roundup

One of the leading sources for African-American news and commentary was recently sold to a major media company. Yesterday, it was announced that TheRoot.com was acquired by Univision Communications Inc. “I’m excited,” said Donna Byrd, publisher of TheRoot.com. “Everyone’s looking for how we can grow our business, and they’re looking to do the same thing.” The […]

Want to learn how to “break the internet?” Just ask President Obama. Earlier this week, he broke the Guinness World Record for the “fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Twitter.” His account, @POTUS, had 1 million followers within the first 5 hours after the page was created. After President Obama’s time is up […]

Many African-American stars have nabbed roles in Broadway productions, diversifying the realm of theater. Songstress Brandy is currently playing Roxie Hart in “Chicago” and now actor Taye Diggs will star as a transgender rocker in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Diggs, taking the stage as Hedwig this summer, will become the first African-American actor to play […]

According to a new study, the suicide rate amongst African-American children has almost doubled within the last two decades. The research, which was published in JAMA Pediatrics earlier this week, showed that the rate for Black children between the ages of 5 to 11 has increased from 1.36 per one million children to 2.54. The […]

It’s been almost a week since the Amtrak derailment tragedy took place in Philadelphia, and the railroad company has decided to restore service between New York and Pennsylvania. Departures from both states resumed earlier Monday morning. “The safety of our passengers and crew remains our number one priority. Our infrastructure repairs have been made with the […]

Last month, a Zion, Ill. police officer fatally shot 17-year-old Justus Howell in the back — and like many of the recent incidents involving police brutality, it was captured on camera. Despite the footage, Lake County prosecutors announced that the officer who shot Howell will not face any criminal charges. State Attorney Mike Nerheim claims […]

Songstress Beyoncé has never shied away from showing political support. She even teamed up with First Lady Michelle Obama on her initiative to overcome obesity in our country. As President Obama’s time in the White House comes to an end, the Houston-bred singer shows who she’s riding with for the next election. She was recently spotted at […]

Over the past few days, rappers have been recognized for their influence in society. Earlier this week, Kanye West received an honorary doctorate degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and this week, California-bred rapper Kendrick Lamar received the 35th California Senate District’s Generational Icon Award. The award, which was presented on the state’s […]

The speculation regarding where President Obama’s library would be constructed has officially come to an end. The Barack Obama Foundation announced yesterday morning that the presidential library will be built in the South Side of Chicago. “All the strands of my life came together, and I really became a man when I moved to Chicago,” said […]

Legendary singer Prince was spreading peace in Baltimore this past weekend. Yesterday, he held his “Rally 4 Peace” concert in the city and the day before that, he released a song that was inspired by Freddie Gray and the unrest that took place in Maryland. The song, which was dubbed “Baltimore,” used the Freddie Gray […]

Although the Ebola virus is still prevalent in a few African countries, one of the places hit the hardest is on its way to being declared Ebola-free. According to the World Health Organization, Liberia will be listed as Ebola-free on Saturday, which marks 42 days since the last case was reported. Although Liberia will rejoice […]

When news spread that Dr. Dre inked a deal with Apple to sell his ‘Beats by Dre’ headphones company for over a billion dollars, the Compton-bred entertainer was praised as a major power player in the hip-hop industry. However, the deal didn’t land him at the top of Forbes’ annual Hip-Hop’s Wealthiest list. Mogul Sean […]