Barbara Gardner Proctor, Trailblazing Ad Woman, Dies at 85
In 1963, Barbara Gardener Proctor was flying to Europe to swap records while working for a black-owned record company.…
Beychella Named By Forbes, Vogue a Top Defining Moment In Pop Culture
Greetings, big sister Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Dean of Pledges. Snatcher of Edges. Wearer of Bundles. Is there…
The Women of GirlTrek, in Their Literal Movement for Black Women, Radiate Collective Work and Responsibility
The Kwanzaa principle for today, Dec. 28, is Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility. Ujima means building and…
Unreleased Music From Beyoncé Leaked and Somebody's Probably Getting Fired
It’s no secret that Beyoncé has no respect for our edges, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that she’d release music…
Beale Street’s Regina King Breaks Down What It Means to Be a Vulnerable Black Woman
We often speak about the “strong black woman” archetype, but what does it mean to be a “vulnerable black woman?” The…
'I Cannot Lead With Bullshit': Viola Davis is Fed Up With Black Women Being Left Behind and She's Doing Something About it
In yet another display of “Viola Davis’ Speeches Are Better Than Everyone Else’s,” the Widows actor took the stage as…
Beyoncé And Jay-Z Headline the 2018 Global Citizen Festival to Honor Nelson Mandela's Legacy
At a respectable hour—2:47 p.m. EST on Sunday, to be exact—Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z’s philanthropy and benevolence …
The Glow Up Grows Up: It’s Our 1st Birthday!
What a difference a year makes! Only 365 days ago, we were celebrating the birth of The Root’s newest baby, a beauty,…
New Research Says Black Women Are More Objectified Than White Women. Old Research Says We Knew That
Fun fact: The very first article I ever wrote for The Root was titled, “5 Signs You’re About to Be Racially Fetishized.”…
Like Many Black Women, Kim Porter Was Under a Doctor's Care and Still Died. That's Terrifying
To prepare for the expected birth of our second child next month, my wife and I are enrolled in one of those new age…
Hidden Figures: The Colored Girls of Politics
Whether seen or unseen, black women have always had a hand in the American political system.
It’s Time to Listen to Black Women. We’ve Been Talking About Police Sexual Violence for a Long Time
“It’s never true that *no one* is talking about a thing. It’s often true that *not enough* people are talking about a…
In Memoriam: For Colored Girls Who Grew Up on Ntozake Shange
If you were a colored girl lucky enough (or “enuf,” as she might write) to grow up on the words and work of playwright,…
A Black Woman Reported the MAGABomber to Twitter. Twitter Did Nothing ... Again
Twitter is apologizing for ignoring the warnings of a woman who appealed to administrators at the social media site to…
I'm an Intersex Black Woman. My Voice Matters. Listen
Editor’s note: Intersex Awareness Day is October 26.
Revisiting Anita Hill: On Racism, Stereotypes and Respectability Politics
“The more things change. The more things stay the same.”
A Look Back at the Reaction to 'Straight Black Men Are the White People of Black People' a Year Later
A year ago, a line in a piece from Saki Benibo—an assertion also articulated a year before in a tweet from Mela Machinko
Made for Now: Janet Jackson's Beauty Is Eternal on October's InStyle
They said it wouldn’t last, we had to prove them wrong: Fresh off the historic wave of melanated magnificence on…
GirlTrek Takes Over The Root’s Instagram in Celebration of Black Women Coming Together in the Rocky Mountains for a #StressProtest
GirlTrek, the largest national public health nonprofit and movement for black women and girls, continues to offer a…
Making Miss Black America: As the Pageant Turns 50, an Early Contestant Looks Back
When Oprah Winfrey represented her home state of Tennessee in the Miss Black America pageant in 1971, she was part of a…