BHM Fact of the Day

1. 1995 - Melvin Franklin dies
Bass Singer Melvin Franklin of The Temptations died of complications following a brain seizure in Los Angeles. He was 53.
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2. 1979 - Frank E. Peterson Jr.
Frank E. Peterson Jr. named the first Black general in the Marine Corps.
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3. 1965 - Constance Baker Motley elected Manhattan Borough President
Constance Baker Motley elected Manhattan Borough president, the highest elective office held by a Black woman in a major American city.
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4. 1929 - Baseball catcher Elston Gene Howard born
Baseball catcher Elston Gene Howard was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1965, Howard signed a $70,000 contract with the NY Yankees and became the highest paid player in the history of baseball at the time.
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5. 1925 - Politician Louis Stokes born
Louis Stokes, former mayor of Detroit, Michigan, and member of the US House of Representatives, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Stokes was the first African American elected to the House from Ohio.
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6. 1915 - Reconstruction congressman Robert Smalls dies
Robert Smalls, Reconstruction congressman, dies in Beaufort, South Carolina.
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7. 1895 - William H Heard
William H. Heard, AME minister and educator, named minister to Liberia.
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8. 1869 - Louisiana governor signed public accommodations
Louisiana governor signed public accommodations law.
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9. 1868 - W.E.B. DuBois born
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (W.E.B. Du Bois) was born on this day.
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10. 1868 - Dr.William Edward Burghardt DuBois
On this day Dr.William Edward Burghardt DuBois, educator and civil rights advocate, is born in Great Barrington, Mass.

Blog Under Construction!

The Blackline blog will be undergoing massive construction over the next few days. When it is revamped, you won't be able to turn away.

Bear with us,
Love and Lines,
Blackline

And the Winners Are....

Congratulations to Blackline's Man & Woman of the Year!!! Miss Christina Royster and Mr. Q'Ryan O'Quinn!!! Our winners were honored at our Black Love/Black History Release party this past Thursday! Thanks to all those who came out, it was truly a success! we look forward to seeing Mr. Quinn and Miss Royster on the cover of our next issue!!!

Late 911: Save Haiti

So I’m sitting in my room listening to Public Enemy’s 1990 album Fear of A Black Planet. The volume on my laptop is as high is it can go so I can drown out the sounds of the girls yelling in the hall and find peace. It is Monday the 18th and I pick up Friday’s paper that I’ve been meaning to read. The headline: “You will not be forsaken” sits somewhat elevated on top of the graphic picture of a young girl with her long bony hands thrust up into the air in desperation. She stands their, still, letting all of the pain, grief, and wonder concentrate inside her veins as she opens her arms up to the sky and lets out a chilling “Why?” as she stands in the midst of broken concrete, wood, and who knows what all else. The culprit, a massive earthquake. The price, over 50,000...in people.
I remember checking my Yahoo after class earlier this week and seeing the pictures of the Haitian people and the many headlines about the earthquake but I refused to click on them. I couldn’t bring myself to look at those pictures. I couldn’t find enough muscle in my body to be able to stomach looking into the eyes of the victims of this tragedy. I couldn’t but I’m glad everyone else wasn’t like me. Coincidence or irony or whatever you want to call it its Martin Luther King Jr. Day and it is now that I decide to read the paper about the earthquake in Haiti and as I’m reading it track 3 of my favorite Public Enemy cd comes on, 911 is a Joke. As I read I hear Flavor Flave’s distinct voice and up beat rap “911 is a fake life saver. A get up, a get get down 911 is jokin your town. A get up a get get down late 911 wears the late crown.” And I think he can’t be more right. It takes my back to a couple years ago to Hurricane Katrina when 911/the government/Fema/ and all other lackadaisical aid plaid the biggest joke of all: pretending that they were going to do everything to help the people in New Orleans as soon as possible. That cracks me up still, but there is no smile on my face. Now the world again stands amazed at the power nature has and is reminded of how fast and how drastically nature can change the lives of so many people. Sorry police, no jokes this time, real aid is needed as was before but time 100.
Obama has pledged $100 million, Wyclef Jean has a fund going, and so do various other groups. We must help out in any way we can. I know we are all college students and we’re struggling, but anything is better than nothing. Even if its just helping to raise awareness about this catastrophe that is still aid. Don’t have the mind set that ‘I don’t have to do anything now, there are a lot of people helping out. My little donation won’t make that much of a difference.’ because there are probably hundreds of other people thinking the same thing. If everyone thought like that nothing would ever happen. In the motto of Gloria Richardson and Malcolm X’s direct action civil rights group ACT, I ask of you to do just that and act.

