Janet Jackson, Joy Bryant, Jada Pinkett-Smith and various other leading ladies have teamed up with shoe designer Stuart Weitzman in a great attempt to bring awareness to Ovarian Cancer. The leading ladies have all designed and autographed their signature shoe that will be auctioned off for donation. All proceeds from the auction will support the work of Dr. Marsha Moses of the Folkman Institute at Children’s Hospital in Boston who is developing a urine test for ovarian cancer.

It’s nothing like splurging for a great cause, some of the designs are a bit over the top but there still fierce and definitely one of a kind! Tell us what you think about the celeb creations, which one has a hand in the design business?

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To see more of Stuart Weitzman celebrity shoes or to place a bid on any of the ones shown here please visit www.stuartweitzmancelebrityauction.com.

Jay-Z to Release ‘The Blueprint 3′ on December 2nd?
US rapper Jay-Z will release his much anticipated new album, ‘The Blueprint 3′, on December 2nd, it’s been reported. The album will complete a trilogy of releases which began in 2001 with ‘The Blueprint’. According to You Heard That New, the album will include a sequel to ‘Swagger Like Us’ - a track on fellow hip-hop star T.I.’s new album, ‘Papertrail’. Jay-Z’s rendition, entitled ‘Swagger Like Us: The Sequel’, is reported to feature lyrics from Young Jeezy, Andre 3000 and Nas. In August, Jay-Z previewed the album track, ‘Jockin’ Jay-Z’, during a performance with Kanye West, which was later leaked onto the internet. (Continue Reading…)

Janet Jackson Taken to Hospital
Singer Janet Jackson was taken to hospital after falling ill shortly before a concert in Canada on Monday. The 42-year-old had to cancel her Montreal show after she “got suddenly ill” during her sound check, her publicists said. Jackson was being monitored at an unnamed hospital but no further details of her condition have been released. The singer hopes to reschedule the concert, which was part of her North American tour. (Continue Reading…)

Affluent Blacks Continue to Be an Untapped Market for Luxury Brands
Wealthy African Americans are a largely untapped and widely overlooked demographic despite having $29.8 billion in purchasing power, according to results from a study released recently. The paper, “Marketing to Affluent African Americans: Strategic Insights for Reaching an Untapped Market,” consisted of online interviews with affluent African Americans as well as a series of regional focus groups held in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and Washington, DC. It features the results of insights on the behaviors, attitudes, opinions and spending patterns of affluent African Americans, defined as individuals earning at least $75,000 annually. (Continue Reading…)

Get used to it ladies, leggings are here to stay. I know there are some of us that are so over this “trend”, but this one time “trend” has jumped ship and landed in the fashion necessity category. As we all know color and printed legwear has been all the rave since 2007-2008 and now 2009. So, for those who have not spiced up your wardrobe with some color, then colored socks, leggings or tights might be worth a try. One of our favorite spots online for colored tights and socks is Hue.com. Hue stocks it’s online shelves with “stylish sleepwear, just-right intimates and must-have accessories”. As for fashion legwear they have quite the selection. With colors like Emerald (Green), Chili (Red), Gloss (Pink), Dijon (Mustard Yellow) and Raspberry you should be able to find something that works for you and your wardrobe. The prices for Hue legwear ranges from $12.50 - $25. Check out hue.com for more information.

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Meet The Candidates:
Barack Obama
www.barackobama.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

John McCain
www.johnmccain.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

Thanks Lish!

The trendy celebrity set seem to all be clamoring for creations by visionary shoe designer, Pierre Hardy. By now you’ve probably seen the photos of Rihanna, Angela Simmons and Cassie all working the same lace up stiletto at various outings. And who can blame them? With their mélange of colors and sexy peek-a-boo styling, the shoe is pure hotness! We also love the colorful plastic strap heels that Solange opted for earlier this summer and the fishnet bootie spotted on Cassie. See pierrehardy.com for more fanciful footwear.

Jennifer Hudson’s “Idol” Prediction is Still Coming True
Jennifer Hudson doesn’t like to say, “I told you so,” but she told you so. More than four years ago, when the then-unknown singer finished seventh on Season 3 of American Idol, she delivered an “exit speech. I said, ‘I don’t know when or where or how, but God has something in store for me.’ I think the judges or producers kind of laughed.” Hudson, 27, laughs herself at the memory, and with good reason. Not long after making that prediction, she landed a key role in the star-studded screen adaptation of Dreamgirls, and wound up winning an Academy Award. (Continue Reading…)

One Year Passed Since Nailah Franklin Death
It was one year ago when local and national media outlets were saturated with the picture of a 28-year-old pharmaceutical sales rep from Chicago who vanished. Nailah Franklin, a vivacious West Side woman who relatives said lived her life like it was golden, referencing a Jill Scott song, was last seen Sept. 18, 2007. Nearly 10 days later, she was found dead in a Cook County forest preserve. The Eli Lilly and Co. sales rep, who friends said lit up any room she entered, was last heard from by family, friends and co-workers that day through text messages. She was reported missing the next day, after she failed to contact any of them, and when she missed an important meeting with her boss. (Continue Reading…)

