Born Sarah Breedlove, Walker descended from slaves who died when she was still a child. While many young children would have been too traumatized to overcome the death of two parents, she and her sister took jobs laboring in kitchens, and on farms until they could sustain themselves. In 1910, after forming the Hair Culturists’ Union of America in Indianapolis, she made it a point to find allies in the Black political community. She moved to New York in 1916, building (with the help of the first registered black architect) a palatial home that rivaled any in the Hudson River Valley.

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How she came into the hair business was no coincidence. Walker may have suffered from alopecia, a rare ailment that is characterized by little or no hair growth on the body. As a response to her own condition, Walker created a formula (that she claimed had been delivered to her in a dream) to restore hair growth. While many say she did invent a metal “hot comb” specifically for Black women to straighten out the curl in their roots, that is not accurate. The primary cause of her hair loss was the result of a common problem of the era i.e. infrequent washing and products that were not designed for the hair of Black women.

With her ingenious marketing in every Black publication, and her constant travel to trade shows, Walker became a household name. She interrupted Booker T. Washington’s prestigious National Negro Business League Convention after Washington had apparently ignored her requests to speak. As a woman who had founded and developed one of the nation’s most formidable businesses, she would not be denied the right to correlate with her peers on the same level.

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Not one to horde her riches, Walker moved to create philanthropic projects that would help Black communities. She funded the YMCA building in Indianapolis where her business was, donated to the NAACP, and traveled to Woodrow Wilson’s White House to present an anti-lynching petition after violent outbursts had killed Blacks in an Illinois riot. She passed on her legacy of philanthropy to daughter A’Lelia, who was responsible for creating “The Dark Tower,” a salon that hosted Black writers and artists who would display their work during the Harlem Renaissance. Walker died of kidney disease, and bequeathed her estate to her female heirs.

In 1911 Madam Walker pledged $1000 toward the building fund of the black YMCA in Indianapolis. She was one of many funders.

Take a look at more great Black women in history in our gallery below:

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When slavery was finally outlawed during the Civil War, few Americans took the removal of the slaves’ shackles to mean that the African should be accorded equal status with the white man. Yet, in 1903, just 40 years after the Emancipation, one man dared to envision such a future. W.E.B. Du Bois’s book, “The Souls of Black Folk,” made its author the foremost Black thinker, writer and sociologist of the early 20th Century. More importantly, Du Bois initiated the “great debate” -integration versus segregation, the insistence of equality versus the accommodation of racism – that set in motion a chain of events, ultimately leading to the election of first Black President of the United States. The very election of Barack Obama is a vindication of the convictions and tireless work of W.E.B. Du Bois.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, MA, on February 23rd, 1868. Du Bois attended Fisk University, and became the first Black American in history to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard. His intellectual upbringing informed his philosophies, as later expressed in “The Souls of Black Folk.” Du Bois coined the term “double consciousness” to describe the way that Black Americans led their lives as human beings, yet second-class citizens, in an America that was born on the concept that all men are created equal. Du Bois believed that the path to liberty would lie in educating the top echelon, or “Talented Tenth,” of African-Americans to lead the rest.

Du Bois’s main adversaries were Marcus Garvey and Booker T. Washington. Garvey believed that the quest for parity with white Americans was foolish, and proposed to repatriate freed Blacks to Africa. Washington believed that Du Bois’s tactics would antagonize whites and lead to a disastrous race war. Du Bois called Washington “the Great Accomodator.” Not surprisingly, Washington was favored among the white leaders of his day.

Du Bois was one of the initial founders of the National Association For The Advancement of Colored People, and thus laid the groundwork not only for the Civil Rights movement, but the very idea of partnership with liberal whites to achieve socio-political results.

Du Bois became more radical towards the end of his life, joining the Communist Party in the 1961 at the age of 93, and expatriating to Ghana shortly thereafter. W.E.B. Du Bois died in 1963, just one day before the March on Washington.

Du Bois’s intellect, his insistence on equal rights for Black Americans, and his willingness to form a coalition with whites to achieve his ends formed the model by which Barack Obama ascended to the highest office in the land, and in so doing, liberating us all from the tyranny of racism.

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Despite the rough nature of his sport, Muhammad Ali was one of the smoothest persons ever to walk the Earth. His poetic verse and well-considered metaphors came out a time during the 1960s when boxers were
better known for punching than speaking. But Muhammad Ali did speak, and spoke intelligently – in a loud, boisterous and uncompromising voice. In this way, Ali was the public epitome of the Black man who
would not be denied and would not back down. Ali, in a way, made it okay to be that man. Barack Obama, and all Black men of his generation, inherited that legacy and that gift from Muhammad Ali.

Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942, Muhammad Ali grewup as a Baptist. Clay took to the sport of amateur boxing at the age of 12, where he won two national Golden Gloves titles and eventually won the gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics. Ali won a staggering 100 matches with only 5 losses in his amateur career before turning pro in 1960. In his first title fight, Clay triumphed over Sonny Liston with a T.K.O., after having brazenly said he would “shock the world” by doing so. Ali would win many more professional fights in his pro career, 56 in all, in which his winning was no longer all that shocking.

Outside of the boxing ring, Clay was just as powerful. His conversion to Islam, which prompted his name change, made him extremely controversial. Muhammad Ali often publicly declared his allegiance to
Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad during a time when Elijah was regarded with a great deal of hostility by Americans. Ali also supported controversial Nation of Islam beliefs, such as separatism,
and he was also avidly against interracial marriage. Despite his contentious beliefs, Ali remained well regarded by the public.

Ali declared himself a conscientious objector during the height of the Vietnam War. “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong,” Ali said. “No Viet Cong ever called me nigger.” In 1967, Ali was convicted of
draft evasion and stripped of his boxing license and titles. After a four-year legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1971.

Ali was involved in two of the most prominent fights in the history of the sport. First in 1971, there was the “Fight of the Century” in which Ali and Joe Frazier faced each other in Madison Square Garden.
The fight was hyped by sportscasters, newspapers, and of course, Ali’s diatribes. Joe Frazier had become known for his backing of the Vietnam War, while Ali was, of course, vociferously against it. It was a match
of undefeated wills and opposing idealisms. Ultimately, Frazier would win, but in two rematches, Ali was the victor both times, accumulating wins that essentially cemented his legacy. Ali was also the winner of
the “Rumble in the Jungle”, where he knocked George Foreman out and was the impetus behind the term “Rope-A-Dope.”

Since his retirement in 1981, Ali has used his boxing as a pedestal. He has traveled the world many times over, lending both his name and his prestige to honorable causes, especially that of hunger.

Ali’s independent and brazen character during a time of great racial tension was a symbol for all those who admired him as a boxer and as a man. His endeavors helped him earn a Presidential Medal of Freedom and
helped blaze the path for a Black man to be himself in front of the entire nation, just as Barack Obama was throughout his run for the Presidency.

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A'Lelia Bundles/Madam Walker Family Archives/madamcjwalker.com

If there is one person from history whose impact on the Black woman’s self-image rivals that of Oprah Winfrey, it is the hair mogul Madame C.J. Walker. Walker was the first successful Black female entrepreneur. Her insistence on involvement in both the business world and civic affairs predates Oprah’s story, and to the extent that Walker created the Winfrey archetype, Barack Obama’s presidency may not have been possible without the great Madame C.J. Walker.

Born Sarah Breedlove, Walker descended from slaves who died when she was still a child. While many young children would have been too traumatized to overcome the death of two parents, she and her sister took jobs laboring in kitchens, and on farms until they could sustain themselves. In 1910, after forming the Hair Culturists’ Union of America in Indianapolis, she made it a point to find allies in the Black political community. She moved to New York in 1916, building (with the help of the first registered black architect) a palatial home that rivaled any in the Hudson River Valley.

How she came into the hair business was no coincidence. Walker may have suffered from alopecia, a rare ailment that is characterized by little or no hair growth on the body. As a response to her own condition, Walker created a formula (that she claimed had been delivered to her in a dream) to restore hair growth. While many say she did invent a metal “hot comb” specifically for Black women to straighten out the curl in their roots, that is not accurate. The primary cause of her hair loss was the result of a common problem of the era i.e. infrequent washing and products that were not designed for the hair of black women.

With her ingenious marketing in every Black publication, and her constant travel to trade shows, Walker became a household name. She interrupted Booker T. Washington’s prestigious National Negro Business League Convention after Washington had apparently ignored her requests to speak. As a woman who had founded and developed one of the nation’s most formidable businesses, she would not be denied the right to correlate with her peers on the same level.

Not one to horde her riches, Walker moved to create philanthropic projects that would help Black communities. She funded the YMCA building in Indianapolis where her business was, donated to the NAACP, and traveled to Woodrow Wilson’s White House to present an anti-lynching petition after violent outbursts had killed Blacks in an Illinois riot. She passed on her legacy of philanthropy to daughter A’Lelia, who was responsible for creating “The Dark Tower,” a salon that hosted Black writers and artists who would display their work during the Harlem Renaissance. Walker died of kidney disease, and bequeathed her estate to her female heirs.

