In news of people making Black history in the present day, major respect must be shown to the Savannah State University cheerleading squad. The team, which features 12 women and one man, bested the competition at the CheerSport Nationals this past weekend in Atlanta. They claimed first place and the national championship for their classification after impressing the judges. Savannah State University has become the first HBCU to win such an honor at nationals. The team managed to make history in their first appearance at CheerSport Nationals since 2013.

“We are very excited, ecstatic, just a feeling that you can’t explain,” said Morgan Moore, who is a senior cheerleader on the team, to Georgia’s ABC affiliate, WJCL. “It’s indescribable, it’s just a great feeling to know that we’ve made history at our school.”

Dathan Gooden, a fellow senior cheerleader on the squad and the lone male, agreed.

“We’re all very proud,” he said. “We wanted to bring this home because no one ever really saw us accomplish anything like that before or really know what we’re about, so we just wanted to bring it home.”

The team did just that. Even actress Gabrielle Union had to shout out the team for their history-making win. Of course, Union starred as Isis in 2000’s Bring It On. She played the leader of the Clover cheerleading squad from inner-city Los Angeles who were having their routines stolen by a championship-winning team in the area. Of course, in that fictional story, it was also the little team that could that took home the championship at nationals.

💪💪💪💪🔥🔥🔥🔥❤❤❤ #TheyBroughtIt https://t.co/oHbj4KBNlM

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) February 20, 2017

Congratulations are in order to the Tigers on their success. As Coach Timothy Grant put it to the Savannah Morning News, not only is their win a major feat for the squad, but it’s also a win for the school and community of Savannah as a whole.

“I did not know this was going to be that big to the community,” he said. “To have so many people excited about it is rewarding.”

The post Savannah State University First HBCU To Win National Cheerleading Title appeared first on MadameNoire.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again the “Blame The Black Guy” game is as American as apple pie. And one day, when I have a bit more time and a whole lot more money I’m going to launch an in-depth, investigative report, complete with psychologists, historians and victims, on the reasons why White folk, particularly White women, have used Black folk, particularly Black men, as their scapegoats.

The subject of White lies is not something I spend my days and nights thinking or obsessing about. But every couple of months or so, it comes smashing to the forefront of my mind when another White person is caught in a lie, usually a particularly egregious, life or career-altering or threatening one. Today’s featured liar is musician Sinéad O’ Connor.

Sinéad O’ Connor

Generally, when I see Sinéad O’ Connor’s name anywhere, I keep scrolling. I get the sense that a lot of things she says and does are an attempt to garner more attention and people like that generally annoy me. But today, I saw that her picture was next to Arsenio Hall’s so I wondered what that was about. They’re certainly not a pair you see together everyday. Turns out, in May, O’ Connor went to her Facebook page to write:

“Two words for the DEA investigating where Prince got his drugs.?.?. Arsenio Hall (a.k.a. Prince’s and Eddie Murphy’s bitch). Anyone imagining Prince was not a longtime hard drug user is living in cloud cuckoo land. Arsenio I’ve reported you.”

Hall sued O’Connor for the remarks that same month. She called the lawsuit amusing before expounding:

“I’m also very happy to notice that the DEA have taken me seriously enough to be thoroughly questioning all of Prince’s friends and aides from the last thirty years as to his KNOWN history of hard drug use and where he obtained his drugs. I do not like drugs killing musicians. And I do not like Arsenio Hall.”

But yesterday, O’Connor apologized for the accusations, telling TMZ that they were false.

“I apologize for my Facebook posts about Arsenio Hall to the extent that anyone thought I was accusing him of acting as Prince’s drug dealer and supplying him with illegal hard drugs, or insinuating that Arsenio had something to do with Prince’s death…I sincerely apologize because those statements would be false and I retract them unequivocally.”

Why though Sinéad? Was the thirst so strong that you had to use Prince’s death to get some shine?

The post White Lies: Sinéad O’Connor And All The White People Who’ve Lied On Black Folk appeared first on MadameNoire.

Trying to find a couple that you and your partner both agree you love to see is like finding a unicorn; it almost never happens. Uh, I mean, it never happens because unicorns aren’t real. If you find this couple, do not mess it up. Having that perfect couple friends match is actually an important part of the glue that keeps a relationship together. Think about it; if you can’t find a couple you both love to hang out with, then you’ll ultimately end up spending less time together. If you want to see a girlfriend, that means you have to see her solo because your boo doesn’t like her boo. And if your guy wants to see his friends, he is going without you because you don’t like their significant others. Here are signs you’ve found your perfect couples friends match and that you should never let them go.