52 Somalis Killed After Drifting 18 Days in Boat
Somali refugees abandoned by smugglers in the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Aden drifted for 18 days, and at least 52 died before the group was rescued off the Yemeni coast, the U.N. said Sunday. Seventy-one people survived the journey. The boat broke down within hours of leaving Somalia on Sept. 3, bound for Yemen and carrying 124 Somalis, the U.N. refugee agency said. The crew abandoned the boat for another craft and never returned for the refugees, who threw bodies overboard as fellow passengers died, the UNHCR statement said. (Continue Reading…)

I am sure most of us have either used or know someone that used Soft & Beautiful hair products. Honestly I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t use a product from the Soft & Beautiful brand. That may be because they have a 30-year history of making dreams of beauty a reality for women of color seeking hair care management, maintenance and styling solutions. Now Soft & Beautiful is expanding its vision into the realm of skin care with complete collection of moisturizing skincare products.

Soft & Beautiful ($5.99 - $6.99, softandbeautifulskin.com or retailers across the nation) realized that to often women of color skin care needs have been ignored or forgotten about. They decided to do something about it by creating a line of skincare with women of color unique needs in mind. Any of the six unique products help to quench thirsty skin and return moisture to dry patchy skin. The products include — MoistureSoft Body Butter Cream an intensely hydrating body butter, MoistureSoft Hand Cream a rich cream that softens dry hands instantly, MoistureSoft Body Lotion a creamy lotion that uses a unique blend of conditioning Cocoa, Shea and Almond butter and MoistureSoft Exfoliating Body Polish an exfoliater that works effortlessly to remove dry dull skin revealing softer skin. The product line also contains HydraSculpt Firming Lotion that is specially formulated with Ginseng and Collagen Proteins to tighten and tone while moisturizing for visibly tighter, younger looking skin.

My favorite though is the MoistureSoft Body Oil Gel which is specially formulated with nourishing Aloe and Olive Oil to seal in moisture deep within the skin. I loved how easy it is to use and that it doesn’t leave skin greasy or sticky. I used it right after a shower to seal in moisture. MoistureSoft Body Oil left my skin smooth and baby soft. I am totally addicted to it now.

But no matter which product you choose this is a line that will sure to have a product that will meet your individual needs. And if you ask me its about time a company started paying attention to our skincare needs since women of color spend so much money on beauty products. We deserve to have the best products so that we can look our best.

Check out our interviews with Janelle here and here…

American Apparel felt the need to become more cultural by adding an Afrikan line (hint the colonial K) all of a sudden. The spandex, Studio 54esuqe inspired line has added a collection of tribal inspired leggings, tube tops, dresses and bikini’s.

The blogsphere as well as consumers of American Apparel are giving the ultimate side-eye for their new approach. Questions are being raised about this issue as to why it’s controversial. Well for one, it raises many questions about the way we perceive fashion’s connection to our culture’s significance. It’s a touchy issue because socially we’re all put in a position to debate whether or not a form of cultural heritage is being modestly emulated or passed on to become a marketing tool to make big profits by targeting a specific group.

To see more of the Afika line please www.store.americanapparel.net/afrika.html.

Oprah Hops Aboard Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog”
Oprah Winfrey has joined the voice cast of the upcoming Disney animated film “The Princess and the Frog.” At a Disney presentation in Hollywood on Wednesday, John Lasseter, the chief creative office at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, said that Winfrey will play the character of Eudora, the mother of the main character, Princess Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose. (Continue Reading…)

Debate Highlights Mississippi’s Racial Evolution
On a small-town Saturday night, a half-block from the town square where a deteriorating Confederate statue stands guard, state Sen. Eric Powell walks into a restaurant for dinner. Powell orders fried pickles. Bubba Carpenter, a Republican state representative, ambles over with his 5-year-old son, Noah. The two freshmen legislators make small talk about a Civil War reenactment and plans to attend Friday’s scheduled debate between Barack Obama and John McCain at the University of Mississippi. Noah wordlessly reaches his hand across the table, palm up. Powell gently slaps him five, his large brown hand swallowing Noah’s tiny white one. (Continue Reading…)

NM GOP Official Quits Over Remarks about Blacks
The chairman of the Republican Party in New Mexico’s most populous county resigned Thursday, nearly a week after saying “Hispanics consider themselves above blacks” and won’t vote for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Fernando C de Baca’s resignation as GOP chairman in Bernalillo County was announced by state GOP Chairman Allen Weh, one of several top New Mexico Republicans who had called for him to step down. “Mr. C de Baca has worked hard on behalf of the party, and his contributions should be appropriately recognized,” Weh said. “We are glad this matter has been resolved and wish him well.” C de Baca, 70, was quoted in a BBC News blog last week as saying: “The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors. African-Americans came here as slaves. Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won’t vote for a black president.” C de Baca had maintained his comments were taken out of context, explaining he was referring to views held by some in the generation of Hispanics who grew up before the civil rights movement. “Those were not my beliefs,” he said Tuesday. (Continue Reading…)