How you can help in Pittsburgh:
WorldVision is sending pallets of relief materials and medical supplies. Donations can be made at www.donate.wordlvision.org
Brother’s Brother Foundation- Haiti by visiting www.brotherbrother.org
Functional Literacy of Haiti at www.flmhaiti.org
Unicef by calling 18004UNICEF or going to www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake
The International Rescue Committee is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti. Visit www.theirc.org

Darah Patterson

Blackline Presents: Woman & Man of the Year

If you know a friend or fellow student who is accomplishing great things (stellar GPA, amazing community service, major successes, etc) NOMINATE him or her for Blackline's Woman/Man of the Year! (Or, nominate yourself :-) )

Here are the rules:
1. The nominee must be a junior or senior to qualify with at least a 3.0 GPA.
2. The nominee must be an active member of at least two campus organizations.
3. The nominee must be willing to attend an interview during the week of January 17th, 2010-January 24th, 2010.

Email blackline.bas@gmail.com with "Nominee" in the subject heading. In the email list the nominee's name, email address, and a few sentences on why your nominee should be Blackline's Woman or Man of the year. Deadline for nominations is midnight on January 15, 2010.

**Each nominee will be featured in the next issue of Blackline. The winners will receive a spread in the magazine as well as an award at our release party on February 11, 2010.

Love & Lines,
Blackline

Hair for the Holidays: Transitioning Hair Care

“Ahhhhhhh…(whimper)….ok, ok, just a little bit more, only a little bit.” “Just fan your head; you got to let that sh** marinate!”
The first person talking above: me.
The second: my older sister.

This is the conversation we had while I received one of my last relaxers.
After that, I decided that I never wanted another relaxer again. I relapsed once, relaxing in October 2008; I haven’t had a chemical on my head since.
Now, this is not a condescending, creamy-crack-bashing, relaxer-ranting, tsk-tsking tirade.

Transitioning to natural hair is not a walk in the park, but there’s something to be said about a willingness to embrace your chemically unaltered hair. It’s a struggle, but one that’s well worth it. The friends I have with natural hair have some of the flyest hair I’ve ever seen, straight, kinky or otherwise. For those women who decide that natural hair is for them, this is what I have learned throughout my hair’s “reversion” back to its true state.

(1) Hair wants to be loved. Do NOT treat your hair like a red-headed step-child. Be gentle with it. Combing your hair roughly like you are punishing it is not going to benefit anyone. Not you, and definitely not your strands.

(2) Moisture. Keep your tresses moisturized. More moisture equals softer and healthier hair. It’s all about CONDITIONING. I also read this in a Glamour magazine, and it is very much the truth. Whether it be deep or quickie (get your mind out of the gutter), conditioning is always a treat for your hair.

(3) Protein is important as well. If you can find a protein conditioner or treatment that will keep your hair feeling soft AND strong, bury it immediately because that is treasure! Protein and moisture combined will keep your hair from breaking at the line of demarcation, the point where your natural hair meets the relaxed hair.

(4) Begin to know your hair. When you decide to stick to transitioning, you have to be willing to work with whatever texture you have, whether it is loose curls or tightly-coiled kinks. You don’t have to compare your hair to others’. What is yours is yours, and what is theirs is theirs. Healthy hair is good hair; whatever comes out of your head, WORK IT!!

(5) Rough days. You will have them. Any time you have two DRASTICALLY different types of hair on your head, there are bound to be some styling problems. See that girl right there moving through Towers with the scarf on her head? Yeah, that’s me. There are good days and bad days. Rollersetts, braids, braidouts, twistouts, all of these styles can be god-sends. There are plenty of styling options waiting for you to discover them.

There’s so much more to say…but I think I’ve run out of space. For my transitioning ladies, stay dedicated, be bold, and have fun with it!

Dear Beyonce....Sit Down...

Before I even begin this letter let me just say that I have been a fan of yours ever since you were in Destiny's Child. I own each of your albums/DVDs and I think you are one of the greatest performers of all time. I have yet to see anyone who can sing and dance live as well as you can. That said, this is not a diss letter, this is a request: Can you please sit down???

First of all, Did you actually release "Video Phone"? Really? Did you really think you were being creative when you made a music video themed with colored guns, bright backgrounds, & camera-headed people? Did you really THINK that was okay? NO. Sit down.