The post Signs You’ve Found Your Perfect Couple Friends Match appeared first on MadameNoire.

With Oscars 2017 just a few days away, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are waiting with bated breath to see if they’ll be the ones bringing home that little gold man. While the academy still has quite a ways to go in terms of ensuring its nominee field is an accurate reflection of the world around it (#OscarsSoWhite), we are proud that slowly but surely Hollywood is making strides on that front. So without further adieu we give some well-deserved props to the brown actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes talent who received nominations this year.

The post Oscars 2017: A Look At Our Favorite Nominees appeared first on MadameNoire.

When you’re sick, the first few bowls of chicken noodle soup are comforting, but the following dozen becomes at best boring and at worst nauseating. Sometime in the history of colds, we got the idea that you could basically just have chicken noodle soup and toast (if you’re lucky) when you’re sick but it’s not really about these particular dishes but rather the ingredients and groups of nutrients they contain that can help you get better. Since, by the time you’re actually sick you lack imagination, let’s look into some other options while you’re well. And if you are sick now, then your roommate or significant other has some homework in the kitchen. Here are some of the best foods to have when you’re sick.

The post 15 Sick Day Recipes Besides Chicken Soup appeared first on MadameNoire.

Being a basic b-tch isn’t exactly a good thing in everyday life, but when it comes to makeup, sometimes you just need to get back to the basics, and MAC is about to help you do that.

Makeup artist Netta Szekely just teased a new eyeshadow palette from the beauty brand that makes being a basic b-tch not sound like such a bad thing.

The set comes with eight eyeshadows from shimmery to matte and what looks like a pink champagne colored highlighter — called “Love This B-tch!” –that can be used to add more dimension to your eyes or face. The shadow colors also cover a pretty wide range of staple fall colors from browns and burgundies to grays and silvers, allowing you to rock these shades in both cool and warm tones. And with names like “Hell in Heels,” “Ms. Personality,” and “Me Me Me,” we think you might feel more like a bad bish than a basic one once you put this palette to work.

This palette is the second item MAC has teased during Fashion Week that has us excited. Last week we told you about the new spinning wheel eyeliner that’s posed to make all of our lives easier whenever it debuts. We’re still waiting on a launch date for the Basic B-tch palette as well, but we’re going to hold MAC to their promise that both are coming soon.

The post This One’s For The Basic Bishes appeared first on MadameNoire.

In their courtrooms, judges exercise full control. It’s a different type of setting and you can’t say, do and behave any old kind of way. As you might imagine, that might be a hard concept for the privileged to grasp. Particularly when the presiding judge is a woman of color.

According to WDIV, Donna Kosal learned this lesson the hard way in Detroit when she found it impossible to keep her mouth shut in Judge Qiana Lillard’s courtroom.

The circumstances of the case were already tense. 25-year-old Amanda Kosel was standing trial for a DUI crash that resulted in the death of 31-year-old Jerome Zirker and severely injured his fiancée, Brittany Johnson. As she was receiving her sentence, between 3-15 years, a couple of people there to support the defendant were smirking and laughing. The judge asked one man who was doing so to leave.

“Yeah it’s time for him to go. And I don’t know who he is but whoever can sit here at a tragic moment like this and laugh and smile, when somebody has lost a family member. The entire time Mr. Zirker’s sister was speaking, that clown—and that’s what I’m going to call him—a clown was sitting there smiling and laughing.”

As the man left the courtroom, another woman, Amanda’s mother Donna Kosal, got up and followed him. But she didn’t go quietly. While she wasn’t mic-ed you can hear her making commentary as she heads for the door. The judge, in the middle of her speech, starts to address her.

“And you can go too. Because if you don’t know how to act, you can go to jail. So leave.”

You can still hear the woman talking as she walks out and then hollering in the hallway.

And that’s when the judge instructs the bailiffs to take her to the back because she’s going to jail.

“Anybody else want to go? You can go too. This is a court of law. And these are very serious matters. And I understand you all are upset because your loved one is going to prison but guess what? She’s going to prison for the choices that she made. These people are here, grieving, saddened because a senseless act took away their loved one and you all are sitting around here like it’s a joke. Not in courtroom 502, not today and not any other day. Ma’am you are being taken into custody for criminal contempt. Your disruptive and disrespectful behavior disrupted today’s proceedings and you ma’am are going to the Wayne County jail for 93 days for direct criminal contempt. Anybody else want to go? Try it. Try it.”

