Courtesy of BlackEnterprise.com

In a time when all medicines weren’t readily available or affordable, the Black community found other ways to cure rashes, break fever and survive the common cold. Now, years later, those homemade remedies are still passed down from one generation to the next as if they were created just yesterday.

From Popsicles to Robitussin, fever to headache, Black Enterprise takes a look at some of the most bizarre, life-saving remedies. And while some methods have never actually been scientifically proven to work, we dare you to tell your grandmother otherwise!

Continue reading at BlackEnterprise.com

[Photo: Shutterstock]

The post Get Well Soon: Remembering Our Grandparents’ Go-To Remedies appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

Courtesy of EURWeb

You know it’s coming. Of course it is.

Even as you read this, somewhere in Hollywood an anxious, enterprising producer is having a Christopher Dorner script developed.

Names like L.L. Cool J and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are being bandied about. Or producers could simply recruit an unknown with an engaging smile and 20-inch biceps.

In any case, the tale of Christopher Dorner, 33, the former Los Angeles Police officer charged with shooting attacks on police officers and their families from February 3 to 12 that left two civilians and two police officers dead and three officers wounded, is certainly the stuff of movies.

His story has it all—drama, the little-man-vs.-the-machine, guns, action, extreme violence, intrigue, guns, irony, more guns, enough heartbreak to go around and controversy that cuts down racial political and socio-economic lines.

However, unlike most biographical films, with Dorner’s story, you wouldn’t have to embellish much. The truth is engaging on its own.

Continue reading at EURWeb

Reports have been circulating around the web about a shake-up over at CNN that could leave Soledad O’Brien without a job or the network without one of its star players.

According to Page Six, CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker is looking to move news anchor Erin Burnett into O’Brien’s current morning slot, without replacing O’Brien’s gig with a promised prime-time spot.

“The deal to move Erin to the morning alongside Chris Cuomo is basically done. Soledad had been told she’d get a prime-time slot, but that hasn’t yet happened, and now she is telling friends she is likely to leave,” a source revealed. “Soledad is talented at producing in-depth, serious pieces of journalism, and is a tough interviewer. That doesn’t seem to fit the direction the network is going.”

Another source added that O’Brien would only stay for the right show and that a “flurry of announcements were expected soon.

O’Brien made the move to CNN in 2003 after working with NBC and has anchored American Morning and Starting Point, as well as several network specials.

Zucker, the former chief executive of NBC, started his assignment in January after former president Jim Walton stepped down at the end of the year.

O’Brien and CNN have yet to comment on the matter.

Jada Pinkett Smith knows a thing or two about keeping a blended family happy and healthy.

Long before she tied the knot with Will Smith in December 1997, the then 26-year-old actress understood that her enchanted union came with a built-in son from a previous marriage. In 1992, Will married Sheree Zampino and together the couple had one son, Trey Smith.

Jaden and Willow Smith eventually rounded out the clan.

Now, 16 years later, the mashed up group continues to show the world how beautiful blended families can be with enough love, understanding, patience and support. In a recent post on Jada’s official Facebook page, she wrote:

“A letter to a friend:
Blended families are NEVER easy, but here’s why I don’t have a lot of sympathy for your situation because… we CHOOSE them. When I married Will, I knew Trey was part of the package…Period! If I didn’t want that…I needed to marry someone else. Then I learned if I am going to love Trey…I had to learn to love the most important person in the world to him…his mother. And the two of us may not have always LIKED each other… but we have learned to LOVE each other.

I can’t support any actions that keep a man from his children of a previous marriage. These are the situations that separate the women from the girls. Your behavior is that of an insecure child who needs to recognize her own weaknesses that MUST be strengthened to take on the task at hand. We can’t say we love our man and then come in between him and his children. THAT’S selfishness…NOT love. WOMAN UP… I’ve been there…I know. My blended family made me a giant… Taught me so much about love, commitment and it has been the biggest ego death to date. It’s time you let your blended family make you the giant you truly are.
J”

Check out four more celebrity families that put aside their biological differences in the name of love…

The Simmons/Hounsou Family

Ming Lee, 13, and Aoki Lee, 10, are the products of Kimora Lee Simmons’ first marriage to hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. The family welcomed Kimora’s partner Djimon Hounsou with open arms and made room for Kenzo Lee Hounsou in May 2009.

The Simmons Family

It’s a drama-free zone in Rev. Run’s house with the mix of Vanessa, Angela and Jojo Simmons (from a previous marriage to Valerie Vaughn) plus Diggy, Russell and Miley from his current marriage with Justine Simmons.

Photo courtesy of EBONY magazine

The Harris Family

T.I. brought three children to the table from previous relationships while wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle had a daughter of her own. Together the couple welcomed two sons. And in the end, everyone was happy.

The Kardashian/Jenner Family

Say what you want about America’s camera-friendly clan, but this tight-knit blended family makes it work.

The post 5 Beautifully Blended Celebrity Families (And Jada Pinkett Smith’s Advice On Making It Work) appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

By Evette Dionne

The Greensboro Four are synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement. A southern revolution was ignited when Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond asked for coffee at the segregated Woolworth’s counter. The four freshmen from Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, which is now North Carolina A&T State University, agreed to risk their health and academic livelihoods to integrate a community staple.

Even with the presence of the police department and constant intimidation from opponents, the Greensboro Four remained stoic, dignified, and determined. The students stewed in leftover food tossed at them and saliva tarnishing the smoothness of their skin. But their sacrifice magnified the indecencies of the “separate but equal” argument. Their act of rebellion sparked a wildfire: Dozens of lunch counters closed, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a statement of support, and Nashville students used similar tactics three months later to attain citywide desegregation.

