The Brush Park section of Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based media company that is making inroads into the American market after purchasing Current TV, is planning on opening a Detroit bureau, making them one of a shrinking number of outlets with a full bureau there. Al Jazeera America’s Detroit bureau will focus on “telling the stories of the people of Detroit and how news in Detroit affects those across the U.S,” according to a press statement.

“Al Jazeera America knows that you have to have on-the-ground reporting from the Motor City to really cover America’s economic, financial and socially important news and we’re excited about being here,” said the station’s executive director of international operations Ehab Al Shihabi. The station will be based in New York, and announced a bureau in Chicago in addition to this new Detroit announcement.

The Al Jazeera reporters will be mighty busy it seems. While the auto industry is still tops in the city, socially, the city is dealing with a crime rate that puts it atop a list of most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. NeighborhoodScout looked at neighborhoods across the country, excluding those with fewer than 800 residents. According to The Huffington Post, “[T]he neighborhoods they found to have the highest incidents of crime had high levels of vacancy and were mostly dominated by single-family homes.

“That description matches many neighborhoods in Detroit, where a recent estimate provided by the city marked the number of vacant structures at 35,000, with many more vacant lots,” the article continues.

People living in the most dangerous neighborhoods have a one-in-seven chance of being the victim of a violent crime, HuffPo says.

Source: WENN

“Woman to Woman” singer Keyshia Cole has been making headlines quite frequently lately. Unfortunately, it isn’t her music or hew new album that has media outlets buzzing. Instead, it’s her seemingly horrible attitude. At the close of last year the singer found herself in the midst of a public dispute with California radio station KMEL 106, after she pulled out of the station’s Holiday House of Soul concert because she wasn’t pleased with the fact that she wasn’t listed as the show’s headliner. Not to mention the not so nice comments she made about Michelle Williams during the Destiny’s Child Superbowl performance. Now she’s being blasted for the less than professional behavior that she allegedly exhibited during an appearance coordinated by Detroit radio station, Hot 107.5.

According to the station’s website, Keyshia was scheduled to make an appearance at Soundboard at MotorCity Casino. The event was hosted by clothing retailer Villa and Hot 107.5 and was scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm. Fans began lining up outside at noon, hoping to get an autograph and possibly even a photo with the “Trust and Believe” singer. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out that way. Hip Hop Detroit says that Keyshia showed up 2.5 hours, leaving fans waiting outside in the cold, rainy weather for four hours.

In case you’re wondering what would cause a person to keep their adoring fans waiting for that extended amount of time, let me just say that it wasn’t traffic. Sources tell the station that Keyshia refused to even walk inside of the venue until she was supplied with a specific kind of water, which is actually what caused the hold up.

It seems that Keyshia’s divtatude only continue to swell as the night went on. Concergoers who attended her show at the MotorCity Hotel later that night say that offered a few unkind words to them as well. When she wasn’t receiving enough “love” from her audience, in the middle of her performance, she allegedly told the crowd:

“At this point in my career if you not rockin’ with me you can get out”

In the words of Lil Mo, who is your publicist?

Turn the page to hear one disgruntled fan spaz about the meet and greet fiasco.

From left to right: Kora, Jai, Kori, Jackie and Janice. Image via Hair Crush

“Before we got together, we were doing all this research. There was a great supplier that we both stumbled across, “ said Kori Davis, brand manager of extensions line Hair Crush.

Already co-owner of Blush boutique along with Kora Mylum, Davis thought it would be a good idea to link up with hair stylists and owners of Glamour Gyrl’z hair salon. Sisters Jai and Janice Chambers operate the shop with their mother Jackie Bradfield not too far from Blush boutique on 9 Mile road in Detroit.

Unknowingly, the two groups of entrepreneurs began investigating gaining separate access to hair extensions before learning they were all seeking to extend services in their individual businesses. After finding a promising hair manufacturer in India they joined forces.

“We figured we might as well come together because the more we buy, the bigger supply we’ll be able to put out for the demand of hair,” said Davis.

The Benefits of Forming a Partnership

Testing out the supplier by wearing the hair around town, the founders discovered friends and customers were interested in where the hair came from. When they researched and pinpointed a manufacturer  in 2010, the founders sold their extensions without a staple brand. It was then they decided to move forward with making the business official.

“We did have to test a lot of hair and go through a couple of manufacturers. We wore the hair to test the shedding and we are satisfied with our product,” said Janice Chambers, creative director of Hair Crush. Her sister Jai is vice president of the company while Jackie serves as president.

In one of their very first meetings, Chambers remembers the founders sitting at a table tossing around potential names for the soon-to-be hair line.

