Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Monday, January 19, 2009

Inauguration of President Obama


I'm in Washington D.C. for President-Elect Obama's Inauguration. I'll keep you all posted! See you next week!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Black History: Ancient Egyptians loved a good hair weave!



There was probably no better time for hair than in ancient Egypt. You could dye it, cut it, braid it, shave it, weave charms into it—and then there were the wigs—of countless designs. The ancient Egyptians-- both men and women--were known for hating facial and body hair and used all kinds of shaving implements to get rid of it. But hair on the head? They loved it—and had so many ways of showing it.

"Human hair was of great importance in ancient Egypt," writes Egyptologist Joann Fletcher, Ph.D., for Egypt Revealed magazine. "Rich or poor of both genders treated hair—their own or locks obtained elsewhere—as a highly pliable means of self-expression."

But hair styles were more than self-expression. Wigs, which the Egyptians were very fond of, not only allowed for ornate hair decorating, but also helped the ancient Egyptians with cleanliness, protected the (shaved) scalp from the sun and kept the head cool and also prevented that modern-day scourge—head lice, according to Fletcher. She writes, "Our research has turned up the world’s oldest head lice, which bedeviled an Egyptian from Abydos about 5000 years ago."

For the most part, women used hair extensions to fill out thinning hair or just make regular tresses more luxuriant. Wigs and extensions were almost always made of human hair—either collected from the individual or bought or traded from someone else. Wigs and extensions were fashioned with a variety of clever weaves and knots that were secured into or onto the real hair (or scalp) with beeswax and resin. Many wigs had an internal padding of date-palm fiber that gave the wigs their famous fullness.

Braids were a favorite form of hair extension, and some were woven into intricate designs to give more length and greater style. According to Fletcher, a man buried at Mostagedda had used thread to fasten lengths of human hair to his own. The wavy brown hair of Queen Meryet-Amun had been filled out around the crown and temples with tapered braids. She was also buried, as many well-to-do women, with a duplicate set of braids.

For full article click here:

Outfit of the Week: Our pick for the First Lady!

Michelle Obama First Ladies Presidential Inaugural Ball Gown
Michelle Obama First Ladies Presidential Inaugural Ball Gown by stylist to the stars

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Japan's best new artist is an African-American Singer!


Jero (aka Jerome White, Jr.), who is African American and hails from Pittsburgh, rocketed to fame in 2008 with his smash debut single, “Umiyuki” (Ocean Snow). His maternal grandmother taught him how to sing enka music, a style akin to American country music, where aging crooners dressed in kimonos belt out sappy ballads about love gone wrong over tracks laden with heavy orchestration.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Keyshia Cole covers Jet Magazine


R n’ B diva Keyshia Cole is set to start the new year off on a very good foot. The 27year old singer will grace the first issue of Jet Magazine in 2009. Hitting newsstands on Monday, January 5th, Jet sits down with Keyshia to talk about her new album, her family, and the future of her hit BET reality series, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Friday, January 2, 2009

Role Model Spotlight: Desiree Rogers



Desiree Rogers, 49, is a Chicago corporate executive and civic leader who streaked to the top of the city's A-list last month when President-elect Barack Obama announced that she would assume the role of social secretary in his White House.

Rogers, an Obama fundraiser and an executive at Allstate Financial, will oversee every White House social event from Easter-egg hunts to lavish state dinners (along with those oh-so-important guest lists). An invitation to make her acquaintance has quickly become one of the most coveted accouterments among the political elite.

Rogers will be the country's first African-American presidential social secretary when she settles into the job in January. And the requests for her presence at social events are already streaming in.

"She's going to get invitations hourly, truly," said Ann Stock, who served as social secretary during the Clinton administration.

Originally from New Orleans, Rogers has a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University, a philanthropic bent, a penchant for designer fashions, a diverse and powerful group of friends, and a reputation for stylish entertaining.

Her name appears regularly in the society pages in Chicago, where she is a fixture at fundraising galas and is on a first-name basis with city politicians, corporate executives and cultural leaders.

She is a well-known businesswoman who ran Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, a $1.1 billion utility in Chicago, from 2004 until June, when she became president of a unit of Allstate Financial.

And she is so fashion-savvy -- favorite designers include Carolina Herrera, Isabel Toledo and Valentino -- that she was profiled in 2004 by Vogue, which praised her as "proving that executive and chic can coexist."

Student earns $200,000 scholarship


Central Catholic High School senior Emerald Woodberry has received one of the largest scholarships in Toledo history.

Woodberry earned the $200,000 scholarship to the University of Notre Dame through the QuestBridge National College Match program. QuestBridge links bright, motivated low-income students with educational and scholarship opportunities at some of the nation’s best colleges, according to its Web site.

Woodberry started looking at Notre Dame when she applied and was accepted into the African-American Scholars Program at the university the summer before her senior year. She really liked the school and bonded with the other students. The program accepted only 50 students in the country.

In September, Greg Owens, an academic adviser at Central, told Woodberry to apply for the QuestBridge scholarship. He had done research online and found that Woodberry met the qualifications.

“Emerald’s attitude has always been, ‘I can do better,’” McGhee said. Woodberry also “took risks that other kids didn’t want to take.”

“I’m happy about it. When I first got it, I didn’t know what to think,” Woodberry said. She even double-checked to make sure she really had won the scholarship.

Woodberry is a member of the National Honor Society and is a Regents Scholar, which is a special program for students with grade point averages higher than 4.0.

Emerald Woodberry is also a member of the golf team, the African-American Club and Gospel choir. She is on the executive board for student council at Central.

“Taking on a leadership role gives you a step up in the game,” Woodberry said, explaining that leadership roles give her initiative and make her want to do better. “People are watching you, and they have high expectations.”

Happy New Year!!! It's one year for Shenique!!!!


Happy New Year divas!!!!

New Year is the time to
unfold new horizons & realize new dreams,
to rediscover the strength & faith within u,
to rejoice in simple pleasures &
gear up 4 a new challenges.
Wishing u a truly fulfilling 2009!