In 1911 Madam Walker pledged $1000 toward the building fund of the black YMCA in Indianapolis. She was one of many funders.

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In 1940, one Black novelist dared to show America what white supremacy did to one Black man. When “Native Son” appeared on America’s bookshelves, it became an instant bestseller, the first title by an African-American author selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club. It also introduced the world to the complicated protagonist of “Native Son,” Chicago’s Bigger Thomas, who was driven to murder a white woman through his terror of white people, not because of hate. Wright, as an accomplished writer, a prophet, and a leftist, helped cut the path on which Barack Obama walked into Chicago’s South Side, onto the local and national political stage, and now, the White House.

Richard Wright, the grandson of slaves, was born on a plantation in Mississippi in 1908. Shuffled between Mississippi and Memphis for most of his childhood, Wright published his first short story, “The Voodoo of Hell’s Half-Acre,” when he was 15. In 1927, after graduating high school, Wright moved to Chicago, where he worked for the post office and wrote in his spare time. During the Great Depression, Wright affiliated with the Communist Party, and Wright penned many of his earliest works for leftist publications. Richard Wright’s career blossomed after he moved to New York in 1937. He mentored Ralph Ellison, published an acclaimed book of short stories called “Uncle Tom’s Children,” and with the help of a Guggenheim Fellowship, wrote “Native Son,” published in 1940.

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“Native Son” was criticized by many people for its violence. Black critics targeted Wright for writing a spectacle that seemed to confirm white America’s worst racist fantasies about Black men. But the book catapulted Wright to the top echelon of American letters. He published his autobiography, “Black Boy,” in 1945.

After World War II, Richard Wright expatriated to France, where he fell in with noted existentialist writer/philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. He traveled to Africa in the 1950s, where he contracted dysentery. The illness contributed to Wright’s failing health before his death in Paris in 1960 of a heart attack. Wright was only 52.

Richard Wright greatly influenced the mindset of white liberals in the 1940s and 50s, and his work inspired the Black activists of the 1960s. “Wright,” said Amiri Baraka, “was one of the people who made me conscious of the need to struggle.” Without a doubt, Wright inspired Barack Obama, too.

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When Booker T. Washington stepped to the podium at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895 to give a speech on race relations, two things happened.

First, many fellow Black Americans, including W.E.B. Du Bois, derided his speech as “The Atlanta Compromise,” because Washington called the agitation for social equality “the extremest folly,” advocating instead slow, steady, and segregated self-improvement for the American Negro.

Second, Booker T. Washington’s was acclaimed by the white power structure, and his less threatening approach to progress proclaimed in the press. Washington himself was elevated to the status of the pre-eminent “Negro leader,” at least in the eyes of white folks. Washington alone had access to the ears and pockets of millionaires like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. Washington alone received an invitation to Teddy Roosevelt’s White House in 1901.

His debate with Du Bois — who called Washington “The Great Accommodator” — has been simplified to one of segregation versus integration. But Washington secretly contributed to anti-segregationist causes, all the while publically advocating an industrial education for Negroes, rather than the liberal arts education that Du Bois favored. Most notably, Booker T. Washington, who was born a slave, went on to found the Tuskeegee Institute, one of the first historically black colleges.

Washington was not a radical, and he caught hell from activists who wanted to move faster. In our time, Barack Obama’s moderate policies, his willingness to meet with his political adversaries, and his advocacy of Black self-reliance rankles many liberals and older Black leaders. As such, Obama and Booker T. Washington share a legacy of both personal achievement in the face of past adversity; and, in some ways, prudent accommodation with the larger power structure.

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I’m willing to bet Aretha Franklin is actually more tired of seeing and hearing about her now-famous Inauguration hat than we are. After all, homegirl was really just trying to keep her head warm in a stylish manner. But apparently it’s following her everywhere she goes – even her birthday!

That’s right, the singer celebrated her 67th birthday with a cake made out of – you guessed it – that damn Luke Song bow hat. I wonder when she’s finally going to say, “ENOUGH!”

Are you as tired of seeing her hat as I am? Either way, happy birthday, Aretha!

Here‘s what Aretha herself has to say about the whole craze.

In fact, the hat has gotten so popular, even the SMITHSONIAN wants it!

The Queen of Soul went on NPR to speak about Women’s History Month, her inauguration performance and the infamous hat she wore on that day.

Click here to listen!

