• How Do I Research My Kin’s Jamaican Origins?

    My great-grandparents migrated from Jamaica. I have everyone’s name but no other information about them. Can you tell me more about their origins and how to research Jamaican ancestors in the 19th century? My great-grandfather was Arthur Ephraim Campbell, born May 20, 1879, in Jamaica. He died April 17, 1936, in Roxbury, Mass. His parents…

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  • Watch: Studio Sessions at The Root Featuring Abiah

    Abiah is a seasoned artist and a self-proclaimed vocal beast. With his five-and-a-half-octave range (the artist’s voice could practically shatter glass) and pitch-perfect tone, we think he’s worthy of the title. Abiah and his band took to the Studio Sessions stage to serenade all who would listen with two songs from his album Bottles: “Little…

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  • Watch: Music Prodigy Jon Batiste Serves Food for Thought

    Jon Batiste is something of a musical prodigy. He first performed with his family’s band when he was 8 years old, and nearly a decade later he would go on to self-release his first album, Times in New Orleans. “There was a spiritual connection to the instrument,” Batiste told The Root. Batiste attended the prestigious conservatory Juilliard…

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  • Is Birdman Officially Toni Braxton’s ‘Boo’?

    We all want to know: Are Toni Braxton and Bryan “Birdman” Williams dating? Or are they seeing each other? The rumors have continued to swirl since Braxton brought the Cash Money CEO onstage at a very special show in Atlanta on Thursday. During the show, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed declared it “Toni Braxton Day,” and the…

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  • Obama on Ali: He ‘Shook Up the World. And the World Is Better for It’

    On Saturday, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama shared their thoughts on the death of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. Here is their full statement. Statement from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on the Passing of Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period. If you just asked him, he’d tell you. He’d tell…

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  • Watch: 10 Entertaining Moments With ‘the Champ,’ Muhammad Ali

    Muhammad Ali had a lot of classic moments. Enough for several lifetimes. As we mourn his passing, let’s take a look at 10 televised moments when the original “Greatest of All Time” mingled with TV hosts and entertainers, always keeping it sweet, keeping it blunt, keeping it funny and keeping it real. 1. The always blunt Ali…

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  • Watch: Chilling Video Combines Trump Rhetoric With ’60s-Era Lunch Counter Protests

    When Donald Trump talks about the “good old days” of how protesters were treated, he jokes about them being taken out on stretchers or being ripped out of their seats. But there’s nothing funny about how civil rights protesters were violated in the 1960s as they fought to end Jim Crow in the South. They were beaten, harassed and…

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  • Watch: It’s All About Bossing, Branding and Building When You’re Young, Fabulous and Female in NYC

    It was an evening to remember as women of diverse professions and educational backgrounds came together to talk “bossing, branding and building” at The Root’s Young Fabulous and Female event in New York City on May 25. The event featured panelists Tricia Clarke-Stone, co-founder and CEO of Narrative; Caralene Robinson, senior vice president of VH1’s…

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