“We were thinking about all things hair and the fact that everyone fell in love with the hair. One of us was drinking a soda — a Crush — and we were bouncing names off of each other. Kora was like, ‘Everyone loves the hair, why not Hair Crush?’ and we just went from there,” Chambers said. “We were so happy with the product, we wanted to share it with everyone else.”

I guess it’s not enough to be part of one of the most important families in the history of Gospel music. Nope, not for Michael Winans, Jr., son of The Winans member, Michael Winans (pictured above on the far left).  He plead guilty last week in a Detroit court to federal charges that he was defrauding investors out of 8 million dollars in a Ponzi scheme.

The long and short of it is that 30 year old Michael represented Winans Trust, saying it was a company that invested in crude oil bonds in Saudia Arabia.  He retained 11 “shareholders” and told them that to keep their place, they needed to recruit other investors and have them send their funds to Winans Trust.  The “shareholders,” who knew nothing about this whole scheme, were collectively able to get over 1,000 investors involved who gave a total of over 8 million dollars to a company that didn’t exist. Michael then changed most of the “company money” into funds for himself using the rest to pay back initial investors. The problem was that the “pay back” money was really just money from new “clients” and not a real return on investment.

Michael will be sentenced in February 2013 and faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years.

Why?! Why must you be a rebel? Your daddy was a member of The Winans, for goodness sakes! Do something meaningful like becoming a teacher or nurse or doctor. Everybody in the entire Winans clan (and we all know its like 1,000 of them) can sing – put out an album!!  What an embarrassment for such a legendary family.

Am I the only one too scared of prison to do something this dumb?

Source

Image: Nialah Ellis

With the latest Census data showing Detroit’s overall population shrank by 25 percent in the last 10 years and national headlines that air out the city’s dirty laundry regarding crime, unemployment and economic instability, it’s safe to say that the Motor City has seen better days.

Luckily there’s a bright spot that shines in the midst of all the negativity surrounding the city: the rise of 20-something entrepreneurial types who have made it their mission to revive the city and restore it to its one-time standing as a destination for some of the brightest minds in the country.

Nailah Ellis, 24, is one to watch. After years of seeing friends and family members react positively to her great grandfather’s infamous homemade tea, her wheels started turning and she began to think about how she could leverage the family recipe and possibly turn it into something greater.

During the summer of 2008, when she was just 20 years old, Nailah launched Ellis Infinity, the holding company that would eventually spawn her first official product: Ellis Island Tea.

We caught up with Nailah to talk inspiration, convincing her father to give up the secret recipe and the challenges of running a small, but rapidly growing business.

Source: Detroit Free Press

On Wednesday a Detroit family experienced a horror not many could imagine. A 7-year-old boy was found hanging from a bunk bed with a belt around his neck after his 14-year-old sister peeped through the keyhole of his locked bedroom door.

It’s nearly unfathomable to think that a first grader could be so troubled he’d want to take his own life but according to a police report, the mother said her son “had been depressed due to her recent separation from his father; the fact that he had been bullied continuously by the children at school, in addition to constant teasing he had endured because he was the only boy in the home of eight females.”

Administrators at Mark Murray Elementary where the boy, whose name is not being released, attended school say no harassment was ever brought to their attention. According to a statement by Geneva Williams, interim CEO of the University Preparatory Academy and University Preparatory Science and Math school districts:

“To the best of our knowledge, after careful review with the principal, teachers and counselors, there was never any mention of bullying by the student’s mother, who was an active volunteer at the school. The student was in a very caring and nurturing environment.”

It’s not clear whether the mother did bring her son’s bullying to the attention of the school, but she had alerted her pastor. Ironically she was on her way to talk to him about her son’s depression on Wednesday around 4pm, which is the last time she saw her son alive. On Tuesday, neighbor Harold Pleasant had helped the mother start her car before taking her son to an afternoon doctor’s appointment. He said he asked the boy how he was doing in school and he replied, “I’m doing fine.”

In December, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed anti-bullying legislation that makes it a misdemeanor to bully children in person or online. Detroit City Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins, who sponsored the ordinance, said this boy’s suicide is an example of why strong punishment for bullying is needed.

“For a 7-year-old to lose his life in any form is heartbreaking. But to imagine a child that young, who is so sad, that believes his only option is to do this? Heartbreaking is not a strong enough word,” she said.