Even after her sentence was handed down, the woman was still talking. She said something about the judge’s mouth, to which she responded.

“Oh my mouth?  Well, thank you. Your mouth got you 93 days.”

When I saw the video on Baller Alert this morning, one of the comments really struck me someone said something to the effect of, “You can’t be in power all the time.” And that’s the truth. If you notice the victim’s family is one color and the defendant’s supporters are another. Historically, with those type of demographics, one side would have been almost guaranteed to lose, to not receive any type of justice. But honey, they had a Black judge who was going to ensure that justice was served not only for the woman with the DUI but anyone else who tried to make light of a senseless death.

In an updated news story, WDIV reported that Judge Lillard modified Donna Kosal’s sentence, reducing it to one day, which she had already served when she appeared in court on Friday to apologize for her actions. In tears, Kosal said, “I deeply apologize for what I did. I was under a lot of stress.”

Lillard told her, “This is real life here. What you have to understand is as hard as this is for you to see your baby going to prison, imagine what that family feels like when their child is dead. I hope that you learned a valuable lesson from this.”

In another interview, Jerome Zirker’s mother, Rathel Fizer, said that she didn’t want Kosal to go to jail. Instead, she wants her around to support the five children who will have to grow up without a father.

“I want her to stay out and help support my grandchildren, because they don’t have a father to take care of them. If she goes to prison or jail, I’m taking care of her. I don’t want her to mail a check. I want her to hand-deliver it to them so she can see the faces that she destroyed.”

You can watch the whole thing go down in the video below.

Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @VDubShrug.

The post “Not In Court 502, Not Today” Judge Sentences Woman To 93 Days In Jail For Talking Back appeared first on MadameNoire.

Every day is a good day for some fitspiration, and today’s motivation comes from Danielle Jones and her 2-year-old daughter, Honor:

The certified fitness professional has always been into health and fitness, playing sports in college and getting becoming a personal trainer following graduation. However, when the always health conscious beauty got pregnant with her daughter Honor, she put on 54 pounds and couldn’t find the time to take it off after giving birth.

“The weight gain never bothered me during my pregnancy,” Jones told Cosmopolitan, “but once my daughter was born, I would have moments of hating my body.”

Focused on breastfeeding her growing child, Jones found that when she started working out again and working out hard, her milk stores would dry up. Set on feeding her daughter in the most natural way, she put Honor first. Months down the line, as her daughter picked up solid foods and she felt comfortable allowing her to drink some formula, Jones got back to work.

She told the publication she was doing five workouts a week and in order to keep her metabolism revved up, Jones ate six meals a day. All of that was done at home as she kept an eye on her daughter, who was 10 months at that time.

“I would do it next to her while she was playing with her toys, and she would laugh,” she said. “I couldn’t wait for her to get to an age at which she could actually work out with me.”

Fast forward some time, and after a while, Honor found herself trying to pull off some of her mother’s moves, asking to hold on to pull-up bars and doing her best squats next to Jones. Eventually, Jones started encouraging her daughter, as Honor seemed to be gaining an affinity for working out with her mom. Now two years old, she’s cranking out some difficult moves like it’s nothing, including wall climbers and burpees. But before you assume she is working up quite the sweat alongside her mom and that all of this exercise is too much, Jones said that’s nowhere near the case.

“You may see her playing with two-pound weights, but she’s not lifting them, she’s playing, and it happens to be good for her,” Jones said. “Some days she’s very focused, and other days her dolls have to do all the exercises first.”

How cute are they? Not only has Honor helped her mom shed that post-baby weight in a serious way (check out those abs), but they’re spending some great quality time together doing something that is sure to encourage Honor to maintain healthy habits as she gets older. Check out some of their cutest videos together, and get some moves for the gym and inspiration from this mother-daughter team.

The post Fitness Expert Danielle Jones And Her 2-Year-Old Daughter Honor Are The Best Workout Partners Ever appeared first on MadameNoire.

It’s award season and you already know Viola Davis, being one of the greatest actors of our time, is out here. In preparation for this weekend’s Oscar’s Refinery 29  asked the actress a couple of questions not only about her beauty regimen but also about self-care. Check out a couple of wise words from one of our favorites.

