The 27-year-old white man who is accused of stabbing and killing 18-year-old Nia Wilson at a BART train stop in Oakland, Calif., in July will likely not get hit with hate crime charges—but may still get the death penalty.

Police are searching for a suspect in the brutal slaying of a black teen Sunday at the MacArthur BART station in Oakland, Calif. Authorities say 18-year-old Nia Wilson died after her throat was slit by the man, who was identified this afternoon as 20-year-old John Cowell. Her sister, who was also stabbed, survived the…

Just watching the trailer for Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You is like taking a mini psychedelic trip. The rapper-turned-director’s dystopian fever dream may be set in present-day Oakland, Calif., but explores alternate dimensions as an allegory of the dangers of assimilation. The satirical comedy, which stars…

An Oakland, Calif., firefighter doing his duty to serve his community, conducting city-mandated inspections around Oakland Hills, actually had the police called on him, and on another occasion, he was harassed questioned and recorded by a resident who thought he was suspicious even though he was in full uniform and…

I thought it would take at least a month to find a white man worse than Aaron Schlossberg, the New York City lawyer captured on film threatening to call immigration on people speaking Spanish at a café. But America is nothing but ambitious, and somehow it managed to produce someone who undoubtedly saw what Schlossberg…

The Root is celebrating Black Music Month with stories that dig into the soul of black artistry and with The Pop Up, our new video series featuring in-office performances from black artists we adore. Sol Development are our first performing artists for The Pop Up, and they do not disappoint.

“Pay it forward” is something you hear a lot in the restaurants and shops of Oakland, Calif. If you see a stranger in distress and you can help, you stop what you are doing and support them. The concept of doing for someone as you would want them to do to you is a fundamental philosophy for many who are from this…

Hundreds of Oakland, Calif., residents were at Oakland’s Lake Merritt Park over the weekend to prove that one Barbecue Becky won’t stop their grilling show. The festival was a middle finger to the white woman who called police on a family using a charcoal grill at the park two weeks ago. The viral video of the…

I recently got back from attending a race and policy symposium sponsored by the Students of Color in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. I had the distinct pleasure of being the keynote speaker for their conference, titled, “Reclaiming Our Time: The Importance…

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Editor’s note: There are spoilers here.

Elaine Brown, former leader of the Black Panther Party, was recently awarded more than $4 million by a Northern California jury, stemming from what was determined to be an assault by an Oakland, Calif., councilwoman in 2015.

According to philosopher king and wordsmith savant E-40 Fonzarelli of the Vallejo, Calif., Fonzarellis, “Jesus Christ had dreads. So shake ’em.” I ain’t got none, but I’m planning on growing some. Or at least I would if God didn’t feel differently about my hairline and would energize my follicles. It seems rather far…

Editor’s note: In Focus is a The Root TV series showcasing the new wave of black filmmakers.