"I Am...Sasha Fierce?" Are You? I thought this was supposed to be your most "personal" album to date (By the way, um...this album has been out for more than a year now. Stop puttin out singles and videos from it like it came out last month). You went and got married and then on your most "personal" album, you first release "Single Ladies"???? Okay cool...I guess you had to appeal to your fanbase (I loved the song actually), and you had to release "If I were a Boy," and "Halo." I was cool with all of this until I heard you say, "I Am Sasha Fierce is about me. It's about me opening up about things that I've never discussed before. I'm completely open which is different for me." Now, you and me both know that you are one of the most reserved celebrities on the planet, so when I heard you were going to open up I was like, "Finally!" But what did I get when I opened the disc? "Radio". "Video Phone". "Diva". Umm...I guess bragging about yourself or talking about a DJ and a video phone could be considered personable to someone who doesn't know the real definition.

TIMEOUT: While we're on the subject of true definitions and what not, I need you to take out a dictionary and look up the word "writer." Upon reading the definition, you should realize that you are NOT a writer. A writer/songwriter is someone who first off, WRITES their own music, the majority of their own music,or hell, contributes ALOT. You do not do any of these things. On most of the tracks you are listed LAST on the writers' credits, and it's not because everyone else's last name started with A and the writers were listed alphabetically. It's because you were the LAST to contribute and you probably only wrote an ad-lib here or there. Case and point: (Actually, I'll give you two) On your Bday album you say, "I wrote songs saying all of the things I wish Deena would have said in the film" and then you go right into the song "Listen." Okay, question. How come when "Listen" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song you weren't listed as a contributor? Oh. I know why. It's because the Academy Awards only recognizes the TOP THREE contributors on a song and you weren't one of them...meaning that...you didn't write shit. (Wait, I didn't mean to curse you out Beyonce, I was just sayin...) Point number two deals with the all too memorable "Irreplaceable." At a number of performances you said, "I wrote this song for all of my ladies!" Come on B. You know Neyo wrote that song. And you know that ONCE AGAIN you were listed LAST because you only wrote the word "baby" in the song a couple of times.

BACK TO "I Am Sasha Fierce": Despite the non-deepness of the tracks, "Ave Maria" (though it sampled) was good, "Satellites" was a modern day lullaby, "Hello" & "Ego" were fire, and "Disappear" & "Halo" (Hey, you were listed first as a writer on these two tracks) were good...but not good enough. For you to say that this album revealed things about you was a lie, Beyonce. All I found out was that you allowed that voice crack at the end of "Ego" to stay on the album because you were letting go of your "perfectionist" ways. Yawn.

Sit down.

Now, I honestly do believe that you are a hardworking woman--You are constantly performing, promoting, modeling, acting, and giving interviews which is another reason you need to take a break. Your performances are always on point but recently I've noticed that they're all very similar...I swear you've performed the Single Ladies routine one hundred too many times and you soon became aware that people were noticing. So what did you do to silence the critics? You decided to embark on a low budget production (in Vegas, ironically) and turn it into an "intimate" (Can you please ask Jay-Z to get you a dictionary this Christmas?) concert DVD called, "I Am...Yours." You rearranged a lot of the songs and---
=
TIMEOUT: For the record, if I buy a ticket to your concert, I'm all for you throwing in a diff beat here or there but umm...turning "Sweet Dreams" into a slow lullaby is not something I want to see. And if I'm spending my money to see you perform, I need to see a beautiful stage and a good amount of costume changes. Didn't you make 87 million last year? I know you can afford that.

"I Am...Yours" Continued: you were closer to the audience. For the ABC special you "opened up" by finally saying Jay Z was your husband and...that's about it. Yawn.

Sit down.

These past few years have revealed you as a non human--a calculated celebrity who does no wrong, a "good girl" who can expose her body on stage but won't utter a word about her daily thoughts. (You should just stop doing interviews. Your reserved personality makes it pointless) You've become an unattainable being who oversaturates the market and it's time for you to take a seat. It's time for you to take a break, have fun, learn some life lessons so you can have something real to write about, record a new album and release it awhile from now. How much can you grow if you never have time to live without the spotlight?
Like I said earlier, this is not a diss letter, but a mere request. The days of superficial music and craziness being mislabeled as creativity are numbered. I could go on and on about the things that you have done/not done, but until I decide to write again...I've pulled out the chair...now please...

Sit Down.


Sincerely,
A Fan