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Inmate No. NN7687: Inside the Violent, Deadly, State-of-the-Art Prison Bill Cosby Now Calls Home
Less than an hour after his publicist stood on the steps and compared him to Brett Kavanaugh, Tupac and Jesus, comedy legend and convicted rapist (no, the two are not mutually exclusive) Bill Cosby was put in a single cell inside the brand-spanking new correctional facility where staff have been accused of hate crimes and…
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Minor Damage: The Criminal Injustice of Black Youth Tried As Adults
No one knew. When 25-year-old guard Keriana Alexcee found the body of Jaquin Thomas hanging in a New Orleans jail cell, she didn’t know that Thomas had been dead for more than 90 minutes. According to the Advocate, Alexcee had not been trained to check on Thomas every 15 minutes—as mandated by a federal consent…
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Before Our Meeting, Michelle Obama Asked Me to Remind You What Happens When We All Vote
Wait … I’m not going to meet Michelle Obama? Hold up. Ok, I know that there is a lot at stake this election including the possibility of three black governors (in Georgia, Maryland and Florida, of all places), the chance to kick extraterrestrial humanoid Ted Cruz out of office and control of the House and…
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6 Legit Reasons Why the San Francisco 49ers Should Sign Colin Kaepernick and 1 Reason They Won't
You have a better chance of becoming a Shaolin monk then you do working at The Root. To work at The Root requires a written examination, then there is a talent competition, and a rigorous oral exam that includes questions on black history, Spades bidding, Kool-Aid making and the proper kick-turn technique when performing the…
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Seattle Throws Out 15 Years of Marijuana Convictions
Citing the war on drugs’ disproportionate impact on people of color, judges in Seattle have agreed to vacate the marijuana convictions of hundreds of people who were punished for pot possession before the state made weed legal. According to the Seattle Times, in April, city attorney Pete Holmes filed a motion asking the city’s seven…
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Chicago Judge Exonerates 18 People Framed By Crooked Cops
On March 23, 2005, police officers arrested 32-year-old Ben Baker for dealing heroin in Chicago’s Ida B. Wells housing projects. After his arrest, Baker filed a complaint claiming he was framed by the officers. In December 2005, the same police officers arrested Baker and his wife during a traffic stop after officers said they found…
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Why They Kneel: Injustice and Inequality in the Land of the Steelers and Buccaneers
To examine the injustice and inequality that prompted some NFL players to protest during the national anthem, each week, for the remainder of the NFL season, The Root will explore the data behind racial disparities in the two cities represented in the National Football League’s premiere matchup—Monday Night Football. Tonight, the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to…
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There's No Such Thing as a Republican Party
As a child who was prone to going down rabbit holes, I was obsessed with stories about unexplained phenomena. I consumed books about subjects such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, ghost stories, the Bermuda Triangle, extrasensory perception, spontaneous combustion, unidentified flying objects, alien life, and the existence of a higher power. When I became…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Wypipology 101
As one of the world’s foremost wypipologists, my credentials are often challenged by people who aren’t familiar with my field of study. So today, I would like to use my area of expertise to discuss some very important subjects that are often asked about in the emails, tweets and messages received by The Root staff.…
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Colin Kaepernick, Dave Chappelle Awarded W.E.B. Du Bois Black Culture Medal; Rachel Dolezal Snubbed Again
Quick question: When one of America’s most prestigious Ivy League universities honors Colin Kaepernick, Dave Chappelle and six other African Americans for their contributions to black history and culture, will white people burn their Harvard rejection letters, their Chappelle’s Show DVD sets or the ivy in their yards? According to the Associated Press, Harvard University’s…