Self care

“You know what? Especially with women, we are usually the caretakers of everyone except for ourselves. If I don’t take care of myself and I’m taking care of my daughter or my husband or whatever — I’m running on fumes. I have nothing left to give. Nothing. But when I take the time to take care of myself, to go to the doctor, go to a spa, get a deep tissue massage, get adjusted by a chiropractor… I feel like I can face life with a renewed vigor and renewed passion.”

The natural hair scene in HTGAWM

“Here’s the thing: When I signed onto this show, one of the stipulations was that I wanted to show a real woman. I didn’t want to show an extension of male fantasy… I wanted people to be let into a real woman’s world. Even if it made them feel uncomfortable. I felt it would be disingenuous if I did not do that. And I did feel like it was making a larger statement.”

You walked the red carpet for the first time without a wig at the 2012 Emmys. How did that feel?

“I would not say that I was 100 percent comfortable until I walked onto the carpet. And I’ll tell you why: Number one, I felt like I had to be. Number two, I just wanted to be me. Every time you walk that carpet, the pressure to be your authentic self, but at the same time not stick out… That balance is something we are all trying to reach when we walk out the door every day. How do we fit in, but be ourselves and be true to ourselves?

“But you get to a point in your life when you realize it’s not an option to sacrifice your authentic self to get by, because after a while it’s not you. That’s what I reached at that point. How all the women were standing, what they were looking at, the ‘it’ color… It was way too much pressure to me. It was liberating to be on that carpet on my terms.”

Fluctuating from wigs and natural hair.

“However you want to express your authenticity is fantastic. I don’t think it has to be in you taking your wig off; there’s lot of disingenuous people who wear their natural hair. That was how I wanted to make my statement, but there’s all sorts of ways to make a statement. Sometimes we make it in a very internal way. Whatever floats your boat.”

Many Black models and actresses talk about the pain and micro-aggressions they face in the makeup chair. Do you identify with that?

“Oh my god. I cannot tell you how many makeup sessions had to be canceled when I was doing television shows because as soon as I got in the chair, they realized they couldn’t do it. At first, I was just quiet because I felt I had to be or I’d lose the job. But now I’m at the point that I can’t let people off the hook with that. You just have to learn how to do my hair. It’s different, it requires different products. I’m not trying to insult you. I’m not calling you a racist. But when I’m sitting in your chair, I have a different set of requirements than a Caucasian woman or an Asian woman. I know this is not a good thing because you should always feel like you have a voice, but as soon as my status started rising, I felt more able to speak up. I started saying, ‘This is the makeup I use, this is the shade, this is the number, these are the brushes.’ The first time I did it, I was like, ‘Oh that was easy.’ And then it sort of stayed like that.”

What are your views on aging in Hollywood?

“The only thing I think about in terms of aging is not being there for my daughter who’s just six years old. And the other thing I feel about aging — and this is a big, big, big thing — is my past not counting for anything. When you get older, especially in this culture, you don’t have as much value in terms of your past. People don’t understand: I’ve put in work, I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and all of a sudden… When your past doesn’t count for anything… I don’t mind if my career goes down the drain, it doesn’t bother me, it just doesn’t. But I would not want to feel like I’m not valued.”

I hear you have a pretty intense morning hot tub habit. Tell me about it.

“That part of my day is about me and my husband. We talk and talk and talk. We did it this morning and we’ve done it as long as we’ve been together. When we first met, I was in an apartment that had a Jacuzzi and I really think that made me more attracted to him. He was over at my house all the time. It was a huge part of our relationship. [Laughs] It’s meditative for me.”

What do you hope to teach your daughter about beauty?

“I don’t care how stereotypical it is, beauty has got to come from the inside. It’s got to come from owning her story — all of it. Her failures, her insecurities, her strength, her joy, all of it. There’s not one she can leave on the side of the road and not claim. That’s all I want for her.

“That’s the worst part of Facebook. And I LOVE Facebook, I love Facebook, I stay on it all the time, but if I had one negative thing to say about it is everyone is the best mother, parent, father, daughter… Everyone has the perfect life on Facebook and that has contributed more to the depression of people because everyone feels like, ‘My life is not like that. I’m doing something wrong.’ But no! Life is about all of the mess-ups and failures and getting back up and loving yourself through all of it.”

You can read the rest of Viola’s article over at Refinery.

The post Viola Davis Talks Self Care, Aging & What She Wants To Teach Her Daughter appeared first on MadameNoire.