More than 50 years later, a statue has been erected on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University to honor the courage displayed by the Greensboro Four. On the 50th anniversary of the initial sit-in, the historic Woolworth’s counter was transformed into a Civil Rights museum with a section dedicated to the events of February 1, 1960. All recognize and appreciate the heroism exhibited by those fearless freshmen.

But where is the gratitude for the women that were influential in organizing the sit-ins? There are no statues or mentions in history books of the Bennett College* students who were responsible for forming the movement. In November 1959, students at Bennett, a historical black institution for African-American women, recognized the disparities of segregation and decided to stage a meeting to discuss action. The Greensboro Four and others from neighboring colleges attended and with the encouragement of the Bennett Belles, planned to begin the sit-ins before Christmas vacation.

Willa B. Player, Ph.D., Bennett College president from 1956 to 1966, was adamant in her discouragement of beginning before the holiday vacation. Legend whispers that Dr. Player asked the Greensboro Four to place their heads on the chopping block to protect her students from imminent harm. Her encouragement was misconstrued as permission to strip the Belles of credit, which is what later happened. Proper credit was never given, but Bennett College remained silent and supportive to avoid conflict. The chagrin of their removal haunts the campus; even the Greensboro Four have denied the instrumental role of Bennett Belles.

But the plight of those women who sacrificed with no acknowledgment is common. Historical notoriety paves the path for access to power and privilege, so women are often removed from the overarching Civil Rights narrative. Most women’s efforts have been disregarded, with the exception of Rosa Parks, who’s been honored with a federal stamp and worldwide gratitude. Black Americans are fed a false discourse of our struggle and we digest it without complaint or rebuttal.

The exclusion of estrogen has enabled (his)tory to discount the work of influential women like Ruby Dee and Maya Angelou, Ph.D., who used entertainment to heighten awareness for civil rights in the 1950s. It demotes Dr. Player, who was the first black American woman to lead a four-year college, to the margins.

In 1958, Dr. Player made the historic decision to permit Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak at Bennett’s Annie Merner-Pfeiffer Chapel after all other local colleges and organizations refused to host him. She justified her decision by telling the News & Record: “Bennett College is a liberal arts school where freedom rings, so Martin Luther King Jr. can speak here.” We rarely hear this tale during Black History Month.

Julianne Malveaux, Ph.D. is the second Black American woman to attain a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of her beloved quotes is: “History belongs to she who holds the pen.” Using that instrument to excise women from the Civil Rights Movement keeps Dr. King at the forefront of national memory while Sojourners for Truth and Justice, an African-American women’s social protest organization, never garners media coverage during our 28 days of national celebration.

Long before the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 60 Black American women stormed the Civil Rights Section of the Department of Justice demanding an end to racial injustice. It was October 1, 1951, and the Sojourners were the sole group in the Communist Left that was assembled and led by Black American women.

Over the course of one year, the radical group mobilized black women to protest Jim Crow, demand an end to the Cold War, and request freedom for those unjustly imprisoned, including Rosa Lee Ingram. Ingram was sentenced to death in Georgia, but after immense public pressure from the NAACP and women’s rights organizations, her sentence was commuted to life in prison. Black women progressives organized the National Committee for the Defense of the Ingram Family, which fought tirelessly for amnesty on her behalf.

The emergence of the Sojourners for Truth and Justice was directly related to the development of “black left feminism.” The Sojourners, which was organized by Louise Thompson Patterson, poet and actress Beulah Richardson, newspaper editor Charlotta Bass, activist Dorothy Hunton, writer Eslanda Robeson, and playwright Shirley Graham Du Bois, developed a “black left feminism,’ which according to the literary critic Mary Helen Washington is a political focus that centers working-class women by combining Communist Party positions on race, gender, and class with Black nationalism and Black radical women’s life experiences. Black left feminism paid special attention to the intersectional, systemic nature of African American women’s oppression and understood their struggle for dignity and freedom in global terms.”

The Sojourners and thousands of other women gathered in the 1940s and the early 1950s to protest human-rights indecencies, including the Martinsville Seven and the Trenton Six according to Erik S. McDuffie, author of Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism. One of these social activist groups was Wednesdays in Mississippi, an organization that examined the intersections of gender and class on the movement. Wednesdays in Mississippi was created by the National Council of Negro Women along with a larger coalition of other women’s organizations to target Black and white women in Mississippi, particularly those working with the Freedom Summer projects according to Debbie Z. Harwell, author of the “Wednesdays in Mississippi: Uniting Women Across Regional and Racial Lines, Summer 1964” report. I’ve never watched a commercial celebrating their efforts.

Though other women’s organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Hadassah, the National Association of Colored Women, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom lobbied for progression, Harwell writes that Wednesdays in Mississippi was the sole civil rights program “organized by women, for women, as part of a national women’s organization.” Despite this distinct purpose, Wednesdays is Mississippi is absent from the historiography of the Civil Rights Movement.

Like the dainty Bennett Belles with their elegant pearls, white gloves, and empowerment manifestos, the work of women in the Civil Rights Movement is often dismissed in order to give credit to those that benefited from their sacrifices.

One exhibition is aiming to alter the construction of the narrative. Freedom’s Sisters, a collaborative effort between the Cincinnati Museum Center and SITES, provides perspective to the Civil Rights Movement by highlighting the work and lives of 20 influential Black American women. Freedom’s Sisters, sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund, uses interactive exhibits to bring Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Septima Poinsette Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Coretta Scott King, Parks, and 13 other women to life.

