Madame Noire | Black Women's Lifestyle Guide | Black Hair | Black Love

I think we’re all guilty of speaking this nonsense into existence. The more we saw Jim Jones’ mama, Nancy, on “Love and Hip Hop,” the more we knew it was only a matter of time before she got her own spinoff reality show. Initially, people joked that she should have a series with Keyshia Coles’ mother, Frankie, but Nancy’s got her own ish now.

According to Bossip, production for the show already began this past Friday in New York. I assume the series will air on VH1, but what it will be about we can only speculate. I’m going with tales of a psychotic b**** getting her clothing and condom line off the ground while attempting to let her son finally be a man at 35.

I know Jim is somewhere shaking his head right now.

Are you surprised Mama Jones was given her own spinoff? Will you watch her reality show?

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

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In Sex and the City 2, we saw our favorite New York fashionistas finally get their happily ever afters, particularly Carrie, but what was the best-selling author like before she met Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte? If you haven’t already read the “Carrie Diaries” you may have a chance to see her in action because the CW has ordered a pilot for a show based on the book.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, “the Carrie Diaries” will focus on Carrie during her senior year of high school in the early 80s,  as she “asks her first questions about love, sex, friendship and family while navigating the worlds of high school and Manhattan.”

The first book in “The Carrie Diaries” series was published in 2010, and the sequel, “Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel,” came out last year. In the novels, Carrie is from a small town in New England, but the story line will be moved to New York to make for better television. Plus Amy B. Harris, who worked on the original “Sex and the City,” wrote the “Carrie Diaries” pilot and will serve as showrunner, so the series should be in good hands. There’s just one question, though, who should play the young Carrie Bradshaw? Something tells me Blake Lively will be all over this.

Are you excited for the “Carrie Diaries” to come to TV? Who do you think could pull off a young Carrie/Sarah Jessica Parker?

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

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These days, the US wedding industry brings in nearly $40 billion a year and the 2011 American Wedding Survey estimates that the average cost of a wedding in the US is $26,500. In such a lucrative field, The Uptowner reports that Harlem is standing on its own, attracting couples to host their wedding in its unique cultural venues.

“Harlem is often overlooked as a destination to have a city wedding,” wedding coordinator DiAnne Henderson told the Up Towner. Wedding planning is her part time passion; she’s worked with Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem for 17 years and done more than 200 weddings. Henderson notes that while the black community has plenty of African American designers, there simply aren’t enough wedding expos.

Four years ago she helped launch the Bridal Expo and Fashion Show to highlight local vendors and Harlem brides. The event recently took place at Alhambra Ballroom with 25 vendors and about 100 participants to showcase a wide selection of dresses from traditional white to patchwork halter-style African print dresses.

“Everyone can’t have a $40,000 or $50,000 wedding so we try to work with the person’s pockets,” Henderson said.

In Manhattan weddings generally top the national average cost and carry a heavy $70,730 price tag. But Henderson says her average wedding costs around $12,000.

“I have the chance to speak with people and encourage them,” she says of her work.

Wedding designers like Henderson must have a creative eye to plan the wedding of each bride’s dreams. Harlem businesses make finding the perfect venues easier. There’s Sylvia’s, the well-known Lenox Avenue restaurant that specializes in soul food. It hosts a free space for wedding parties under 45 guests or $500 an hour for bigger parties. Their special event coordinator estimates the restaurant serves about 30 weddings annually.

Alhambra Ballroom specializes in hosting wedding receptions and has been called by some brides one of the most affordable options in the area. There’s also Riverside Church, which has two wedding sanctuary rents from $3200-3500.

Despite the efforts Harlem hasn’t reached its pinnacle of wedding success. Wedding Coordinator Angela Gregory tells The Uptowner that few couples chose to wed at Riverside Church. Photographer Chad Pennington says that most of his work is done in downtown Manhattan. Last year, he only photographed two Harlem weddings.

Harriette Cole, author of “Jumping the Broom: the African-American Wedding Planner,” tells The Uptowner that she still foresees Harlem could be a big player in the wedding market.

“I imagine that Harlem can become even more of a player in the world of weddings, thanks to more restaurants being developed and additional event spaces,” she said.

The students of the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) in New York were in for a treat yesterday. One of their school’s most famous alumna, Alicia Keys, came to encourage the current students to “better the world.” Keys has partnered with the Western Union’s campaign “Moving Money for Better” to encourage the students to participate in competition to use $1,000 to make a positive change in the world.

A good look.

Check out some pictures from the event below.

Judging by the gaping mouths, they clearly had no idea she was going to be there.

Are your co-workers getting on your last nerve? Are you one minute away from murdering your boss? Don’t catch a case, my friends; it may be time for a getaway. Summer is not the only season to get that vacation in. In fact, the cooler autumn months can be a perfect time to plan a trip.  You avoid the summer crowds and prices are often lower. So where are some good spots to visit during the fall months?

