NOTE: Since this post was originally published, TheRoot.com has gone through some significant changes and a lot of former writers and editors have spoken out about the publication’s perceived fall from grace. In the last few months many key members of The Root’s editorial staff have departed. I have no insider’s knowledge of the situation, but if you want to read about what’s happening, check out this juicy article from Gawker. And in the meantime, keep reading below to learn about the glory days of The Root.com and to learn about some of the other Black news sites carrying on the legacy of our great Black journalists from history.
To wrap things up in the Black journalists in history series, I wanted to pay tribute to the Root.com, one of the first digital publications dedicated exclusively to covering Black news and culture.
Finding our Roots
The Root.com launched on January 28, 2008. Just in time for Black history month and the election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama. The brainchild of Mr. Black history himself, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Root was pitched as an online, Black news and lifestyle magazine. The way I remember it, The Root was supposed to be like a Black Time magazine, only it would be exclusively online.
Interestingly, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is not a journalist, but he clearly understands the power of the press and why Black people needed a media outlet that was written for them by them, even in 2008. To launch this groundbreaking online Black news outlet, Gates partnered with the family that owned The Washington Post to get some journalism bonafides into the deal, but like the founders of Freedom’s Journal, I’m sure Gates, like many others, was ready to plead his own cause and no longer let others speak for him/us.
Modern Roots
Over the years, The Root has changed hands and is now owned by Univision and is part of the Gizmodo Media Group. But it is still a viable and thriving news outlet that publishes the work of well-known Black writers and journalists. The Root, like many other digital-first publications, has also expanded into video, podcasts and offline events. Professor Gates is not longer on the masthead at The Root, maybe because he’s too busy finding other people’s roots, but the very accomplished and smart Danielle Belton is the current Editor-in-Chief and carrying on the tradition of Black journalism at its best. (Actually, Vanessa K. DeLuca, formerly of Essence magazine, is the new EIC of The Root.com)
Leaving a Legacy for New Black Publications
What’s more, I feel like The Root has been the inspiration for an entire new generation of online Black news outlets from, The Grio to Blavity to The Undefeated to the brand-spanking new, Capital B (this is an exciting new venture launched by Lauren Williams and Akoto Ofori-Atta.) If you’re not aware of some of these digital publications, you should definitely check them out. Their work is invaluable and necessary in a world where the mainstream media still hasn’t quite figured out how to cover Black America in depth and with nuance and respect.
Where do you go to get your Black News? Let’s start a list in the comments below.