Is it petty to be turned off by too much affection from your spouse?

I ask this because I ran across a woman on Reddit who talked about her boyfriend’s habit of showering her with affection. They’ve been together for six months and already she wants out.

It started out normal. He would buy me flowers, send me cute goodnight texts, etc. But now, I just can’t handle it. He will leave me post it notes in the most random places with the cheesiest notes ever. Today’s said “I hope I make you as happy as you make me,” which is cute for some, but I am NOT a “cute” type of girl, I’m really not into that stuff. His notes are pretty much the same every time, sometimes saying things like “you are the best thing to happen to me” and “I don’t know what I would do without you”. Some people might like this, but it’s coming off as super clingy and NOT cute.

Next, whenever I spend the night, he basically wants to “cuddle all night,” aka hold me in a death grip. He insists on literally holding me throughout the night, now to the point where I can’t sleep well. He always has to touch me… Like in public he will hold my hand or constantly have his arm around me. I am NOT a PDA person either. Again, it just seems super clingy. He will try to kiss me every chance he gets, and when I deny him or tell him to stop, he will start to suggest that I must be doing something with a different guy because I don’t want his attention. He just acts so childish. So annoying.

It’s funny. I feel like a majority of the stories I hear about, from reading online and from friends (and from my own past relationships), deal with men who don’t show enough affection and won’t go out of their way for their girlfriends. But a man who shows too much is an interesting anomaly. And I’m sure it’s reason enough to make some of you think, ‘What a b—h!’ Who doesn’t love an affectionate man?

But the truth is, just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you’re automatically the emotional stereotype who craves affection and affirmation at all times. In this woman’s case, I think the issue is a lack of compatibility. He wants to come off as her number one fan at all times (which is adorable), and she just wants a healthy relationship that doesn’t feel forced and overwhelming. There are only two options: She can tell him how his affections are a bit smothering and how they’re having an effect on the way she feels about being with him. She could let him know that he should be secure in their relationship (clearly he’s insecure based on his light cheating allegations) and reassure him so he doesn’t feel like he needs to put on a rom-com show every time they’re together. People can be very much in love without packing on heavy PDA.

The other option is to bolt. What I’ve found is that when one person is too affectionate and sweet, the other person can become bothered enough by all of the lovey-dovey behavior to the point where they begin to mistreat the other party. Maybe they’re hoping it will get the person to back the hell up, or maybe they think they are going to be able to push that person enough so they will be the one to initiate a breakup. Whatever the case, it shouldn’t have to come to that.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being someone who likes things chill in a relationship. Again, people don’t have to be on top of one another at all times to be happy. But I do think there is something wrong with not voicing concerns about someone’s actions and letting things get to a place where you can’t even enjoy spending time with them because of it. That’s not fair. If they are willing and able to turn up when it comes to their affections, they should be willing and able to tone it down if they’re as crazy in love as they pretend to be…

But as always, that’s just my opinion. What do you say? Is it petty to be turned off by an overly affection boyfriend? 

The post Is This Petty? His Displays Of Affection Are Suffocating Me appeared first on MadameNoire.

There are two things that are undeniably true about Gabrielle Union: She doesn’t look her age and her hair is always on point. Long, medium length, short — shorter, ol’ girl has the hair game on lock and she proved as much again last night.

The “Being Mary Jane” star stepped on the red carpet for the annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood gala in Los Angeles with a cut that was shorter than usual, and apparently totally spontaneous.

“We just did this like a few minutes ago,” the 44-year-old told People magazine Thursday. “We were like, stop, ‘Let’s go shorter. Let’s go shorter.’ Larry Sims just took a hatchet to it and just hacked it off.”

The result: a chin-length, choppy jet black bob with soft waves that made the brown beauty’s cheek bone stand out even more.

We can only image the head-turning reaction from attendees as they saw Gabby’s new look. Even she couldn’t stop looking at herself in the mirror.

“I didn’t want to leave [the house] because I was sort of staring at it,” she admitted. “I love it.”

The post Gabrielle Union’s Got A New Haircut — Do You Love It? appeared first on MadameNoire.

Remember back in the ’90s when we thought people would be driving spaceships in the millennium? We’re not quite there yet, but you’ve got to admit today’s generation is growing up faster than we could have ever imagined and social media is a major culprit. Though the platforms can be used for many positive things like keeping up with current news and learning about other cultures, on the flipside, it can be detrimental in the wrong hands.

