Shutterstock

The grand American tradition of posing for family photos at department stores is coming to close, a victim of digital technology.

CPI Corp, the portrait provider behind studios in Sears and some Wal-Mart stores has closed, according to a statement on its website that said all its U.S. locations have shut down “after many years of providing family portrait photography.”

So sad! At least there’s still AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com to document your family’s photographic mishaps. LOL. To read more about the portrait studio closures, visit BlackEnterprise.com.

It’s not just Tyler Perry fans who are mad at Kim Kardashian, it’s America. More than 277,5000 people have signed an online petition at BoycottKim.com, saying the reality TV star has “made a mockery of American culture.”

The purpose of the petition is to attract as many signatures as possible in order to influence sponsors to stop hiring Kim to endorse their products. In addition to signing the petition, the site asks visitors to stop supporting a host of brands Kim K. is the spokesperson for or who carry her products, including Sears, TrimSpa, Sketchers, Target, Walmart, David’s Bridal, Sephora, and the whole E! network.

Wording on the site, says:

As our friends and neighbors struggle with real problems including inflated prices for fuel and groceries, a frightening job market, and a broken and divided government, we cannot continue to be distracted by moochers like Kim Kardashian. American families work hard to educate and raise their children with faith and morals, working ever longer hours to make ends meet. We do not need the added burden of explaining to our daughters why they should work hard and get an education versus the pursuit of a materialistic lifestyle by any means necessary including selling out their principles and exploiting sex for profit.

One of the founders of the website told NY Daily News, the boycott is being closely monitored by Sears, which carries the Kardashian Kollection. Another co-founder explained that the short-term goal of the boycott is to gain 350,000 signatures but 500,000 would likely be the kind of “serious number” that would prompt a company like Sears to re-evaluate its relationship with Kim.

At just seven weeks into the campaign, the group is close to hitting its 350,000 mark.

What do you think about this effort? Are the Kim K. haters going too far or are they right about her influence on American culture?

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

More on Madame Noire!

• Reality TV Show Curse: 9 Couples That Didn’t Make it
• Morning, Afternoon & Evening Eye Candy: Idris Elba
• How To Spot A Ball Buster
• 10 Things You Don’t Know About Beyonce
• Ask The Luv Coach: I Lied On My Online Profile and Now My Boo Wants To Cut Things Off
• The Real, Real Basketball Wives of The NBA

Racial comments directed at an African-American, Medro Johnson of Elk Grove, CA, earned the Sears employee $5.2 million in a recent lawsuit victory.  Johnson told jurors  that at a company picnic in 2008, a coworker told his wife and children, “Medro calls me Masta,” in “slave dialect.” In another incident, that same employee threatened him with physical violence.

When Sears managers threatened to fire both employees if they took the issue to human resources, Johnson went the legal route. The verdict? Justice served. Do you agree?

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

More on Madame Noire!

• Wah Gwan?: 9 People of Jamaican Nationality That Surprised Me
• I Am Amber Cole’s Father: Blog Post Raises New Storm
• Dear White Folks: Just Say No to Blackface This Halloween
• 8 Reasons To Date An African Man
• “Thong On Fire” and Other Hilarious Titles of Street Lit Hits
• Ask a Very Smart Brotha: Light Skin, Long Hair & Losing a Few Pounds
• 7 Signs You Should Be Single

(Wall Street Journal) – Sears Holdings Corp., saddled with extra space in its cavernous Sears department stores, is joining with hot fashion chain Forever 21 to expand the store-within-a-store concept.

The move is among the most aggressive merchandising steps Sears has taken since hedge fund manager Edward Lampert took over the retailer five years ago.

Under the initiative, Forever 21 will take about 15% of the space in a Sears store in Costa Mesa, Calif., with the opening expected this spring. Sears declined to disclose the terms of the lease agreement.

The move will give Sears rental revenue and also supply some much-needed fashion pizzazz for the retailer, which has been trying for years to make its apparel business, especially for young women, more appealing

Read More…