A modern leader honored as a sister of freedom is Sonia Sanchez, Philadelphia’s poet laureate. Sanchez is commemorated for using poetry to raise political awareness and introducing black studies departments to various universities.

Sanchez understands the importance of Freedom’s Sisters and advocates its importance in modern context. “Young women (and men) need to know these ‘herstories’ because they need to know where they are at this point in history,” Sanchez told WeNews.

The role of women in the struggle for equality matters. We must collectively acknowledge those sacrifices this Black History Month to keep her(story) vibrant.

Sanchez best surmises the importance of this knowledge: “Whatever young people have in jobs, in universities … it’s because of the work of many of these women that you didn’t even hear about.”

*Full disclosure: Evette Dionne is an alumna of Bennett College.

The post No Girls Allowed: The Removal of Women from the Civil Rights Narrative appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

Courtesy of Madame Noire

Kim Kardashian has been exposing her life to us without our permission since about 2006-2007, and since then, she’s been damn near everywhere, promoted almost everything, dated almost everybody (that was black) and made her living from being part of the overexposed. But everybody gets tired of participating in the rat race, whatever their particular rat race is, at one time or another, and according to Kim Kardashian, she’s getting tired of reality television.

According to US Weekly, even though she has signed on for season nine of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, after it’s over, she’s going to make an exit from reality television and focus on her growing family with Kanye West and the husband that won’t let go–Kris Humphries. She told DuJour magazine, “My boyfriend has taught me a lot about privacy. I’m ready to be a little less open about some things, like my relationships. I’m realizing everyone doesn’t need to know everything.”

Continue at Madame Noire…

The post Kim Kardashian Says She’s Done With Family Reality Show After Season 9 appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

This spring, Kerry Washington will break out of her Scandal power suits for a more comedic role in Tyler Perry Presents Peeples, also starring The Office‘s Craig Robinson.

Written and directed by Tina Gordon Chism (Drumline), the film centers on the Peeples, a well-off East Coast family celebrating a reunion weekend in the Hamptons. Grace Peeples (Washington) tells her less-than-perfect boyfriend Wade (Robinson) to hold off on taking the trip due to her own hang-ups.

Related: Film Noir: Kerry Washington

“Grace hasn’t told her family a lot about [Wade] at all,” Washington explained to Entertainment Weekly. “She loves Wade very, very much and fears that he won’t accept them and they won’t accept him, and it makes her want to avoid the immersion. If she can just hold it off longer, maybe she’ll figure out how to do it perfectly. Or maybe Wade will suddenly become more successful.”

Of course, Wade shows up anyway…looking to propose.

Related: Star Clique

Without giving too much away, Washington added, “There’s some old Hollywood physical comedy in the film. [And lots of] different twists and turns with all of the different relationships.”

Peeples hits theaters nationwide May 10. Check out the film’s official posters– featuring Washington and Robinson– after the jump!

Courtesy of HuffPost Entertainment

Courtesy of HuffPost Entertainment

The post Kerry Washington, Craig Robinson Star In ‘Tyler Perry Presents Peeples’ [PHOTOS] appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

by Clarissa Hamlin

Weddings and honeymoons are oftentimes imagined with boundless possibilities, and Los Altos Club, a luxurious vacation complex, is up for the challenge.

Perched atop of Casa de Campo and the soaring cliffs surrounding the Chavón River, lies a condominium turned opulent getaway that’s set apart with distinguished charm. The atmosphere is simply stunning. Caribbean and Asian-influenced architectures are at every turn, complete with unique interior designs, and spacious accommodations with a modern feel.

Los Altos Club is home to 116 villas and lofts equipped with flat screens, a full service kitchen with European style cabinetry, upscale master bathrooms with stone flooring and Italian amenities, and oversized terraces with breathtaking views. Guests can easily partake in respective bachelorette or bachelor parties, or newlyweds can settle in for a romantic night. Adventure waits around every corner of the striking shops, museums and a 5000-seat amphitheater, where the likes of Carol Santana and Marc Anthony have performed. Cool off and dive in one of their eight infinity edged pools or whirlpool alcoves, followed by horseback riding or golfing at the famous Dye Fore Golf Course is an athletic escape.

While wayfaring through the adjacent village Altos de Chavon, try the tapas at the nearby Onno’s Bar immersed in a cabaret style ambience, or the traditional Dominican desserts paired with Italian cappuccino at Le Boulanger. Any traveler is sure to give a resounding “I do” to this paradise. 809.523.2600 losaltosclub.com

Courtesy of BlackVoices

A Michigan hospital accused of racial discrimination has addressed some of the allegations against it.

In a statement posted on Hurley Medical Center’s website, President and Chief Executive Officer Melany Gavulic confirmed certain details cited in nurse Tonya Battle’s lawsuit involving a request made by the father of a newborn patient.

According to the suit, Battle, who’s black, was barred from treating a newborn patient after the baby’s father revealed a swastika tattoo to her supervisor and asked that no black staff be involved in his child’s care.

While the Hurley CEO said she could not comment directly on the lawsuit, she did state that the father’s “request was initially evaluated.”

Continue at BlackVoices…

The post Mich. Hospital Accused Of Racial Discrimination Says Father’s Request Was ‘Initially Evaluated’ appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

By Tracy Clayton

Recently, The Grio ran an article by god-is Rivera entitled “Fear of a Black Stove:  Are Women Still Putting In Work In the Kitchen?”  It’s an utter fail.  I’d like to say that it is at least a well-intentioned fail, but that’s inaccurate.  This piece is, essentially, a ham-fisted argument for women remembering their roles and getting back in the kitchen, awkwardly and ineffectively disguised as concern for childhood obesity and the family piggybank.

