President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama kicked off the first day of Kwanzaa Thursday by extending best wishes to everyone celebrating the weeklong holiday. “As families and communities across our country come together today to light the Kinara, our family sends our hopes for a prosperous and healthy new year,” President Obama said…

McDonald’s has shuttered a controversial employee-resources website that contained posts that, well, advised workers to avoid consuming the very food they serve, CNN reports. A graphic on the site showed a meal with a cheeseburger, fries and drink that was captioned “Unhealthy choice,” the report shows. Next to it was an image of a sub,…

While the so-called knockout game has become known nationally for its racially tinged attacks against whites by blacks, a case in Texas presents a new twist on the themed attacks that some have dubbed an urban myth. Federal authorities have charged a white Texas man in connection with a hate crime for targeting a 79-year-black…

“It amazes me the double standards of cheating: Friend cheated on wife; both their families more or less were upset but shrugged, expected her to stay/forgive. She then cheated two years later and everyone was screaming he should leave her. Why is a woman cheating more unforgivable?” —F.T. We live in a patriarchy that’s full…

This was a good year for black women. From Emmy nominations to elections, music to movies, black women dominated 2013. The Root has gathered a list of the black girls who won in 2013. Sasha Obama Sasha caused a unicorn sweater shortage this year. After she was spotted wearing this ASOS sweatshirt, it promptly sold…

Editor’s note: You can read part 1 of this conversation here and part 2 here. When the creators of a drama that would bring Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave to the big screen needed a historical consultant, Henry Louis Gates Jr., who edited a recent edition of the memoir, was a natural choice. Gates,…

Crazy as it sounds, actor Idris Elba tells The Root, his first hesitation when approached about portraying South African leader Nelson Mandela in the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom was, “He’s light-skinned and I’m dark-skinned!” It was a trivial concern when weighed against the greater challenge of taking on the role of what Elba…