Culture

Everything You Need To Know About Fredi Washington, The Black Hollywood Star Who Refused To Pass As White

Everything You Need To Know About Fredi Washington, The Black Hollywood Star Who Refused To Pass As White

Here’s everything you need to know about Fredi Washington, the Black woman who refused to pass as White in a time when it would’ve benefited her.
Why Parents of the 'Black-ish' Generation Are Choosing HBCUs Now

Why Parents of the ‘Black-ish’ Generation Are Choosing HBCUs Now

As more parents rethink what college readiness looks like, historically Black colleges and universities are
Everything You Need to Know About Jackie Young, The WNBA’s First Million-Dollar Player

Everything You Need to Know About Jackie Young, The WNBA’s First Million-Dollar Player

The Las Vegas Aces guard made history as the league’s first seven-figure player.
  • The Black Bucket List Hits Up Bed-Stuy

    The Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood’s “do or die” attitude dates back to the 1830s. Weeksville, a completely self-sufficient black community, was truly “for us, by us.” Check out more of our Black Bucket List content.

  • ,

    Chauncey Bailey Verdict Hailed as Victory for Journalism

    “The murder convictions of two men who killed Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey were hailed Thursday by press-freedom groups and residents of the city for which Bailey reported,” Josh Richman, Kristin J. Bender and Angela Woodall reported for the Chauncey Bailey Project. “Bailey, 57, was the first journalist killed over a domestic story in the…

  • ,

    Sandra Long Dropped at Philly Newspapers

    Sandra D. Long, an employee of the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1984 and vice president for editorial product development for Philadelphia Media Network, latest owner of the Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, was dropped from the staff on Wednesday. Long said her goodbyes on Wednesday “to as many people as I could,” she told Journal-isms. Mark…

  • ,

    Not Just 'Take This Job and Shove It'

    Two years ago, the Fort Mill (S.C.) Times, a 19,500-circulation weekly owned by the McClatchy Co., proudly announced that “Toya Graham will be joining the Fort Mill Times staff as an assistant editor. Graham, currently a reporter covering the crime and courts beats for the The Herald, the Times’ sister daily, will begin her new…

  • Is It the End of Black Anger?

    The Root took to the streets of D.C. to see if the premise of a new book is true: that younger blacks are more optimistic in the face of racism.

  • ,

    New York Times' Black Women Alums Hail Changes

    The appointment of Jill Abramson and Dean Baquet as the top two news executives at the New York Times was hailed by black women who have worked at the Times Friday as they recalled past battles waged at the paper by women and African Americans. Eight black women — current and former Times employees —…

  • ,

    Abramson, Baquet Rise at New York Times

    Jill Abramson and Dean Baquet — a white woman and a black man — will lead the newsroom of the New York Times, the newspaper announced on Thursday, reporting that Abramson, a former investigative reporter and Washington bureau chief, will become the paper’s executive editor, and Baquet, the Washington bureau chief, will become the new…

  • Welcome to Our Roots Section

    The Root’s editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., introduces our Roots section, where you can get advice on researching your family history.

  • ,

    Where Is the Gil Scott-Heron Documentary?

    Since the death of spoken word musician Gil Scott-Heron on Friday, more than one post-Boomer – Scott-Heron was 62 – confessed online that the so-called “godfather of rap” was unknown to them. Savvy television producers might rush to fill the vacuum by obtaining a 2003 documentary from the BBC, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,”…

  • Hollywood Family Reunions: A Video Mashup

    Remember when Tupac and Janet Jackson crashed that picnic in Poetic Justice? How about Martin and Gina’s wedding? Watch some of the best family-reunion moments Hollywood has to offer. Click here for more of The Root’s summer family-reunion content.