According to reports, human trafficking propositions are often made through the world wide web, and cyber-bullying is causing many adolescents and teens emotional distress, even causing suicides. The yearning for an infamous celebrity lifestyle and overnight fame is also a problem among teens on social media, just look at Miss Cash Me Outside.

If you’re struggling to make sense of it all, and even more so to help your children understand the power of social media, here are a few tips to share with them.

Keep it Confidential– Express who you are without telling all of your personal business. Discussing things like family issues and relationships should be minimal, or not shared at all. People in general tend to share too much information on social media. Because teens are not as mentally mature as they think they are, remind them to talk about their problems verbally or keep a journal. Once the information is out there, you don’t get to pick and choose who has access to it.

Age Matters– Your children should post pictures that are age-appropriate. Dressing in clothes that contradict their age can send out the wrong message. Language in posts and private messages should also be age-appropriate.

Is It Accurate – If you are not sure something is true, do not post it. We must teach our kids that everything does not deserve a comment or a reaction, especially if you do not have all the information to form an opinion. Sometimes, it’s simply not even our business to mention at all.

Safety First–  Even though your child is using the electronic device from the comfort of your home, safety is still a huge risk. Teach your children to avoid checking-in on Facebook and other sites. You can also turn off phone settings that show your location when a post is made. Moreover, many teens are using the internet to spark relationships. Monitor who your child talks to online.

Post Positive Things – There’s enough negativity going on in the world. Another fight video doesn’t need to be shared. Teach your kids to pat themselves on the back and don’t be afraid to celebrate their wins. It will inspire others to walk in their own greatness.

Be Yourself– We have forgotten that individuality is special. Twerk videos and posing with guns don’t have to be the norm. Encourage your kids to post what they enjoy, not what the masses deem as cool.

Your kids may be pissed that you’re paying extra attention to their social media activity, but keep in mind that your job is to keep them safe at all costs. Eventually, they will see you were right.

The post What You Need To Teach Your Children About Social Media appeared first on MadameNoire.

I don’t know about you, but while I love my tights, there are times when I want a little more space and comfort when I’m ready to exercise (like when Aunt Flo shows up). Sweatpants? Well, they’re a little too baggy at times. The best alternative is a slim but loose pair of joggers. Not only are they cute and cozy for some cardio and HIIT training, but they are also a great pair of pants to take outside of the gym and on to brunch with friends. Check out eight chic and comfortable joggers you won’t regret investing your money in.

The post 8 Joggers For When You’re Tired Of Folks Lookin’ At Your Butt In The Gym appeared first on MadameNoire.

No matter what happens with #TitleIX guidance, we must uplift #trans students and let them know they’re loved 💛 #protecttransyouth #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/8MyrOUYdTT

— GLSEN (@GLSEN) February 22, 2017

By now you’ve probably heard of the most recent community to be targeted, discriminated against and disenfranchised by the Trump administration is transgender students. In reversing federal protections put in place by President Obama that allowed trans students to use the restroom that corresponded with their gender identity.

According to the New York Times, In a joint letter, civil rights officials from the Justice Department and the Education Department rejected Obama’s position that nondiscrimination laws require schools to allow these students to use the bathroom of their choice. The letter said the protection was enacted “without due regard for the primary role of the states and local school districts in establishing educational policy.”

Interestingly enough, Betsy DeVos, the new Secretary of Education was against the policy and told Donald Trump that was uncomfortable with rescinding the protections because of the potential harm to transgender students. But with Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, they forged ahead. He could not move forward without her consent, so he went straight to President Trump, who sided with Sessions and told DeVos in a meeting in the Oval Office that he wanted her to drop her opposition. Faced with the option of resigning or defying Mr. Trump, she agreed to go along with it.

And while DeVos was persuaded, there are quite a few people outside of his cabinet who are not too happy about the decision, considering the fact that it’s blatant discrimination and all. Activists, celebrities, educators, politicians and late-night talk show hosts all shared their opinion about the issue. See what they had to say on the following pages.

The post Activists, Educators, Celebrities & Politicians Respond To Trump’s Rescission Of Trans Bathroom Protections appeared first on MadameNoire.

