Courtesy of Loop21
Legendary stuff right here folks. Veteran journalist Davey D. sat down with Dick Gregory and Paul Mooney, at the same time, to do what they do best. Talk and drop little known gems along the way. It’s pretty lengthy, but it’s worth every minute.
Only two episodes left! Tune in Wednesdays at 3pm for the next episode of UPTOWN Girls.
Courtesy of The Root
Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan says that the racism toward President Obama could lead to an assassination attempt, according to the Huffington Post.
During an annual conference on Sunday, Farrakhan ran down a list of names that the president has been called since he’s been in office, and talked about Satan’s influence over racist forces in politics and what the end result could be. “They have called President Barack Obama a racist, an anti-Semite, a socialist, a communist, a foreigner, an alien, and some have even called him a terrorist,” Farrakhan said, according to the AP. “Obama has really got them upset. Republicans are looking for some white person. Anybody. Anybody.”
He then paused and said, “Do you think they’re wicked enough to be plotting our brother’s assassination as we speak?” Farrakhan claimed that Obama could be like Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated soon after being elected to his second term. The NOI leader claimed that the plot could involve a “patsy” to do the job as part of an overall conspiracy.
“I believe they want a Muslim to kill President Obama,” he said.
by Lashawnda K. Becoats
THIS SUD’S FOR YOU
Whether your style is button-down business suits or jeans and flip-flops, if you’re a connoisseur of brews, World of Beer is heaven on earth. This upscale South End tavern doesn’t discriminate if you don’t know the difference between an IPA (India Pale Ale) or a porter. The experts on staff are more than happy to break it down. Beer aficionados or wannabes have a choice of over 500 bottles of specialty imports from all international ports, as well as 60 different American craft beer offerings on tap. They’ve even got a loyalty card program that let’s you earn points based on every beer you drink. Mix and mingle while listening to live music. They don’t offer an in-house menu, but guests can order food from area restaurants for tableside delivery. wobusa.com
by Ronda Racha Penrice
FASHION ROAD TRIP
Charleston doesn’t top the list of fashion capitals quite yet, but since it sashayed onto the scene in 2007, Charleston Fashion Week has been doing its darnedest to change that. Thanks to Charleston magazine style editor and former Atlantan Ayoka Lucas, CFW (this year, March 20 to March 24) garners more fashion-insider attention with each installment. The Emerging Bridal Designer Competition has been added to a mix that already includes the Emerging Designers Competition, Rock the Runway Model Competition, and, of course, runway shows and parties. Proud of the event’s accomplishments, Lucas boasts that “CFW has become a portal to New York for those trying to get discovered in the realm of fashion design and modeling.” charlestonfashionweek.com
OPEN AIRNESS
The switcheroo from the Palomar to the Renaissance was so quick last year that there was little time to enjoy what’s arguably always been the best part of the hotel under any brand—the rooftop! After being closed down for Old Man Winter, the new chapter at Rooftop 866 begins in earnest on March 1. Wisely improving on an already good thing, the space is sexed up with dramatic fire pits and even lusher landscaping, making it a super fun oasis. Seasonal hummus at just $8.66 and drinks like the Green Cucumber Martini definitely make it a Garden of Eden full of temptations. rooftop866atlanta.com
We fell in love with Tracee Ellis Ross when she got her big break on UPN’s Girlfriends back in the day. And knew she was the perfect actress to grace the cover of the UPTOWN “Hollywood” issue. But this glamorous funny-woman isn’t the only thespian we’re highlighting in the issue. We also catch up with up-and-comers Michael B. Jordan, of The Wire and Friday Night Lights, and Condola Rashad, who starred in Stick Fly, and gangsta-rapper-turned-mogul Ice Cube reveals his thoughts on the state of Hollywood. But right now, you can get a taste of Tracee with these behind-the-scene photos and video before the UPTOWN ‘Hollywood’ issue hits newsstands!
It’s the season for icons: Motown legend Diana Ross and a much slimmer Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin bring their talents to the Fox (foxtheatre.org) on March 1 and March 5 respectively…
The Freddy Cole Quartet and the Marcus Roberts Trio honor the music of Freddy Cole’s brother, Nat “King” Cole, and the equally genius Cole Porter; and Georgia native and master trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and friends pay homage to the incomparable Louis Armstrong at the Savannah Music Festival (savannahmusicfestival.org ) March 22 to April 7…
Should waiting until Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour (cirquedusoleil.com/michaeljackson) at Philips Arena on June 29 and June 30 prove too hard, know that from March 2 until March 14, there are shows not too far away in Florida (Miami and Jacksonville) and North Carolina (Charlotte and Raleigh).