This piece was posted about a week ago, but my timeline is still buzzing about it.  The author makes several disclaimers–she says that as a mother she can understand being too tired to cook, that she isn’t “some southern belle brainwashed by the ‘barefoot-and-pregnant’ syndrome,” and refers to her inner feminist.  Then she goes on to basically say that women should be able to cook because, well, they’re women.

Her argument never really gets any deeper than that.  She tries, pointing casually to the very real problem of health and childhood obesity.  But suggesting that women not cooking is the reason for the epidemic is problematic and astoundingly incorrect.  Rivera blames the “decline of cooking sistas” on “the recent rise in the number of professional women” and “the bump in fast food availability.”  She never seriously considers the bigger, more expansive problem of the lack of healthy, affordable food available to families living in poverty (an overwhelming number of whom are black).  What good will cooking for your family do if the only food you have access to is high in sodium, MSG, and high fructose corn syrup?  Without affordable, accessible food, little Ron-Ron still risks losing that foot to juvenile diabetes, no matter who is–or isn’t–in the kitchen.

Also worth noting, there is a privilege that Rivera never acknowledges:  she is married. The high rates of single parent households in the black community is fairly well known, and motherhood itself is a full-time job.  Rivera has a benefit:  she is married.  That she has another parent in the household who can hold down the fort while she chooses to prepare a nutritious meal for her family is a privilege that should be noted in an argument about black women not cooking enough.  The author has a greater chance of having someone help her around the house, to watch her child/children while she cooks.  Married working women have the luxury of two incomes with which to pay the bills and still have the money to buy healthy food, and a car with which to bring it home in.  Single mothers often don’t have the benefits of that extra time, energy, or money.  But, no, let’s not mention any of that.   The problem, she says, is the black woman’s “fear of the stove,” and it is “punishing our children.”

The author then points to cooking as a cultural tradition as a reason for women to get back in the kitchen.  What’s that?  Why can’t men get in the kitchen?  Shh!  This is not the time for making sense!  Rivera says that cooking “used to be a way for women to pass down traditions, culture and family history to their daughters,” and that it is “a way to ensure that their daughters would grow into women who were self-sufficient.” The implication is that unless women get back in the kitchen, those cultures and traditions will be lost, and their daughters won’t be able to take care of themselves when they become women.

Let me pause here to give a bit of background about myself.

I am 30 years old.  I am a woman raised in the South.  I do not enjoy cooking, and as such I rarely do it.  I was raised by my mother and grandmother, who watched my brother and I while my mother worked.  My grandmother was a phenomenal cook, and since she was always in the kitchen, I never really had to learn.  I was much more interested in reading and learning to build things with my mother, who is pretty much a female Bob Villa.  That is how we bonded.  That was our culture, our tradition.  Sure, I can’t make lobster thermidor, but I can hang a door and put my own furniture together.  I didn’t lose a bit of our family culture in not cooking with my mother or grandmother.  The author’s argument that something will be lost, culturally, if black women don’t get back in the kitchen is flimsy, at best, and bulbous and clumsy, at worst.  Traditions change and morph all the time; that is not a bad thing.

I can’t help but marvel here about the lack of concern for and responsibility ascribed to these mythical sons, which the author never mentions.  What do they learn as their mothers and sisters are slaving away in the kitchen?  Can they not help pass on these traditions?  Where does their self-sufficiency come from?  Shouldn’t they learn how to cook so that they can, like, feed themselves one day?

The author never mentions teaching boys to cook because it is clear that cooking is, in her opinion, woman’s work.  Were this not true, she wouldn’t have made this a gendered argument to begin with.  She does dedicate an entire single sentence to men and cooking, saying:  “Men should also be able to handle their share of the kitchen responsibilities.”  Since she never elaborates on what these “kitchen responsibilities” are, she could mean anything from taking out the trash to setting out a trap to catch the varmint that’s been gnawing through your boxes of Cream of Wheat.  A better argument would be “adults should know how to cook because they should know how to feed themselves and their families,” as opposed to “women should know how to cook because they are women.”

Teaching these invisible sons to cook would very well prevent other scenarios that Ms. Rivera mentions in her piece, particularly this one:  “I know a few couples,” she says, “in which the woman doesn’t cook and when they moved in with their equally kitchen-clueless men, both people in the couple immediately packed on twenty pounds from continually eating Chinese take-out.”  The implication here:  they’re gaining weight and becoming unhealthy because she can’t cook.  Never mind that he is a grown man just as capable of learning to cook as she is.  That’s her job. How does it feel, black woman, to know that your selfishness gave your man high cholesterol?

And that’s exactly what the author calls women not cooking–selfish.  Then she asks the question, “What’s the point of growing up, ladies?”  Are you kidding me?  What’s the point of growing up if you can’t cook?  Maybe the point is to, I don’t know–to live??  Maybe that’s the point?  Come on.  Are we really defining womanhood by whether or not we cook in the year 2013?

Most aren’t.  But Rivera is.

In case you haven’t rolled your eyes enough just yet, check this out.  Rivera quips that “not cooking may be the reason why so many black women are unable to find and marry a good man.”  Wait, there’s more!  She also says that “every woman who knows how to get it poppin’ in the kitchen and keep her man happily fed will admit that they feel they have a little something over women who burn boiling water.”  Girl!  Don’t come in here acting like men don’t and won’t cheat on a woman regardless of her skillset.  A professional chef can and will get cheated on just as quickly as a woman who can’t tell a spoon from a fork because a man who is going to cheat is going to cheat regardless.