Detroit police are still investigating what could have led up to this tragedy and the boy’s elementary school is said to be cooperating so that more light can be shed on this sad case.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Small to Big Screen: TV Shows That Should Be Turned Into Movies
• Going After A Man: Confident or Crazy?
• Salt & Peplum: 10 Peplum Dresses That Need a Place in Your Closet
• WOMAN to WOMAN: Decoding The Book Of Bull
• Brandy And Monica Are Drifting Apart…Again!
• My Hair Story: I’m Going To Miss My Dominicanos
• The Hair She Dared to Wear: The Coiffures of Patti Labelle

Source: BlackVoices.com

President Obama took a minute to reflect on the past earlier this week. Wednesday, while he was visiting the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, the president sat in the Montgomery, Alabama bus seat Rosa Parks refused to vacate.

Later, while in Detroit, the president shared his thoughts on the experience:

 ”I just sat in there for a moment and pondered the courage and tenacity that is part of our very recent history but is also part of that long line of folks who sometimes are nameless, often times didn’t make the history books, but who constantly insisted on their dignity, their share of the American dream.”

Powerful stuff.

More on Madame Noire!

• Where Are They Now? The Cast of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
• Is 3 Months Too Long to Wait for Sex? The 90 Day Rule from a Man’s Point of View
• It Takes Two to Tango: Why Do We Always Focus Blame On The Other Woman?
• What’s Better for Your Hair? Flat Iron vs. Hot Comb
• Indie Pop Group Declares They’ve ‘Got A Thing For Black Girls’ in New Music Video
• Brooklyn Man Locked Up Nearly a Year for Rape Even Though Victim Recanted Story
• Think Like A Man’s Gabrielle Union, Meagan Good and Regina Hall Discuss “The Man List”
• For A Limited Time Only: 7 Signs You Might Be A Rebound

Source: Washingtonexaminer.com

A Pontiac Academy for Excellence Middle School Detroit woman has been fired from her position as a literature teacher and she doesn’t know why, besides the fact that she supported a student-suggested fundraiser for Trayvon Martin.

According to the SPLC, a national civil rights group, Harris’ eighth-grade journalism students asked her about the death of  the teen and she gave them an editorial-writing assignment on the shooting. Wanting to do more, the students suggested a fundraiser where they each could pay $1 to wear hoodies instead of school uniform for a day—a typical effort that’s done at the school.

The 26-year-old teacher said she approached school administrators “through the chain of command”  and did everything “by the book” but Superintendent Jacqueline Cassell rejected the idea. As Harris was in the process of explaining the decision to the students, she was called for a meeting with Cassell and suspended for encouraging the students to make their request in person.

“I didn’t tell the kids, ‘Let’s go and do it anyway.’” Harris said. “I was actually, literally, in the process of talking to my kids about what we could do instead when (Cassell) requested the meeting with me and told me that I needed to let it go.”

During the two-day suspension, Harris was already scheduled to run another fundraiser, which she says she organized with her own money, so she didn’t want to miss it. But when she visited the school to drop off the prizes, Cassell suspended her for an additional two weeks without pay. After protesting the suspension, she was fired for “insubordination.”

Cassell has only spoken on the situation to say:

“I’m a child of the civil rights movement,” but “this is not the time in the school year” to distract students from academics.

“In every situation, there are work rules,” she added. “When rules are violated, there are consequences.”

From that quote it’s hard to tell whether the firing is more about following a suspension rule or trying to rally support for Trayvon Martin. Unfortunately, the school missed a teachable moment by believing discussion around a real-life event that’s likely to have a greater impact on these children’s lives than some of the things being taught in school is an academic distraction.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Academy’s decision was a “travesty” during a news conference yesterday morning at King Solomon Baptist church before a rally held for the teacher.

“It taught the students who tried to organize and tried to raise their voice in terms of social justice that they will be repressed. Instead of empowering our children … the Pontiac Academy is actually teaching children to internalize oppression and internalize racism.”

Harris says she hasn’t decided whether she wants to proceed with legal action against the school that she says she still loves. Right now she just wants an explanation.

“Whenever I discipline a kid in my classroom, I make sure they know what they did wrong,” she said.

Do you think Brooke Harris was rightfully fired over her suspension or did it have more to do with the Trayvon Martin fundraiser?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Women Who Get/Got Too Into Their Men
• The New Dating Norms: 6 Big Changes In The Dating Game
• You’re Just Not That Into It: Signs That Your Job Isn’t For You
• Madames Who Acted Like Ladies, But Thought Like Men
• Kandi Says Beef With Marlo Almost Turned RHOA Reunion Into A Different Kind Of Show
• Growing Up Fast: Toya and Lil Wayne’s Daughter Reginae Gets Dolled Up For Photo Shoot
• RHOA Salaries Exposed: They’re All Making Bank!
• Cartoon Has a Message for Black Women

Detroit Free Press

In January we told you about Texana Hollis, the 101-year-old woman who had been evicted from her home in Detroit after her son failed to pay property taxes linked to a reverse mortgage. Despite being told she could go back to her home, there was another hitch when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said her house “was completely unsuitable for a person to live in,” and forbid her to return. Well, finally things have turned around for Ms. Hollis and she is on her way to being back in her cherished home.

