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Woman Violently Arrested After Calling Miami-Dade Police for Help Files Civil Rights Lawsuit
Dyma Loving, a young mother of three who was violently arrested by Miami-Dade officers last month after she called the police for help, will be filing a federal civil rights complaint Wednesday against the county. The announcement was made by Loving’s attorney, Justin Moore, who sent a press release to The Root on Wednesday morning.…
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Harford County Sheriff Finds 'Lawyering While Black' Complaint Unfounded; Officials Say Deputy Is the 'Real Victim'
After a complaint—and a whole lot of press—prompted the Harford County, Md., Sheriff’s Office to investigate a case of “lawyering while black,” the police have come back with their conclusion: It wasn’t racial profiling, just confusion. And to hear at least one police official tell it, the deputy who cornered a black lawyer over concerns…
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Chicago’s New GPS-Tracking Ankle Monitors Can Record Kids Without Their Consent
As cities and towns across America come to grips with the country’s mass incarceration problem, many jurisdictions are looking to digital surveillance, particularly ankle monitors, for solutions. But as a new report detailing Chicago’s use of electronic monitoring reveals, these technologies can be every bit as harmful to the people wearing them as putting them…
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Time's Up for Abusers in the Workplace: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Introduces Sweeping Anti-Harassment Legislation
Joined by workers, survivors, and advocates from across the country, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and other congressional Democrats have introduced new, comprehensive legislation that tackles harassment in the workplace. The multifaceted “Be HEARD Act” is aimed at bolstering protections for workers, particularly those in lower wage and entry-level jobs where employees tend to be most…
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'Old Town Road' Rides to the Top: Lil Nas X Lands No. 1 Song in America
Turns out “Old Town Road,” the song that wasn’t country enough for Billboard’s Country charts, is plenty hot enough to be the country’s No. 1 song. As Billboard itself reported Monday night, the viral hit catapulted from No. 15 to No. 1 on the charts over the last week. And while some of the interest…
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Prosecutor Kim Foxx Defends Decision in Jussie Smollett Case, Calls Police Backlash 'Disheartening'
At an event hosted by the Reverend Jesse Jackson last weekend, Cook County Prosecutor Kim Foxx held the line on her office’s decision to dismiss charges against Empire actor Jussie Smollett, whom Chicago Police say orchestrated a hate-crime hoax in January. As Page Six reports, Foxx gave a press conference at the Saturday Rainbow PUSH…
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Watch: Beyoncé-Helmed Homecoming Trailer Promises a Powerful, Affirmative Behind-the-Scenes Look at Beychella
Let’s just hop right to it: The trailer for Homecoming, the Beyoncé-directed documentary that takes us through her historic Coachella performance, dropped Monday morning, and it promises to be more than just a smattering of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Peep it: The Homecoming: a Film by Beyoncé trailer features video of Beyoncé preparing for her…
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R. Kelly Fans Pay Up to $100 to Watch Human Trashbag Sing for 28 Seconds
I plan on keeping this blog about as short as R. Kelly’s performance this past weekend. Robert Kelly, who is facing ten counts of felony aggravated sex abuse in Cook County, Ill., performed for a whole 28 seconds at the Dirty South Lounge in Springfield early Sunday morning. That’s not a typo. That’s 28 seconds—as…
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We've Been Talking About Education All Wrong. Wyatt Cenac Wants to Change That
Wyatt Cenac knows it’s easy to laugh at Aunt Becky. When news broke last month of the college admissions scandal—which saw dozens of the nation’s most privileged parents receive federal indictments for bribing their children’s way into the nation’s top universities—it dominated as many punchlines as it did headlines. Included in the schadenfreude were jokes…
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The Petty Continues: City of Chicago Says It Will Sue Jussie Smollett After He Misses $130,000 Repayment Deadline
Leave it to the Windy City to not let shit go. The City of Chicago says it intends to sue actor Jussie Smollett after he missed a deadline on Thursday night to pay back the city $130,000 for the cost of investigating the alleged attack against him, Deadline reports. The deadline was imposed by outgoing…