It’s bad enough that black women have to sit and listen to men preach to us about how we can’t get a man, about what we do wrong in relationships, about how pretty much every problem we have in the love department is our fault (I’m looking at you, Steve Harvey, Tyrese and other hackneyed “relationship experts”).  To hear it coming from another woman is tiring, and to have it packaged under the guise of true concern for black children and families is insulting.  Rivera’s bottom line is this:  if you are a woman, “you should always know how to feed yourself and your family; it’s just part of the natural order of human behavior.”

Know what else was once thought to be part of the “natural order of human behavior?”  Slavery.

Just saying.  Things change.

Photo credit: Shutterstock, and Shutterstock

The post Come Again? Women In The Kitchen And The Natural Order of Stuff appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

Three people are dead and several others have been injured after an early morning shootout on the Las Vegas Strip, reports The Associated Press.

The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 21) when individuals in a black Range Rover fired shots at a Maserati, which led to a fiery crash at the intersection of Flamingo and Las Vegas boulevards. The popular area is surrounded by several casinos on the Strip such as the Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally’s.

In all, five vehicles were involved in the crash, including a taxi.

The Maserati driver, the taxi driver and a passenger in the cab were killed. The Range Rover was gone when police arrived.

Four people were taken to University Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Danita Cohen said three were treated and released, while one person remained in the hospital. Their condition was not released.

The intersection is expected to be closed for hours to complete the investigation.

The post 3 Dead, Several Injured After Las Vegas Strip Shootout appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

Judy Viger wanted to make her son’s Sweet 16 a birthday to remember, but we’re pretty sure this isn’t what she had in mind.

The 33-year-old mother was arrested Monday (Feb. 18) and charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly organizing and paying for strippers as a birthday surprise for her underage son.

Police said the incident occurred at Spare Time Bowling Center in South Glen Falls, N.Y. back in November. Viger is accused of hiring the strippers to dance with and on her son and his friends, who were all under the age of 17. Pictures of the party were circulated that reportedly showed a “scantily clad, tattooed woman clinging upside down to a seated teen.”

Officials said some partygoers were as young as 13.

Several witnesses and parents were interviewed before cuffing Viger earlier this week.

Tops In Bottoms, the company that supplied the strippers, said the dancers had no idea that anyone at the party was underage.

Viger is due in court on March 7.

The post NY Mother Arrested For Buying Strippers For Underage Son’s Birthday Party appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

Courtesy of Black Enterprise

When it comes to race and ethnicity and social media engagement, African Americans are vastly outpacing their counterparts. African-American Internet users spent the most time on social networking sites compared to all other ethnic groups, according to a Social Media 2012 report from Nielsen and NM Incite. In July 2012, African Americans spent 8 hours and 7 minutes on social networks via their personal computers. They only came in second to Hispanic users when it came to mobile access to social media, with African Americans spending 8 hours and 20 minutes on the various platforms.

With Blacks at the helm of social conversations, BlackEnterprise.com takes a closer look at the top Black moments in social media:

Barack Obama – Four More Years

It was the photo that was seen around the world. Obama’s heartfelt hug with the First Lady was sent after his win in the November general election with the caption “FOUR MORE YEARS.” The photo instantly went viral, and became the most retweeted post of all time, surpassing 500,000 retweets.

Continue at Black Enterprise…

UPTOWN recently had the opportunity to chat with Megan Frank, director of Skinnygirl Cocktails. (You know, the company that brings you all the tasty cocktails you can dream of without the extra calories.) Frank gave us all the behind-the-scenes skinny on what to expect from this cocktail giant this spring, including recipes. Grab a napkin — for all the mouth-watering that’s about to happen — and keep reading!

UPTOWN: What does Skinnygirl Cocktails offer women who enjoy the occasional cocktail, but not extra calories?

Frank: Skinnygirl Cocktails offers a full portfolio of cocktails all purposely created to be lower in calories and sugar, yet always great tasting. Each offering is naturally flavored and provides a unique and exciting option for the Skinnygirl consumer. From ready-to-serve (Margarita and White Cranberry Cosmo) to ready-to-mix (Vodka with Natural Flavors) to ready-to-enjoy (Wine), Skinnygirl is letting women know that they can have it all, including great tasting cocktails that they do not have to feel guilty about drinking.

Skinnygirl Cocktails is able to make our wines with 15 percent fewer calories than other brands by purposely harvesting the grapes before they fully mature. This allows the grapes to have developed fewer sugars that ultimately lead to lower calorie wines. With our ready-to-serve products, we utilize agave nectar instead of artificial sweeteners, and with the vodkas, [which contain] 20 percent fewer calories than other leading brands, we use natural flavor essences and no artificial sweeteners.

U: How has Skinnygirl expanded since its sale by Bethenny Frankel?

Frank: Since Bethenny Frankel introduced the world to Skinnygirl Margarita in 2009, the Skinnygirl Cocktails brand has expanded to bring new cocktails options and flavors to its collection. Today, everyone can drink like a lady with the Skinnygirl Vodka with Natural Flavors (Bare Naked, Tangerine, Island Coconut, Cucumber); Skinnygirl Ready to Serve Cocktails (Margarita, White Peach Margarita, White Cranberry Cosmo, Sangria, Piña Colada); and Skinnygirl, the Wine Collection (California Red, California White, California Red). All three collections offer a delicious, naturally-sweetened taste with a low-calorie option with each and every sip.

Skinnygirl Lady-Like Lime

Ingredients

• 1 part Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka
• 3 parts Sparkling water (Alt: use lime-flavored sparkling water)
• 2 Squirts of fresh lime juice
• Splash Cherry juice
• Cherry for garnish
• Lime wheel for garnish

Directions: Pour vodka, cherry juice, and sparkling water over ice; stir. Squirt with lime and garnish with a cherry and a lime wheel.