Read more about The Smithsonian wanting Aretha’s hat here!

Find out just how in demand Aretha’s hat was after President Obama’s inauguration here!

Church ladies everywhere, rejoice – Ms. Franklin’s bow headcover is about to go down in history, if she grants the Smithsonian permission to take her now iconic hat off her hands.

Says People.com,

Michelle Obama’s now-famous Jason Wu gown isn’t the only piece of Inaugural fashion that is headed for the Smithsonian. The museum is also requesting the now-iconic hat that Aretha Franklin wore while singing at the swearing-in. Aretha, however, is still undecided about parting with her Luke Song-designed hat. “I am considering it. It would be hard to part with my chapeau since it was such a crowning moment in history,” says the Queen of Soul. “I would like to smile every time I look back at it and remember what a great moment it was in American and African-American history. Ten cheers for President Obama.”

Aretha was probably thinking, “damn… I was just trying to keep my ears warm!” Props to her for keeping it church-y.

Do you think Aretha should give it up? Let us know!

SERIOUSLY?!

It looks like we’re gonna have to quit clowning the Queen’s hat over here, since it’s apparently the hottest shit on the block these days.

We mentioned last week that calls were pouring in for Franklin’s custom-made hat by Luke Song of Mr. Song Millinery, but after selling thousands (THOUSANDS!) of this glittery lid, Song has decided to create a Queen-inspired collection of 12 hats in various colors and bow sizes.

We’re not kidding.

Says People,

While Aretha’s hat was a customized version, Song will be responding to demand by producing a collection of 12 hats in a variety of colors and bow sizes, priced from $150-$220. The Aretha-inspired collection will be shown during February’s Women’s Wear in Nevada trade show in Las Vegas. The company sells its hats in over 500 U.S. stores. and while they usually doesn’t name their toppers, this collection will be named after the singer herself.

Want one of your own? Go to mrsongmillinery.com to order.

After criticizing the First Lady for not wearing an African-American designer during any of the inaugural festivities, the co-founder of Black Artists Association, Amnau Eele has received death threats.

According to WWD, Black Artists Association co-founder Amnau Eele has received death threats in response to her public criticism of Michelle Obama for not wearing an African-American designer to the inauguration.

She told the magazine, “We don’t represent designers, we represent painters. We spoke up for black designers because we felt it was the right thing to do.”

Eele is planning a forum on African-American designers and their careers in New York next month.

[From Essence.com]

Legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin did more for President Obama than just sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” during the inauguration. Franklin gave President Obama a blue box during the festivities. We’ve just learned that inside the box were 17 sermons by her father, the Reverend Dr. C.L. Franklin, who preached for 38 years at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit. She also gave him an autographed copy of Dr. Franklin’s biography, “Singing in a Strange Land” by Nick Salvatore and a small Bible engraved with a personal message.

The Queen of Soul didn’t forget about the First Lady. She presented her with a gold brooch with white diamonds while her 15-year-old grandson gave Sasha and Malia a collection of Gospel/Christian Hip-Hop music.

[From Wall Street Journal]

It’s not just fashion followers who want Michelle Obama’s clothes – now that she’s moved into the White House, the Smithsonian wants at her wardrobe, too.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History this week begins collecting Obama items for its “First Ladies at the Smithsonian” permanent exhibition and is sending a letter to Mrs. Obama requesting both her Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu outfits from Inauguration Day – for starters. The museum’s collection of first lady paraphernalia includes inauguration day ballgowns, White House china, portraits and personal possessions such as hats or fans of first ladies ranging from Martha Washington to Laura Bush.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Though most know her as our new First Lady, it’s not just her social status that might make Michelle Obama Vogue‘s new cover girl – she’s also one of the most fashionable First Gals we’ve seen in years!

Says the Huffington Post,

Speaking of the new administration, it appears Vogue has finally landed First Lady Michelle Obama for a cover — and it could be out in the next few weeks. Thank Obama’s hairdresser for confirming the news: Frederic Fekkai stylist Johnny Wright this week inked a deal with television production company 44 Blue, which produces reality shows such as Style Network’s “Split Ends.” The news reports on the deal said Wright “has styled the First Lady’s coif for the Democratic National Convention, her upcoming appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine and other occasions.” Really? An e-mail to Wright’s publicist went unreturned. A Vogue spokesman stayed on script about whether Michelle Obama will make a cover appearance, saying simply, “We’re very interested in working with the First Lady.”

Do you think Michelle deserves a spot on the cover of the most popular high-fashion glossy in the world? Let us know! That would definitely be one Vogue issue we’re framing.