Ciara Insists That She Wasn’t Nude For Vibe Shoot
Ciara has been in the headlines as of late, due to a racy spread for Vibe’s October issue, in which the singer appears in the nude. While she’s received some flack for the spread, the majority of fans across the net seem to enjoy the photos. Ciara, however, has claimed that she wasn’t actually nude for the shoot, and in a recent interview with MTV she calls the pictorial “misleading.” “I think, at this point, I’d rather just be quiet about things such as that, but I definitely want to make it clear that I was going in to do something artistic, and I was upset that when I saw the photos, everything was gone,” Ciara told MTV. “It’s very, very upsetting and somewhat misleading.” According to Ciara, she went into the shoot expecting to make an “artistic expression,” and not show off her sculpted body. (Continue Reading…)

U.N. Genocide Court Jails Rwandan Attorney for Life
Former deputy prosecutor Simeon Nchamihigo was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for his role in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, a United Nations court said. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found Nchamihigo guilty on charges of genocide, murder and crimes against humanity. The Arusha-based court said that in April 1994 Nchamihigo, a former deputy prosecutor in Cyangugu prefecture, told Interahamwe militia to find and kill Tutsis and other civilians who were accomplices of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. (Continue Reading…)

NM GOP Leader Under Fire for “Hispanics above Blacks” Slur
A local Republican Party leader in New Mexico has set off a firestorm by suggesting in an interview that Hispanics are racists who won’t vote for a black candidate. Now even the state Republican chairman is calling for his resignation. Fernando C’ de Baca, who heads the GOP in Bernalillo County, was quoted by BBC reporter Jon Kelly on Friday as saying that even though the polls show Barack Obama with a substantial lead over John McCain among Hispanic voters, “The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors. African-Americans came here as slaves. … Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won’t vote for a black president.” (Continue Reading…)

Looks like Andre 3000 is officially on hustle mode for his new clothing line, Benjamin Bixby. Andre’s collection of dandy threads debuted across the pond at Harrods, where he admitted that designing the line was as much about the aesthetic as it was merchandising and presentation. “It’s like medicine,” he told the Business of Fashion.

“You need to wrap it up in peanut butter to make it appealing.”

Either way, we think the line is rather fitting for proper English blokes.

Related Article: Andre 3000 Launches Benjamin Bixby

Did Palin Really Say She Wouldn´t Hire Blacks?
Sarah Palin admittedly hasn´t had much of a track record when it comes to acknowledging let alone promoting diversity during her short tenure as Alaska governor. She´s on record with a terse utterance on hate crimes legislation and another one on cultural diversity. During the 2006 gubernatorial campaign she told the Eagle Forum that she opposed expanded hate crime legislation. In her gubernatorial campaign booklet in 2006, Palin gave her equally terse view of discrimination. She simply said that she and her gubernatorial running mate would provide opportunities for all Alaskans. There is no record that Palin has made any other public statements on diversity and minority issues since then. This in itself might be cause for only a slight eyebrow raise. (Continue Reading…)

Fifth Grader Suspended for Wearing Anti-Obama Shirt
An 11-year-old boy in Colorado was suspended from school after he refused to take off a shirt that read, “Obama is a terrorist’s best friend.” His father says that the school is violating his son’s First Amendment rights. Daxx Dalton, a fifth grader at Aurora Frontier K-8 School in Aurora, Colo., wore the homemade shirt on a day when students were asked to show their patriotism by wearing red, white and blue, according to MyFOXColorado.com. When he was given the choice of turning the shirt inside out or being suspended, Dalton chose suspension. (Continue Reading…)

Check out our article “Dying to be White” that covers this issue as well.

Janet Jackson Parts Ways with Island Def Jam
After just 14 months on Island Def Jam, Janet Jackson announced Monday (September 22) her departure from the label. According to Jackson’s publicist, the label agreed to dissolve its relationship with the artist at her request. After a long stint with Virgin, Jackson inked a deal with Island in July 2007 and released her label debut, “Discipline,” in February. When album sales failed to meet expectations, the singer expressed dissatisfaction with Island Def Jam, first telling SOHH.com that the label “stopped all promotion whatsoever on the album” after releasing the first single, “Feedback.” Earlier this month, she hinted about potentially severing ties with the label to Billboard, stating, “I can’t say if we’ll be working with them in the future. I don’t know what the future holds between the two of us. (Continue Reading…)

South Africa’s ANC Picks Successor to Mbeki
South Africa’s ruling ANC on Monday named its deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe as head of state after Thabo Mbeki bowed to pressure and announced his resignation, a spokesman told AFP. Motlanthe is to serve as head of state until elections are held in seven months’ time. “Motlanthe will be the president, not interim, he will be the president of the republic until the election,” spokesman for the ANC parliamentary caucus KK Khumalo said after a meeting between the party and lawmakers. (Continue Reading…)