Above: Nat ‘King’ Cole records at Capitol Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. (1963)
Renewal. Revitalization. Rejuvenation. Traversing into a new year usually designates the moment when the gentleman grants pause for reflection, readying himself to be reinvigorated. However, that momentary break for thoughtful rumination does not sincerely commence until the early spring season. And spring is drawing near — fast. Refreshed of mind and spirit, the gentleman emerges from the brisk winter months, and his presentation accurately reflects his spring attitude — energetic. From top to bottom, the preferred aesthetic this season is undeniably bursting with spirit and vigor. To be sure, a kaleidoscopic tidal wave of hue is sweeping through the entire gambit of menswear — pants included. Sure, your trusted khakis will still get some burn. But the office is becoming a smidgen more adventurous. Don’t get left behind. New season. New mindset. Slip into these and enjoy the ride.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 years since the passing of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur, but luckily, his legacy is not one we will soon forget.
According to Playbill, Holler If You Hear Me is the newest show to hit Broadway under the direction of Kenny Leon. On March 10, he will begin his search for African-American male and female rappers between the ages on 18-35 and one “Caucasian actor” between the ages of 20-25 with a “strong facility for rap and terrific guitar skills.”
Few ever imagined the late rapper’s music would hit the Great White Way, but Leon knew it was a project that needed to be shared.
“The idea was always to make a musical inspired by his music and not to do an autobiographical approach to his life or anything like that,” said the Stick Fly director in a PBS interview. “And because I always thought that Tupac was a prophet and I thought if everybody could hear his words and hear his stories, they would see what I see. So we are going to probably do a big workshop in New York this summer and I’m going to try to bring it to Broadway in the next Broadway season.”
Back in October, Leon revealed to BlackVoices that he held small meetings with Shakur’s mother, Afeni, to make sure his ideas for the show were on track.
Workshops for Holler If You Hear Me will run from April 23 to May 11 with all selected actors.
It’s been years since we’ve seen Phylicia Rashad‘s talents in a television series, but the former Cosby Show star is heading back to the small screen in a new pilot for NBC.
The Emmy-nominated and Tony-winning actress will play Dr. Vanessa Young in Do No Harm, an updated take on Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Young is the chief of surgery and boss to Jeffery Kohl (Steven Pasquale), a bright neurosurgeon whose inner demons and alter-ego threaten to disrupt his personal and professional life.
The cast also includes Alana De La Garza, Mousa Kraish, Michael Esper and Ruta Gedmintas.
Rashad is most famous for her role as the classy and sassy Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984-1992). She followed up with several television spots throughout the late 90′s and 2000s.
The 63-year-old veteran became the first black actress to win a Tony Award for lead actress for Raisin in the Sun. Rashad has also been a presence in film starring in Just Wright with Queen Latifah and Tyler Perry‘s For Colored Girls and Good Deeds.
Courtesy of NewsOne
For many centuries, the epitome of African American achievement has been to become the first black president. We once talked about it like it was the impossible dream, or the ultimate sign that we have arrived. Well, Barack Obama didn’t just talk about the dream, he went out and turned it into a reality.
So, here we are, with the keys to the Oval Office. When the Obamas moved in physically, many of “us” moved into the White House psychologically. The Obama’s marriage was our own, and our sense of protection of the president and his family was the kind that tends to be reserved for our closest relatives.
With that said, the question becomes, “How do we properly contextualize President Obama in black American history?”
Well, one thing we know is that it would be quite dangerous to describe President Obama as the most accomplished black man in the history of the United States. To make such a claim would be to say that being popular among white Americans might be an important precondition for African Americans to be “successful.” The gifts of true freedom, respect and equality are not granted willingly in a historically racist society. Typically, equality means competition, and it’s hard to compete with someone for valuable resources and expect them to like you at the same time.
In a recent interview with Access Hollywood, Eddie Murphy was anything but shy about responding to the recent dating rumors involving Toni Braxton.
“I don’t even know who the new love is. I know I’m single and I’m just up at the house, playing the guitar and being a single dad,” he admits.
Media reports have been swirling that the “new couple” have been dating for months. According to Murphy, that’s far from the truth.
“Toni and I are just friends,” he said Wednesday. “I went to her show, and we’re friends and she’s a very, very sweet girl, but we’re just friends.”
Putting the rumor behind him, Murphy also voiced his opinions on Sunday’s Academy Awards. The Tower Heist star was initially set to host the show, but stepped down after the resignation of producer Brett Ratner.
“It’s still something that I would like to do one day, because all the best comics have done it,” Murphy said. “It’s one of the few things I haven’t done in my 35 years in this business, so I would like to have that be part of my resume as well. [...] If they ask me again, maybe I’ll do it.
While he praised Billy Crystal for stepping up to the job, Murphy couldn’t but help admit that the show would have taken a different route under his direction.