Black Hollywood was out in full force to witness the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Check out who was on the scene.

Note: Rumor has it that Michelle Obama that for her inagural ball gown she’s selected designer Narciso Rodriguez.

Ever since Barack Obama won the 2008 Presidential election, designers everywhere have been submitting their sketches for what they think the first family should don for the Inaugural Ball. So what will Michelle choose for herself and the girls?

Women’s Wear Daily has a great online gallery of all the designer submissions so far. Take a look here, then tell us what your favorite sketch is!

If you plan on celebrating this historic event from the comfort of your own home, here are some drink recipes to get the party going.

Celebrate Obama’s Hawaiian heritage with this Blue Hawaiian Cocktail:

- 1 oz Light Rum
- 1 oz Blue Curacao
- 2 oz Pineapple Juice
- 1 oz Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut
- 1 cup ice
Garnish: Cherry, Pineapple
Glassware: Highball Glass

Mix all the ingredients with 1 cup ice in a blender at high speed. Strain into a highball glass and garnish with fruits.

Swear In Obama With a Hennessy 44 Bottle

This collector-edition, individually numbered bottle will further cement Hennessy’s roots in the urban community, with a percentage of proceeds being donated to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to help enable America’s next generation of leaders. You can purchase a bottle in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Illinois, New York City, and Georgia for just $30 dollars.

So, we all know that this year’s Inauguration is a pretty big deal. Millions of people are coming from across the country to celebrate this momentous occasion, but can you imagine how many fashion casualties there are going to be due to the stilettos, club dresses, and over-done hairdos that are SURE to make an appearance?

Huffington Post’s Karen Tanabe hit the nail on the head when it came to this issue. Check out part of the article below.

What to wear to the momentous inauguration of our 44th president? Sure, it’s one of the most historic days in the chronicle of our great nation and a sizable slice of our country is more excited about this than they were about their own weddings, but no pressure at all! On January 20th, all eyes will be on fashionably-challenged Washington, and this time they won’t be crying over four more years of string ties and Stetsons.

If you are completely unhinged like myself, and have decided that this groundbreaking swearing-in ceremony cannot happen without your presence, then get ready to look uglier than you ever have before. The weather will most likely be cold enough for us to channel Brian Boitano and ice skate our way to the national mall, and the population of our capital city will be six times what it should be, making it possible for you to relive your days sweating in a mosh pit to the relaxing sounds of Megadeth.

So what does one wear to be sandwiched between total strangers for hours while craning your neck to see a Jumbotron in sub-zero weather? Clothing you never want to see again. Don’t mind if a reveler accidentally flambés your parka? Then by all means wear it. And then throw another one on top for good measure. Spent your entire month’s salary on stilettos so fabulous you had them sewn to your feet? It’s time to cut them off and wear the sensible shoes favored by nuns and your Aunt Mildred.

So what do YOU think is the best thing to wear to Inauguration? Let us know!

One of the greatest historical events this country has seen is going to be one big damn party.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee has confirmed that Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, and Bruce Springsteen, among others, will be performing during the opening ceremony on Sunday, January 19 at the Lincoln Memorial. Among those reading historical passages will be Queen Latifah, Denzel Washington, and Martin Luther King III.

For those who can’t make it to the event, HBO will be televising it.

We’ll be there – will you? If so, take pics!

Looks like Jennifer Hudson will not be peforming at next week’s Presidential inauguration.

Hudson’s rep told “Access Hollywood,” “there is no truth to this.” We wonder if Beyonce will take her place instead.

With the inauguration just a week away, thousands of participants took part in a mock swearing-in ceremony for the 44th US President, Barack Obama.

Here are some pics from the mock ceremony.

Everyone’s trying to make it to DC for this year’s Inaugural Ball, but many have become sorely disappointed upon finding out how expensive tickets and traveling fees actually are. So VA businessman Earl Stafford decided to help out hundreds of needy Obama fans – by paying their way to Inauguration 2008!

Through his family’s nonprofit organization, The Stafford Foundation, the People’s Inaugural Project is working toward raising $1 million to grant terminally ill patients, poverty-stricken individuals, and wounded individuals in uniform the chance to attend this year’s Inauguration free of charge.

The package includes luxury hotel rooms, food and drink, a prime parade-viewing spot, outfits for the ball, and a beautician to get everyone prepped for the big day.

Stafford, who says he was “inspired to do this by the Lord,” hopes that individuals will make note of such an immense deed and pay it forward with their own acts of charity.

You can read the rest of the story at CNN.com.