U: What’s in store for 2013?

Frank: This March, Skinnygirl Cocktails will add three new innovations to its portfolio:

• Skinnygirl Mojito – the most requested cocktail from our fans. It requires no muddling and contains citrus aromas with top notes of lime and hints of fresh mint. The best part, at less than 100 calories per serving, the Skinnygirl Mojito is truly a satisfying cocktail.
• Skinnygirl Moscato – joins California Red, California White, and California Rosé as the latest addition to the Skinnygirl Wine Collection, which offers something for everyone. It contains a sweet tropical fruit and honey aroma offering a light effervescent taste with notes of pear, peach, and mango. With only 100 calories per serving, it contains 15 percent fewer calories than other wines.
• Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka with Natural Flavors – the newest to join the popular lineup of Skinnygirl Vodka with Natural Flavors, it contains a bright cherry aroma balanced with a creamy vanilla background, which is soft, gentle, and creamy on the palate. At less than 77 calories per serving (20 percent fewer calories than other vodkas) it provides the perfect base for guiltless cocktails.

U: Is Skinnygirl available in the average bar/lounge?

Frank: Skinnygirl Cocktails is available in select bars, restaurants, and lounges, and continues to expand into more spaces across the country. Skinnygirl is also available in stores nationwide, including grocery, mass retailer, and liquor stores.

Skinnygirl White Cherry Cola

Ingredients

• 1 ½ parts Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka
• 3 parts diet cola
• Cherries for garnish

Directions: Mix vodka and diet cola over ice. Garnish with cherries.

U: With a name like Skinnygirl, I would imagine it’s difficult to get men to indulge, but they also could benefit from low-calorie cocktails. Any tips for how to get men to appreciate and sample Skinnygirl Cocktails?

Frank: Skinnygirl Cocktails has a wide-variety of great-tasting products to fit any taste bud. We also offer a range of delicious, low-calorie cocktail recipes to appeal to every audience, like the Skinnygirl Raspberry Beer Cocktail.

U: What are some popular, guilt-free recipes?

Frank: Here are some great-tasting, guilt-free recipes [including the Skinnygirl Raspberry Beer Cocktail and] using the Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka that will launch in March.

Skinnygirl Raspberry Beer Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 part Skinnygirl Bare Naked Vodka
• 1 part chilled beer
• 2 parts of raspberry lemonade concentrate
• Frozen raspberries

Directions: Mix ingredients together and enjoy.

Skinnygirl Royal Cherry

Ingredients

• 1 part Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka
• 2 parts champagne
• Frozen cherries

Directions: Pour champagne into flute, top with vodka and garnish with one frozen cherry.

BEVERLY HILLS — Celebrities arrive at the sixth annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday (Feb. 21) to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of women of color in the entertainment world. Check out all of the star arrivals after the jump!

OPRAH WINFREY

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

NAOMI CAMPBELL

TRACEE ELLIS ROSS

JURNEE SMOLLETT

KELLY ROWLAND

KEKE PALMER

GARCELLE BEAUVAIS

COMMON

JILL SCOTT

TAMERA MOWRY-HOUSELY

TIA MOWRY-HARDRICT

ALFRE WOODARD & RODERICK SPENCER

GABRIELLE UNION

WENDELL PIERCE

STAR JONES

PERSIA WHITE

JILL MARIE JONES

GOLDEN BROOKS

YVETTE NICOLE BROWN

THE CAST OF ‘GIRLFRIENDS’

LAILA ALI

LORRAINE TOUSSAINT

MEHCAD BROOKS

LA LA ANTHONY

WENDY RAQUEL ROBINSON

SANAA LATHAN

TICHINA ARNOLD

VANESSA BELL CALLOWAY

QUVENZHANÉ WALLIS

DAVID OYELOWO

MEAGAN GOOD

CCH POUNDER

SHANOLA HAMPTON

TATYANA ALI

TRACEY EDMONDS

SALLI RICHARDSON-WHITFIELD

MICHAEL EALY

SHAUN ROBINSON

LORETTA DEVINE

REGINA HALL

NAOMIE HARRIS

CLAUDIA JORDAN

HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE

ANIKA NONI ROSE

NIECY NASH

The post Oprah, Quvenzhané, Sanaa & More Attend ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon [PHOTOS] appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

On Monday, Hollywood heavyweights came out to pay tribute to legendary filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, known for films such as Boomerang and House Party. Held at the offices of esteemed talent agency CAA, the event’s star power, including Andre Harrell, rapper/actor Common, and actors Sanaa Lathan, James Remar, Alfre Woodward, Brandon T. Jackson, Anika Noni Rose, Walton Goggins, Yvette Nicole Brown, Terry Crews, Jordin Sparks, and John Witherspoon. Hollywood insiders also came out to show their respect, including Hudlin’s television mentor, writer/producer Steven Bochco; producer of the upcoming Star Wars, Episode VII, JJ Abrams; Dana Walden, chairman of 20^th Century Fox; Django Unchained soundtrack collaborator RZA; famed TV producer Suzanne dePasse and Shaun Robinson of “Access Hollywood.”

The night’s host, Bevy Smith, wowed the crowd with meaningful ruminations about Hudlin. “When I was younger, I was obsessed with John Hughes films, imagining myself as a mocha Molly Ringwald,” the media maven joked. “Then I saw House Party and knew I was Tisha Campbell, AJ Johnson.”