Ola Hudson (1947-2009), whether you know her name or not, has played a pretty big role in rock and roll and popular music as a whole. Not only did she create iconic costumes for the likes of David Bowie and Diana Ross, but she birthed a major player in rock music — Slash of Guns N’ Roses. She also sold her designs to plenty of chic people over the years, and was a beauty who was able to go from sewing clothing behind the scenes to starring in popular ads in front of the camera (shout out to Dewars whiskey). Check out five things you should know about accomplished designer Ola Hudson.

She Worked With a Who’s Who of Stars

We already told you about Bowie and Diana Ross — that should be enough to let you know that Ola was immensely talented and appreciated in the industry. But if you need some more big names, she also put together pieces for Ringo Starr, John Lennon, the Pointer Sisters and Iggy Pop. Some of her most famous looks were the tailored outfits she made for David Bowie’s film, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and his ensembles during the Thin White Duke period.

She Is the Mother of Rocker Slash

With her ex-husband, Ola had two sons: Saul and Albion Hudson. Saul Hudson would grow up to be popular Guns N’ Roses musician Slash. Because he’s considered “out there” by some, many have wondered what kind of childhood the rocker had. According to Ola, it was anything but wild.

“I’ve been shocked at a lot of things I’ve read where it sounds like I left him on somebody’s doorstep in a basket,” she once said in an interview about her son. “They make it seem as if he never had a family and grew up on the streets like an urchin, but that’s not true. It’s just part of his image. He’s not all leather and tattoos.”

Because she was an artist, Slash said that his mother encouraged his love of music in a profound way.

“She was responsible for exposing me to a lot of the music that would influence me as a musician growing up,” he wrote on his blog after she passed in 2009 from lung cancer. “She turned me on to all different forms of art & the importance of artistic self expression & creative communication thru music & dance from as early on as I can remember. She really was all things artistic & creative personified & the world is a lesser place without her.”

She Dated David Bowie

Aside from making some sharp clothes for the singer and actor, Ola dated David Bowie when her marriage to artist Anthony Hudson ended. Anthony was the father of both Albion and the man we call Slash. In an interview with Rolling Stone from 1990, Slash said that he initially didn’t like Bowie as a way to take a stand for his father. Still, he said Bowie was around often and with Ola for a while.

“I really didn’t like him that much, because he was the new guy in the house,” he said. “I was really resentful.”

She Didn’t Just Design for Rockers

While creating fly costumes for stars helped Ola make a name for herself in the entertainment industry, she also designed for major retailers over the years. She put together collections for Henri Bendel in New York, Right Bank Clothing and Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, and Maxfield Blu in Los Angeles. Ola also put together a shop on the Sunset Strip called Skitzo that was quite popular. There, she sold dresses that were heavily influenced by her travels and time in Europe, particularly in London.

She Was a Talented Dancer and Photographer Too

In her early years, Ola actually studied dance and was very good at it. Her moves were enough to land a spot at major institutions all across Europe, including the Institute of Dance in Paris, The Max Rivers School in London and the Le Loft in Switzerland. When she studied in London, she met Anthony, fell in love, and her goals in dance took a back seat to other ambitions. But later in life, she got back to dancing, as well as doing poetry other performances. Ola also cultivated her talents as a photographer and was able to have her work featured in major publications and spaces over the years. She was talented in more ways than one.

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Can you believe it’s going on two years since we first learned of the housewives of Potomac? Well, that is the truth Ruth. Now the cast of women from the North East are returning for a second season.

As you may remember the series follows Gizelle Bryant, ex wife to pastor Jamal Bryant. She’s back out on the dating scene looking for a man with “cash flow in the pocket.” Giselle also might be catching some flack from her fellow castmates for exposing Charrisse Jackson Jordan’s marital woes. Meanwhile, Charrisse is prioritizing her children while rumors about her husband continue to circulate.

Robyn is trying to work on her relationship with her ex husband and dealing with financial hardships. Karen Huger, with her children out of the house, is moving into a new home. But she and her husband, Raymond Huger, known as the Black Bill Gates, aren’t agreeing on the size of their new spot. Ashley is trying to find out why her new restaurant is not poppin, a fact that is putting additional strain on her marriage and their plans to have children.

There’s also a new woman joining the crew. Monique Samuels, a self proclaimed “boss” who is living the glamorous life. As with all newbies, Monique gets off to a rocky start with the old cast members.

Check out the trailer below.

Season 2 of the Real Housewives of Potomac air on Sunday, April 2 at 9/8c.