Related: Billy Crystal’s Oscar Spoof Was Hardly ‘Blackface’
“I thought Billy did a wonderful job. Billy’s done it so many times, he can’t not do a good job,” he said. “It would be a little quicker with me driving.”
Murphy is currently promoting his latest film A Thousand Words which is due in theaters March 9.
Courtesy of The Grio
Throughout history, black men have played pivotal roles in the development of this nation. Despite the legacies of these giants, according to “A Call For Change,” a 2010 study released by Council of Great City Schools, only 12 percent of black male students are proficient in reading by fourth grade, and by the eighth grade, their proficiency rate drops to nine percent. Black men make up only five percent of our nation’s college students, while they represent 36 percent of our prison population. We must change this grim reality — the stakes are too high and the consequences too dire.
Although many teachers across our country are working hard to ensure their students receive the academic tools necessary to reach their full potential we still need more talented educators doing this vital work. In particular, in our low-income communities where a majority of students are African-American or Latino, we need more outstanding teachers from diverse backgrounds to serve as role models and classroom leaders. This is especially true when it comes to our black boys. Today, only two percent of teachers in this country are black men.
As an African-American male working at Teach For America and committed to ensuring educational excellence for our kids growing up in poverty, I frequently think back on my classroom experience. It was during my time as a teacher in Houston’s fifth ward that I first understood the scope of the educational inequity that exists between black boys and their wealthier white peers. From the moment I stepped in front of my kids, it was obvious-the gap had nothing to do with their ability or desire to learn. Instead, it was rooted in the extra challenges poverty was throwing in their path, coupled by a tragic lack of educational opportunity.
In today’s link round-up: J. Hud thinks like a man for her latest video, Andre 3000 talks about the future of Outkast and much more!
ESSENCE.com
Janet Jackson Says ‘No’ To ‘X Factor’
Janet has little time for the popular talent competition.
The YBF
Wiz Khalifa & Amber Rose Make It Official!
Congratulations to the couple!
The Grio
Jennifer Hudson Is A Boss In New ‘Think Like A Man’ Video
Jennifer Hudson spices things up, with a little help from Ne-Yo.
HuffPost BlackVoices
Andre 3000 Reveals Status Of New Outkast Album
Is the duo back to make beautiful music?
Necole Bitchie
Nicole Ari Parker Creates HeadWrap That Saves Your Hair From Sweat During Workouts
Ladies, there is no excuse for not working out!
Loop 21
Shattered Images: How 100 Black Women Will Reclaim Their Identity
Ijeoma D. Iheanacho is changing the image of the Black woman.
By Kimatni D. Rawlins, Automotive Rhythms
In the animal kingdom, jaguars are a rare breed almost to the point of extinction. For that matter, people confuse them with leopards and black jaguars with panthers. Well, in the automotive world the British “cat” is far from extinct, and for 2012 Jaguar has redefined the kitty kingdom with a new high-performance XKR-S Coupe and Convertible. The latest member of the family is undoubtedly the most authoritative and the quickest production vehicle Jaguar has ever built.
Another week, another day and another round of outrageous celebrity phrases! This week, the celebrity sound bites making headlines include everything from a Philly diva’s Twitter spat to a former heavyweight champ’s brush with the law to a delusional Congressional candidate’s denial of the Holocaust. Plus, guess which actress is going au naturale and why one British songstress cannot get any respect in the UK . And I quote …
Courtesy of The Frisky
In a recent Dear Prudence column, a woman wrote in, concerned about her fiancé’s aversion to her scent. She wrote:
“Last night, a bit too much wine prompted my fiancé to tell me a secret he’s been keeping for years: He thinks I smell bad. And that’s why our sex life has been on the decline. I know I do sweat more than some people, but I shower daily and always use deodorant. I can’t figure out if I am actually as bad as he says or if he just thinks I’m stinky because he is lucky enough to have totally odorless sweat. I am seriously considering calling off the wedding because of this.”
Prudence advises her to seek medical evaluation for her odor, adding, “If you feel your fiancé told you in a cruel or malicious way, or you think he is establishing the groundwork for breaking up with you, then you need to engage in a frank discussion about where your romance is headed.”
Continue reading at The Frisky
[Man holding nose image via Shutterstock]
Courtesy of Madame Noire
For many of you, tax time means a big fat check in the mail courtesy of the earned income credit, dependent deductions and child related credits. But before you start counting your dollars, remember that just because the numbers say you’re getting a refund doesn’t mean you’ll actually see that money. The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) regularly using tax refunds to offset certain type of debts.