While Smith went on to praise Hudlin’s integrity in a business not known for that trait, fashion icon Bethann Hardison shouted out church-style: “That’s because he’s from New York!”

Summing up the evening, Blackhouse Foundation board chair Brickson Diamond said, “He’s been termed the modern day Gordon Parks and we are so proud of his work across film, television, and animation. He is a true beacon.”

The post Blackhouse Foundation Presents Dinner With Bevy Honoring Oscar-Nominated Producer Reginald Hudlin appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

By Sorilbran Stone

As the Wiz-Rose union welcomes their new baby into the world, the pair brings to mind the beauty that can result from knowing how to leverage the right opportunity at just the right time.  A quick look at Wiz Khalifa’s rise to chart-topping glory offers a glimpse into the life of the Grammy-nominated rapper who is getting quite good at capitalizing on opportunities as they are presented and creating opportunities where one doesn’t exist.  What can we learn from Hip Hop’s newest daddy?  Here are four things the life and times of Wiz Khalifa is teaching us.

Tip #1: Build from small beginnings 

Wiz was just 16 years old when a performance he delivered on a mixtape caught the attention of Benjy Grinberg, president of Rostrum Records.  While Grinberg will be the first to admit that Wiz Khalifa was a raw talent, he also believed that with some direction and development, the Pittsburgh rapper could do big things.

Wiz worked what he had. He didn’t have a record deal, but he had talent and drive.  Going by the moniker (Wiz) assigned to him by his grandfather, Khalifa was good at many things, but found his passion in music.  Pay or no pay, big gig or small gig.  He made every opportunity count.

Tip #2: Invest in brand development

It’s easy to have an idea then jump right into the fray in a mad grab for money.  But that’s not always the best road to posterity.  Rostum Records signed Wiz Khalifa in 2005 and immediately went to work on the his brand.  For seven years, Khalifa and his Rostum Records fellows shaped and cemented his image.  Yes, he was a rapper.  Yes, he was urban.  But he had also been exposed to different cultures and styles of music presumably from his travels with his parents who were both military.  And that flavor showed up in his music.  By the time Khalifa released his first full-length studio project, Show and Prove in 2006, people were already hip to the nineteen year-old ingénue.  Rolling Stone magazine named him an artist to watch that year.

Tip #3: Build relationships

For a business to stay viable, it needs relationships – with customers, with suppliers, with personnel, with colleagues in the same industry.  By building the right relationships, one can stay working, stay busy, stay paid.

Case in point: Since showing up on the scene in 2005, Wiz Khalifa has worked with a varied range of underground and mainstream artists including Juelz Santana, U-God (Wu Tang), Rick Ross, … the list goes on and on.  In 2007, he signed with Warner Bros where he released two well-received mixtapes.  The partnership was severed two years later.  Khalifa went ahead with the release of his next full-length release, Deal or No Deal in November of 2009.  In March 2010 Wiz graced the cover of XXL magazine and made it onto their list of Top 10 Freshmen.  That same year he was named “Rookie of the Year” by Source magazine.  But the real proof of his stellar ability to leverage his brand and build relationships came when his cult following stormed social media with news, searches and downloads of his free mixtape release Kush and Orange Juice, and pushed the release to the No. 1 Google search spot and Twitter’s hottest trending hashtag.

Tip #4: Build brand equity by increased exposure

Smart companies learn how to engage their target customer. If there’s one thing Khalifa’s camp knows how to do, it’s generate publicity.  How many times have you seen a tatted Wiz Khalifa standing behind Amber Rose (and her pregnant belly) on the cover of some magazine or on a celebrity gossip page in the last three months?  The intrigue of their union is, in and of itself, newsworthy.  It’s a drama-free zone.  And they stay in the public eye.

Last year, Khalifa made his transition to film star with the releases of Gangs of Roses 2: Next Generation and Mac & Devin Go to High School.  On the heels of his third album release, O.N.I.F.C, Khalifa hit the Grammy stage with Miguel to perform “” and also received two Grammy nominations this year for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (for “Payphone” with Maroon 5) and Best Rap Song (for “Young, Wild & Free” with Snoop and Bruno Mars).

There you have it – four rich and rather sophisticated business lessons we can all learn from this gangly, cannabis-loving, 25 year-old lyricist and musician.

God bless America.

The post The Wiz: The 4 Things Amber Rose’s Fiancé Got Right in Business appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.

It’s becoming too predictable. It’s actually becoming a bit ridiculous. I’d even say appalling … at the very least. Every season of each reality show we are introduced to at least one cast member who has all of a sudden been singing since the age of 3. Ugh. And now that they have a weekly spotlight, what’s the next step? A transition from reality television to music. The biggest culprits come from Atlanta by way of “The Real Housewives Of Atlanta” with the awful crooning of Kim Zolzciak, mediocre sounds of Miss Lawrence, pitiful attempt by Sheree Whitfield and the list goes on …

Yes, a few seats need to be given out!

Here are the Top 5 Reality Stars-Turned-Singers, who need to HAVE A SEAT!

Derek J

This one is so new that you might not have even known that it crept in from the pits of twerk hell. Hairstylist and twerk magician, Derek J, has dropped his first single entitled, ”Happy Burfday B*tch,” a birthday anthem that I’m sure the girls can get a little life out of. If it’s not enough that the ladies have to watch out for Derek snatching up all the designer heels at Filene’s Basement, now they have to worry about him lip-synching for his life, instead of being on time for their Friday morning sew-in.

Derek, take off your heels and Have A Seat.

Karlie Redd

The worst thing about “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta”‘s Karlie Redd, is that no one knows WHAT she is! What genre of music is that coming out of her existence? Is it Reggae? Reggaeton? Neo-Soul? Bachata? Ringling Bros? I’ll tell you what it sounds like … A SIN!

