally acknowledge, for the first time in more than a century, the genocide of some 1.5 million Armenians in what is today the nation of Turkey.Read more...

For all eight years of his presidency, Barack Obama was the epitome of class and grace, ever speaking to how to bring opposing sides to common ground, whether during a beer summit or in offering a hand to recalcitrant Republicans.

With that headline and Elle Germany’s proclamation that we’re going “Back to Black” this season, you might be wondering why you’re looking at a cover featuring Danish model Gertrud Hegelund—likely a lovely person, but by no means a black one. Or perhaps you’re wondering why we’re making a fuss, since Elle must’ve been…Read more...

California officials said parole officers were using a banner symbolizing hate, racism and white supremacy for “training purposes,” after a keen-eyed citizen noticed a large Nazi flag hanging in an office at the California Department of Corrections.Read more...

Let there be no ambiguity: Harriet is a film about freedom.Read more...

While on the whole, we’re all set on Kanye West, we understand that his return to religion has compelled yet another passionate round of revelations about the world, morality, and politics—and hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day. But as Ye has been making the rounds promoting his new gospel album, Jesus Is…Read more...

As New York joined a handful of other states in passing sweeping criminal justice reforms, one of the state’s top prosecutors helped attorneys and legislators find loopholes to subvert laws intended to end money bail and guarantee speedy trials.Read more...

When I was 10, I was forced to give my life to Christ.Read more...

Getting glue off of my eyelashes has proven to be one of the biggest pains in my ass this year. I was not blessed with gorgeous, long eyelashes like half of the men in my life. My eyelashes are fine. But sometimes, when I want to give my makeup a little oomph, I put on a pair of falsies.Read more...

David Benioff and D.B Weiss, House White Male Mediocrity, First of Their Names landed Game of Thrones without any TV experience.Read more...

There are stories, and then, there is “her-story”—specifically, stories that can truly only be told by, about, and for women. Nevertheless, creating the space, platforms and support for female stories, voices and perspectives remains a challenge for creators, particularly in Hollywood.

The United Kingdom might still be torn on Brexit, but there is one issue that has bridged party lines; the media’s abuse of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex was condemned for its “outdated, colonial undertones” in an open letter signed by 72 female MPs of all political persuasions on Tuesday.Read more...

As the global leader of the liberal arts education of black women, Spelman College is keen on its tremendous responsibility to educate and empower the next generation of leaders and innovators.Read more...

A Cuisinart food processor, TRTL sitewide sale, Anker noise canceling headphones, and an Apple keyboard case lead off Wednesday’s best deals from around the web.Read more...

For the first time, Kevin Hart is opening up about what he’s been through since suffering injuries from a recent car crash.Read more...

John Witherspoon, the “Pops” and “Grandad” of Black Hollywood, has died at the age of 77. The actor-comedian died suddenly in his home on Tuesday.

Despite fielding one of the most diverse groups of presidential candidates, based on most recent poll numbers, the Democratic Party’s frontrunners in the race for who will become the party’s presidential nominee are—perhaps not-all-that-surprisingly—all white.Read more...

An eighth-grader teaching his fellow students math for a month when the teacher quit. Third- and fourth-grade materials in high school classes. Playgrounds covered with broken glass and burst pipes in schoolrooms.Read more...

The NCAA on Tuesday opened the door to college athletes being able to profit from their own names and likenesses, and finally share in the billions of dollars their athletic prowess brings to colleges and universities across the country.

Another year, another honoree luncheon hosted by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)!Read more...

A black U.S. District Court judge issued a temporary injunction on Alabama’s restrictive abortion law that stripped women of their reproductive rights. The law was set to go into effect on Nov. 15 until a black woman forced the state to pump its brakes.Read more...

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

I’ve spent a lot of time considering how to optimize my bed for maximum comfort, so when Buffy’s new Eucalyptus Sheets arrived, I wasn’t really expecting anything all that revelatory. Sheets are sheets, right? Wrong.

Rappers have a difficult job.Read more...