Check out our picks.…

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Okay, so a few weeks back I did a post on people that were of Nigerian background who just happened to shock and surprise me at one time or another. The response to that was big! A lot of people were surprised themselves, some people weren’t, others said I didn’t know my culture, yada, yada, yada. But a big response I got was from people asking for galleries with people of Jamaican background and more. So here we meet again, and I’ve compiled a list of folks that surprised me (probably because I’m NOT Jamaican) and that might surprise you too. Hope you enjoy! And if not, you suck. (kidding! It’s all love.)

Shout out to my Jamaican friend for giving me the title!

By Charlotte Young

Columbia University’s Teacher College education experts know what it takes to provide educational equity to all students in New York State—more money. The amount that the state spends on its students is not enough, they declare. The Campaign for Educational Equity, an institute of the college, plans to voice its concerns at a conference on Tuesday. The group recommends that an additional $4,750 must be spent annually for each low-income child in order to see measureable change in public school system.

According to the New York Times, New York state is already well ahead in investing in its students. The state spends about $18,126 per student, but the advocates recommend that the state’s support should extend to include services outside of the classroom. These additional services would provide for low-income students starting with prenatal care for the mother until high school graduation. Early child care and after-school and summer programs would also be provided for a total cost of $13,900 per child. The difference in total cost between the current spending on these services, and the proposed initiative amounts to $4,750.

Michael A. Rebell, the executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity acknowledges that “this is not going the cheap way.”

“What we’re saying is, if we’re really serious about overcoming the achievement gap, students need these services to have a meaningful opportunity,” he told the NY Times.

While the campaign may make valid points, state officials must also take into consideration the delicate balance between investing in education and protecting the taxpayer’s dollars. The plan would have to be approved in the state budget, a difficult move in the midst of tight financial times.

Manhattan Democrat Sheldon Silver suggests that the first step should be to increase spending on poorer school districts rather than additional outside support services.

But Rebell, whose past efforts have helped to bring in billions of additional funding for poor school districts, will lay out his five-year plan on Tuesday. He plans to suggest that some of the money for the increased services could be secured through private sector bond sales. As the economy improves, the funds could then be switched back to the state budget.

Rebell’s plan for increased educational funds don’t stop with New York alone. Eventually, he hopes his plan will see an increase of $4,230 annually for every low-income student around the nation.

Somebody’s got a new man!

No it’s not me, sadly. But it’s 22-year-old actress Zoe Kravitz, Lenny and Lisa Bonet’s little one gone big. After dating her co-star Michael Fassbender from X-Men: First Class, shorty doo-wop has moved on to Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley. And we’re not mad at her, Badgley is a cutie. The actor used to date his GG co-star Blake Lively for a good while (about three years actually) before she upgraded to Leonardo DiCaprio, and now Badgley and Kravitz are getting cozy all over New York City. The twosome were spotted walking together in SoHo earlier this week being all adorably adorable, holding hands, kissing–all that good stuff. Us Weekly says the two have been casually dating since summer (which actually didn’t end that long ago) and are having a good ‘ol happy-go-lucky time. That’s is what’s up.

Do you think they’re a cute pairing?

(Wall Street Journal) — The anti-Wall Street protesters camped out in a Lower Manhattan park are beginning to attract backing from some of New York’s most powerful labor unions.  On Monday, health-care workers union 1199SEIU issued a statement of support for the protests and said it would help feed those camped out in the park, send nurses to train those providing first aid and set up a task force to figure out what else it could do. The union represents 200,000 health-care workers in New York and Long Island and 100,000 more elsewhere on the East Coast.  The health-care workers joined Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents 38,000 Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees, and several smaller labor groups in supporting the nascent protests. While the unions are playing a background role, they potentially bring deep pockets, manpower and more mainstream credibility to what began as a rag-tag group of mostly young activists.

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Chances are, you have admired Nadia Vassell’s work on one of your favorite stars and didn’t know it. Celebrity hairstylist, salon owner and entrepreneur, Nadia Vassell  has an impressive client list that includes Rihanna, Chrisette Michelle, Ashanti and Tika Sumpter. She is a trendsetter and innovator in the beauty industry. Armed with beauty and brains, she is much more than meets the eye.

Sporting a bad weave is letting the beauty “secret” out of the bag. Luckily, Nadia has a solution. Known for her mastery in weaving, Nadia is regarded for her braiding technique that allows her to create extremely natural looking extensions. After becoming frustrated with the lack of quality human hair she kept seeing on people’s heads, she decided to take matters into her own hands and start working some mircales. NV Hair Extensions is her premium hair extensions line that is available online at  http://www.nadiavassell.com. And on top of supplying folks with the hair they need, she fixes the messes you make on your own hair. Vassell thinks the “do-it-yourself” method is okay, but there’s just so much you can do on your own before you tear up your hair:

“I think the mistake that most women make with their own hair is believing in the do-it-yourself method,” says Nadia. “Women who opt to doing their hair themselves might be causing more damage to their hair. Ultimately, they have to visit the salon professional to fix the problem they have caused to their own hair.” If you are guilty of this, grab a hat or a scarf and head over to  The Nadia Vassell Salon located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side for a quick fix.