Much has been said about the “stop snitching” culture, with tales of witnesses fearing retribution from criminals for speaking up in court, but what happens when the person saying “stop snitching” is not a criminal but a police officer? That’s the reality for some citizens who have recorded cellphone video of police misconduct. They have…

If James Brown was the hardest-working man in show business, Charlie Wilson is running a close second in the latest chapter of his life. Currently on tour, Wilson is one of the most electrifying and energetic performers in the business. His new memoir, I Am Charlie Wilson, written with Denene Millner, is due for a June…

Old Negro spirituals. Gospel. Jazz. The blues. R&B. Rock ’n’ roll. Funk. Hip-hop. Black music is almost as old as America itself, yet the monthlong celebration that commemorates it—Black Music Month, celebrated in June—was only created in 1979. How did it come about? Who is behind it? And why do we need it when black…

They’re crying out for help. But will anyone listen? They are African-American men, struggling with mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder—many are veterans, but many more are civilians struggling in secret, ashamed. These are men like 26-year-old James Brown. Brown served two tours in Iraq. When he returned home he was diagnosed with PTSD. He…

During Prince’s #Rally4Peace concert Sunday night, he called out to the young people in the audience. The singer-songwriter, who hadn’t performed in Baltimore in 14 years but put together the charity concert after the unrest and protests over the death of Freddie Gray, told the crowd that the next time he comes to Baltimore, he wants…

As thousands of moms descended on Washington, D.C., for Mother’s Day weekend, marching for the loss of their children to police violence and to call attention to police brutality, a smaller group of moms gathered in an auditorium at the University of Baltimore. The group, Matter Moms, led by The Root Publisher Donna Byrd, seeks…

Stop the protests? Unlikely. That was the sentiment at a gathering hosted by local ministers in Baltimore Sunday after six officers were charged in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. “We will continue protesting until these officers trade their blue uniforms for an orange one,” the Rev. Jamal Bryant told the multiethnic, multiracial crowd of…

She said, “Accountability, you’re getting it today,” and the celebration followed. That was the reaction after Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said those words Friday morning during a press conference announcing that six officers would be arrested and charged in the suspicious death of Freddie Gray. Mosby, who spoke to the crowd of…

A mass of young people, 4,000 strong, locked arms Wednesday and marched from Amtrak’s Penn Station in Baltimore down to City Hall to protest the death of Freddie Gray. As they marched, a student yelled over the loudspeaker, “When you don’t say something when it’s your neighbor, what will you do when they come for…

There were rumors of it from the beginning: Was Freddie Gray a victim of one of Baltimore’s infamous “rough rides”? They paralyzed one man in 2005, and the city has paid out millions in settlements over these “rides,” in which, after arresting a person, police toss the handcuffed man or woman into the back of…