When Tuesdays with Morrie author and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom came across this woman’s this story, he was motivated to act. Through his charity S.A.Y. Detroit, Ms. Hollis’ home has been purchased from HUD and volunteers are now helping to renovate the house. Tomorrow, the organization will give Ms. Hollis the keys to the house Mitch said she never should have lost.

“The mark of a society is how it treats its neediest citizens, especially its neediest senior citizens. Texana Hollis should never have been thrown out — no matter what mistakes her son made — and it should not have taken this long to get her back in,” he wrote in his Sunday column.

“Texana Hollis cried on the sidewalk when she was evicted; I hope she is laughing this week. She is a joyous piece of our city’s living history, and we should cherish her.”

S.A.Y. Detroit has given the home new floors, walls, appliances, a repaired roof, heating, electrical, a security system, a new kitchen, and even painted the living room in Ms. Hollis’ favorite bright colors to make sure the dwelling is up to standard. When Mitch told her the good news, she replied, ”You don’t know how happy you have made me.”

When we first ran this story, many of you asked if there was a place you could donate to help Texana Hollis, and Mitch Albom has now set up a fund to help her with her future expenses. Here is the contact information if you’d like to help out:

Texana Hollis Fund, c/o Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Room 101, 150 Stimson, Detroit 48201. You can also call 313-993-4700 or go to www.saydetroit.org.

I’m glad this story has an even happier ending than could have been imagined.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Happy Until They Got Married: Broken Celebrity Couples
• Training Day: Things You Should Never Have To Teach Your Man
• Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems: Mega Millions Winner Won’t Share Money With Lotto Pool
• Do You Go Too Hard For Your Favorite Celebrity?
• Uh Oh: Is Swizz Beatz Creeping With His Ex?
• Charlie Bell:Kenya’s Recklessly Spending My Money To Get Back At Me
• An Open Letter To Mary J. Blige Re: Her Buffoonish Burger King Commercial
• What Does It Really Mean To Think Like A Man?

Source: Detroit Free Press

The poor status of American public schools is the dirty little secret school officials like to sweep under the rug, but students at Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit are saying “no more.” On Thursday, about 50 students from the all-boys school were suspended for walking out of class in protest and simply demanding a better education from the school.

“We’ve been wronged and disrespected and lied to and cheated,” senior Tevin Hill told the Detroit Free Press. “They didn’t listen to us when we complained to the administration. They didn’t listen to the parents when they complained to the administration, so I guess this is the only way to get things solved.”

The boys walked out in frustration over several complaints, including a lack of consistent teachers, the reassignment of the school principal, educators who abuse sick time, and a shortage of textbooks. One of the boys’ parents, Sharise Smith, said a math teacher has been absent for more than 68 days and her son was given an A in geometry without taking a final exam.

“It was by default, just for showing up. It wasn’t because he earned an A,” she said.

Seniors at the academy are worried they won’t be prepared for college much less their future. Seventeen-year-old Hill told The Detroit News that so many teachers have been simultaneously absent from school that dozens of students had been forced to simply gather in the gym or other common areas. They’ve also gone for long periods without homework, the results of which were seen on Hill’s placement exam at Bowling Green State University where he plans to attend next year.

“I literally couldn’t answer a question on there,” Hill said. “Right now, I’m not going to be as successful as I should be because I haven’t been properly taught.”

“They’re pushing smoke up parents’ butts,” she said, “and the parents better get the hell up and do something different.”

I’m with her. It’s amazing officials had time to suspend these boys for their protest but couldn’t manage to call substitute teachers in to educate them.

Seniors at Detroit’s Frederick Douglass Academy Walk Out in Protest: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• When Tweeting Goes Wrong: 6 Celebrity Scuffles & Screw Ups On Twitter
• Are You In Love With Being In Love? Reasons Why Being A Romantic Can Ruin You
• Star Wars: The Best Of Celebrity Feuds
• “Ask A Black Man” Episode 1: Life Of A Single Man (Extended Cut)
• Check Your Child: 8 Tips For Keeping Your Daughter Off The Pole
• Don’t Text Your Ex! Thing To Tell Yourself Before Picking Up The Phone
• Take It To The Floor: Maxi Dresses That Will Sweep You Into Spring
• Give & Take: Signs That You Are Too Much Of A Giver