If the FMS takes your refund, you find out through the mail. You receive a notice in the mail instead of your check that states that how much of a refund you were entitled to and how much you will receive. It also tells you which debt the refund went to repay and how to contact that organization directly. You must contact the organization, not the IRS, about your refund offset.
And it’s not just your own debts that can intercept your tax refund. If you file jointly with your spouse, his debts can affect your return as well. At least if that happens, you can fill out Form 8379–Injured Spouse Allocation to try to convince IRS that the debt is not yours and persuade them to release your portion of the joint return.
So what kinds of debts can affect your refund? Generally, it’s any debt owed in association with a government agency. Here are a few common examples:
Continue reading at Madame Noire
[Income tax refund image via Shutterstock]
Courtesy of Hello Beautiful
Most women do not know how to pick men. They pick the man of their dreams. Then they try to make McDreamy come alive in their reality. The reality is that it is estimated that 95% of women want to date the top 5% of men. Stop dreaming. Meanwhile men are willing to date darn near anybody who can twerk it right. So when you see a happily married couple and the wife is busted but the brother is a pretty boy, light-skindid with brown eyes, a brother that would be in your top 5%. Don’t say how did she get him? It wasn’t her. It was him doing something that you will never do. He relaxed his visual requirement a bit so that he could find some one that he thought he could build a strong marriage with.
Now I am not saying settle. I am suggesting that you date on your level. Find your level, date there. You are not perfect, neither will he be. Having the most money, has nothing to do with how successful one is in marriage. Anybody can make money. Go get your own money. Tall men sometimes make short kids. Pretty boys can’t fight and I have seen some ugly light-skindid babies. It is time for women to start looking at the CORE of a man. Look at what is inside of a man. His morals, his ethics, his judgment, his spirit. Stop looking at him or at his wallet or at his house or at his car and look in him. This is what you are looking for:
10. Look for a man that knows how to be “The Man”
This maybe a tad bit more difficult for some who don’t have the strong Father figure but I allow no excuses. If you don’t have a Father figure you know that right now, you have known that for some time. Go find out what a man is before you get into a bad relationship. Take some responsibility. (You know what, just keep reading this article. This article shall meet your Educational credit. Pop Quiz to come.) Example #1: Your car breaks down, he shows no concern, he does not offer to help. You bounce. Even the mechanically challenged man knows that the car is the man’s responsibility. A man that is the biggest ho on earth still knows that as a man he is in charge of safety. And I don’t care what level of dating you are on. If ya’ll just met tonight and your car breaks down leaving the club and you call him and he don’t show in prove, bounce. Example #2: You bring your man home for the holidays. Dinner is ready, you and momma are moving the other table from the living room into the dining room so every body can eat in one room. You and momma pick up a set of chairs and a table and carry it across the room in front of your man setting on the couch maxing and relaxing. He don’t move, he don’t eat. Food, you, nothing, it’s a wrap.
Continue reading at Hello Beautiful
[Man and boy image via Shutterstock]
Courtesy of The Root
It’s official: The Supreme Court will be revisiting the grand old issue of affirmative action this year. Abigail Fisher, who is white, is arguing that her grades and test scores would have admitted her to the University of Texas if she were black or Latino.
The larger issue, as always, is racism. Does racism justify different admissions procedures for brown-skinned students? Interestingly, a recent story in the New York Times about Manhattan’s Stuyvesant High School sheds light on an issue we will be discussing this year.
Stuyvesant is one of New York City’s few top public high schools, a magnet school shunting students into Ivies. To go there is to have arrived. Forget what you might know about the low quality of a public education in New York City when it comes to Stuyvesant, which is one of the exceptions. It is what Philadelphians will liken to Masterman, St. Louisans to Parkway and so on.
But back to those “different admissions procedures” that affirmative action is about. In practice, they do not solely mean outreach efforts. Nor do they only mean giving brown students the nod when grades and scores are equal, as a kind of thumb on the scale. Almost nobody would have a problem with these things.
What gets dicey is when color is used in a way that admits brown students over white ones with better grades and scores. Many are taught that this never happens, but it’s a smoke screen. At the University of Texas, since Grutter v. Bollinger allowed the use of race in a “holistic” fashion in 2003, being black or Latino has been treated as an admissions bonus, one element in one’s “Personal Achievement Index.”
That is, there has been a “black bonus.” In the past, similar “black bonuses” — although no one puts it that way — have been revealed at the University of Michigan (being black adds 20 out of 100 points needed for admission), the University of California, Rutgers and other schools. This is even the second time the practice has been challenged at University of Texas.
The common idea is that these policies are necessary to counteract racism’s downward pull on black aspiration. Not cross-burning racism, of course; subtler. Societal. Institutional.
The upshot: Black underrepresentation must be because of what someone, or something, else is doing.
[College students image via Shutterstock]
