Black Excellence
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Pride and Joy: As She Prepares for a New Era, Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton Reflects on Life at The Root
Six years to the day that she became a full-time staffer and associate editor at The Root, Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton sat her staff down via virtual meetup to make a difficult announcement: She’d be departing to lead the team at HuffPost. As is typical of our staff, the news wasn’t met with stoicism; there were…
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High School Basketball Team That Announcer Called the N-Word Claps Back With State Championship
Whew, the devil is busy. This weekend, you might’ve heard about a Sapulpa, Okla., basketball announcer who was kind enough to call members of the Norman High School girls basketball team “fucking niggers” because they committed the unpardonable sin of kneeling during the national anthem. I know, I know…they don’t like when we get all…
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With Journacy, Jeff Johnson Is Encouraging Black Fathers to Enjoy the Journey
Black History Month provided us all with the perfect opportunity to reflect on the achievements of Black fathers throughout the course of history. Jeff Johnson also wants to ensure that the everyday dads who hold it down for their families—and who might never be immortalized by history books—have an advocate, too. That’s why he’s created…
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Michigan, Northwestern Announce George Jewett Trophy to Honor Big Ten's 1st Black Player
While pursuing a degree in nursing, George Jewett broke the color barrier as the first Black football player in the history of the Big Ten. During the 1890 and 1892 seasons, he played fullback, halfback, and kicker at Michigan before transferring to Northwestern in 1893 to play two more seasons and earn his degree. Typically…
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The Cast of Coming 2 America Is Very Happy to Be Here and Show Out on These Essence March/April Covers
Zamunda is all about opulence, so of course, the cast of Coming 2 America has some Essence covers to show off! For the March/April editions of the magazine, one of the Blackest sequels ever has three different covers: Eddie Murphy and Bella Murphy KiKi Layne Eddie, Jermaine Fowler and Arsenio Hall It’s been 33 years…
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Melina Matsoukas, Howard University and Instagram Launch Share Black Stories ‘Future First’ Reels Challenge
If you’re active on Instagram, you’ve probably viewed an Instagram Reel at this point—whether it was sent to you by a friend or you saw it organically on the “Explore” page. There’s a lot of opportunity for creators to show off their skills and this is just one more outlet in the booming world of…
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Black Renaissance: Ibram X. Kendi Partners With Time to Claim a New Era for Black Creativity, With Amanda Gorman as Cover Star
“This Is the Black Renaissance,” the headline above Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s byline for Time magazine proclaims, at once a manifesto and mantra encapsulating what he (and others) recognize as “the third great cultural revival of Black Americans.” Like the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement before it, Black creativity is undeniably thriving, asking no…
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LeBron James, Naomi Osaka Named Associated Press Male and Female Athletes of the Year
During a year that’s presented an endless succession of unprecedented challenges, LeBron James and Naomi Osaka dug deep and still managed to dominate both on and off the court, and for their accomplishments in both sports and social activism, the Associated Press has named them the Male and Female Athletes of the Year. From NBC News:…