Help Happily Natural Day celebrate the brightest and most dynamic people in our community via the first annual Happily Natural Awards! We have fallen into the habit of celebrating greatness after the fact, we have decided to start giving our flowers to the living… Happily Natural Awards AWARD CATEGORIES The Afro Pick Award: Natural Hair Product of the Year The Wadjet Award: Holistic Health & Healing Business of the Year The Duafe Award: Holistic Beauty & Wellness Business of the Year The Akoben Award: Activist of the Year The Asase Ye Duru Award: African-Inspired Woman Entrepreneur...

In Africa, dance is much more than physical movement – it is a direct way to celebrate life and create healing. African Healing Dance is a step-by-step course on the healing tradition and expressive movements that are unique to Africa’s dance heritage. From the movements of nature and everyday life, the tribal people of Africa developed specific dances to summon the energy of the world around them into their bodies for connection and healing. Through dancing, they became the bird and the wind, the fire and the serpent. Wyoma, the lead dancer and director of the Damballa dance troupe,...

MTV recently announced a casting call for Black women ages 15-28 for its reality show TRUE LIFE. The subject: Black Women Going Natural. The series seeks to document the black woman’s journey of transitioning to natural hair. The natural hair aesthetic is a popular trend now as it has gone from being an underground notion to now being seen on CNN and Fox. On this subject, Claudio E. Cabrera of TheRoot.com says that, “throughout the last few years, black women’s dependence on what many call the “creamy crack” has declined as many find the advantages of going natural....

It is the end of  the 7th, and final, day of KWANZAA. Today we celebrated IMANI (Faith). Today we renew our BELIEF in God, our people, our teachers and our leaders, and the virtue and victory of our struggle  - IMANI! When we speak of faith as it relates to the principles of the Nguzo Saba, one way we can practice Imani all year ’round is to always, always, always search for common ground amongst the desires and struggles of our peoples. This search is grounded in a FAITH that we all seek create a more community for our legacies. However, there are so many things that separate people in...

I want to start this post by saying that Love & hip Hop is a disgrace to all things Hip Hop but I have to at least acknowledge the superficial nature that does exist within the new Hip Hop Culture. I can’t help that in seeing the name “Love & Hip Hop”, I actually expected to see a show of real artists showing their love for the music and community, expressing how Hip Hop has inspired them, showing their influence on hip hop. I expected to see a few battles, hear some good beats, see some records spinning, and be taken inside the studios. I wanted to see some dude in dirty jeans kicking...

Down by the Riverside… It was a day spent in reverence and appreciation by Keepers of the Way with BlaqButtaply… The sun was bright and the breeze was cool. The wind whispered through the trees carrying the beats of drums and the praises of ancestors honored, elevated and remembered for all they have done for us. Earlier in the day, workshops were held, teaching the importance of honoring their ancestors while others learned Egun songs and dances. (Egun is another name for Ancestor.) It was a day of remembrance; a celebration of humble graciousness. The Keepers of the Way are a collaboration...

You asked, “Do you find it harder to date due to your public image as a ’sexpert’? Are men more intimidated by you or do you find the opposite true and they are more comfortable?” Ask Arielle Loren is an interactive web show for people to submit anonymous gender & sexuality questions via formspring [http://formspring.me/arielleloren] and receive an answer from Arielle Loren via YouTube [http://youtube.com/arielleloren]. No question is too outrageous, strange, or forbidden. Invite your friends to the show and ask away! More contributors, more visions, more voices…...

One Sunday night I went over to Cafe Circa to check out Salah Ananse’s Afrique Electrique party with special guest Ramon Rawsoul, drummer Lil John Roberts, and House music legend Josh Milan, from Honeycomb Music . Ramon Rawsoul opened up the evening with his Deep House selections, then Lil John started to acompany him on the drums . The birthday boy Salah came on to put his touch on the night . Then Josh Milan came on and took the crowd on a musical journey to make it a memorable night. Well enough of me , lets see the pics enjoy John Crooms “Everybody’s Favorite Photographer” John...

By Shannon T. Boodram of Sway Magazine Until recently, wide hips, thick lips and solid derrieres, common among many Black women, were passed over and deemed unworthy of even an honourable mention in the working definition of beauty. But this year, Allure magazine announced there has been a milestone victory in the uphill battle versus beauty standards: no longer does mainstream media call for its sex symbols to be paper thin and powder white. Instead, juicy-lipped, curvy ladies like Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez have taken the lead. Good news for Black women? Think again. Today, the booty...

Death-row inmate Troy Davis denied clemency from CNN The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole has denied clemency for death-row inmate Troy Davis.Davis was convicted of the 1989 killing of Savannah, Georgia, police officer Mark MacPhail. Davis is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 7 p.m. Wednesday at a state prison in Jackson, Georgia. “Monday September 19, 2011, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles met to consider a clemency request from attorneys representing condemned inmate Troy Anthony Davis. After considering the request, the Board has voted to deny clemency,”...