When she hit the stage during that infamous episode of LHHATL and spit those … ummm bars, I lost half my brain cells. It was just a massacre, a practical joke, A SPOOF! It couldn’t have been real. Right?

*sighs*

I need her directed to the nearest arena. I dedicate every seat to her.

Tahiry Jose

Tahiry Jose of VH1′s “Love & Hip Hop” may be the only one who gets a pass from me. And this is for one reason and one reason only — she’s not serious. Tahiry is really only looking to solely capitalize on the buzz from “Love & Hip Hop” with her single, “Devil.” First off, she’s not singing. Or I hope that’s not what she thought that was … and secondly, she’s literally only 30 percent of her own single.

The other 70 percent goes to her featured artist, Shannon Jones, who carries the entire tune. Her tune also serves as a soundtrack to the love triangle between her, her ex-Boyfriend Joe Budden, and his current boo Kaylin. There will be no album, no Grammy aspirations, and after “Devil” simmers down (well cools off …. well … disappears) we’ll never here from Tahiry vocally again.

Hopefully.

Kenya Moore

Nobody takes former Miss USA Kenya Moore seriously. We can’t deal with her delusional antics, her fake relationship with her “staged” boyfriend Walter, or her “Stallion Booty” workout regimen. But when the overzealous twirling diva decided to release a single for, “Gone with the Wind Fabulous,” her craziness was confirmed.

“You say I’m fake/ I say, I’m fabulous/You say I’m old/ I say I’m fabulous/ You say I’m ghetto?/I say I’m fabulous/You say I’m crazy?/I say, I’m fabulous/Gone with the wind fabulous!”

Yes Kenya, You’re definitely gone with the wind. I can see a chair twirling in the wind right behind you … grab it, and HAVE A SEAT!

Erica Mena

I’m just not sure what to make of Erica Mena. No one is. Since she screamed on to the scene of season two of Vh1′s “Love & Hip Hop: New York,” I knew this was gonna end up bad. When she came in targeting then cast member, Kimbella, over giving “urban models” a bad name, I scratched my head in amazement. But nothing prepared me for those vocals! When she sang for producer, Rich Dollaz last season, I was sure he was going to walk away. I was sure he heard the same thing I did. But what did Rich do? Take her on as a client.

What?

So now that the third season has rolled in, Erica has become even more vicious, not only fighting with all her cast members (including now-boyfriend Rich Dollaz), but also fighting anything in her way, like silverware when she’s hungry, combs when her hair is frizzy,  the rain when she’s unhappy with the weather, and the list goes on. And just recently, against the rules of nature, she dropped her first single, “Where Do I Go from Here.” The mediocre, auto-tune-infused track wasn’t enough to get me on board, or the world for that matter, and although it debuted on the iTunes Top 200 Singles the week of its release, three weeks later, it’s history.

So “Where Do You Go from Here”? … Anger management. There’s a seat waiting for you at the head of the class.

Rae Holliday is co-creator and editor of StuffFlyPeopleLike.com. Follow him on Twitter @RaeHolliday

The rumors are true: Soledad O’Brien is out at CNN. Sort of.

The well-known news anchor announced Thursday that she will be leaving the network’s morning show in the spring, but will continue work on documentaries on a nonexclusive basis, according to The New York Times.

“The new partnership opportunity allows me to focus on what I love to do the most, and to focus on the next stage of my career, owning my own work,” explained O’Brien, who is prepping two new installments of the Black in America series for CNN.

She continued, “At CNN, I am grateful to have been able to tell often underreported stories and confront difficult topics. In the new production venture, I will continue to shine a light on what we all find most interesting about America.”

She will also be producing documentaries for other television channels and the web.

With O’Brien out, insiders suspect CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker will keep new-hire Chris Cuomo at the morning spot, alongside current anchor Erin Burnett.

“We greatly value Soledad’s experience, and her first-rate storytelling will continue to be an asset to CNN,” Zucker said in a statement. “Documentaries and long-form story telling are important to our brand and we’re anticipating more of what we’ve come to expect from her– riveting content.”

The Emmy Award-winning anchor got her start with the network in 2003 after leaving NBC’s Weekend Today. Since, O’Brien has received an outpouring of praise for her coverage on the crisis in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina, the Southeast Asia tsunami and breaking news from all around the world. She is especially celebrated for her work on the Black in America and Latino in America franchises.

O’Brien is expected to host at least one documentary this year and three next year with the help of her new production company, Starfish Media Group.

Courtesy of Hello Beautiful

*UPDATE: JET magazine’s Editor In Chief, Mitzi Miller, responded to Fantasia’s claims with the following statement:

“JET magazine is honored to have Fantasia grace the cover of its March issue. It is unfortunate that Fantasia is displeased with the cover selection, however JET stands by its decision. As standard editorial practice, JET consulted with Fantasia’s team, but reserves the right to select the image we deem as most appropriate for JET’s brand and reflective of the cover story sentiment. JET continues to root for Fantasia’s success and encourages her fans to pick up the new issue.”
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Fantasia Barrino covers the March 2013 issue of Jet Magazine but she’s not too happy with the mag. Tasia took to her Instagram account to blast the publication for publishing an old photo of her on their recent cover. She wants a redo and wished  the mag used the pics that her camp sent over.

Tasia posted a pic of  the cover with the caption:

Find out what Fantasia had to say over at Hello Beautiful…

The post Fantasia Is Not Happy With Jet, Magazine Responds appeared first on UPTOWN Magazine.