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For the past two weeks, #HurtBae is the hashtag that’s taken our social media timelines by storm. If you haven’t even heard of the hashtag and are wondering who hurt who, here’s how it went down: Leonard Long III confessed in a video clip posted by The Scene that he cheated on his college sweetheart Kourtney Jorge multiple times.  And of course, heart-wrenching occurrences like such are never an easy walk in the park.

But in a new interview with Krispy Shorts, 23-year-old Long admits that he still cares deeply about his ex even though his stoic expression throughout the video seems to say otherwise. “I was definitely emotional,” Long explained in regards to his perceived absence of feelings during the confession to Jorge. “Just because it wasn’t written all over my face doesn’t mean I didn’t feel some type of way. That’s the way that I process the moment.”

“I’m 23 years old,” he continued. “I’m a young man trying to navigate the world. I’m going to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes and live my life better…hold myself to a higher standard. I know I’m the most hated guy in America, but I swear I’ve changed. I would never want to put someone through that again…Men do their dirt and we have to be more responsible not getting caught. Women do too. They just happen to be experts at hiding.”

According to Long, his relationship with Jorge actually ended about three years ago, but she had signed them up for a casting call about cheating ex-lovers not too long ago. With his consent, they decided to go to the casting call, believing in would be good for “closure.” But, as we all found out, it was the exact opposite as Jorge found herself brought to tears when Long didn’t seem regretful of his actions.

Nevertheless, Long believes that Jorge is doing great with her newfound fame that the now-viral video has brought her. “I’m proud of her. I hope she gets all that she can out of this.” He even offered a smile at the closing of the video, “I made that b**ch famous,” referencing the Kanye West lyric from his song “Famous.”

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Anyone that’s gone natural or currently is natural, knows that searching for the right product to keep your curls healthy and happy takes some time.

But with the amount of products geared towards natural gals textures growing exponentially, it feels like everyone is getting closer to finding the right brand and product to keep them looking nothing less than fly everyday they walk out of the house. And that’s where ORS comes into the picture.

The tried and true brand has launched a new haircare line dubbed, Olive Oil for Naturals. Commonly known as the greatest deep-moisturizing product, the olive-oil-centric line promises to restore moisture and tame dry, frizzy hair. Another standout of this line is the fact that it also has ghee butter, an Ethiopian secret for a softer, longer, and healthier mane.

The Olive Oil for Naturals line consists of eight different ghee-infused products like Butter Bliss Sulfate-Free Shampoo, Buttery Smooth Conditioner, Butter Milk Styling Lotion, Butter Rich Co-Wash, Butter Whipped Leave in Conditioning Creme, Butter Creme Styling Smoothie, Butter Glaze Gel Souffle and the Hydrating Hair Butter.

The range will cost you anywhere from $5.99 to $9.99. Click here to find out more information here.

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From her dynamic artistry to her undeniable business acumen, there’s not much not to love about Beyonce. And now, the most unlikeliest person has stepped forward to praise the global superstar for her continuous hard work that shows through her fit physique.

According to TIME, former pro-athlete Kevin Garnett proudly shared that the mother of three inspired him to attain a new level of fitness goals. During an interview on Bill Simmons’ podcast, Los Angeles Clippers’ J.J. Redick said Garnett revealed how he bossed up on his defense when he was in the league.

Per Redick, Garnett said, “One time I saw her working out, and she was doing her dances and she was singing while she was doing her dancing. So then I’m thinking to myself, maybe I should run and sing at the same time.” He added that during the offseason, the beaches of Malibu is where he got plenty of exercising, running and belting out tunes at the same time. “So then, when I get on the court and I’m getting back on defense and I’m talking on defense, I don’t get tired.”

Well, we see you Kevin.

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When one thinks of the Brooklyn rapper Fabolous, his glorified chip tooth also rings a bell. He’s rapped about it, remember? “You love my smile no matter how chipped my tooth is” he professed on Tamia’s 1998 hit song “So Into You.”

But now, decades into his career, the rapper has decided to fix his grill, reportedly spending $40k on a dental procedure. According to TMZ, the 39-year-old lyricist bought himself 10 new veneers just ahead of New York Fashion week earlier this month. The reports show that he went to Cosmetic Dentist Mojgan Fajiram, who practices in the Upper East Side in New York City.

As spur of the moment as this decision seemed to many, this wasn’t a major surprise as he told Angie Martinez in 2011, “I’m going to get all of my teeth fixed soon.I’m getting too old to have a chipped tooth in my mouth,” he said.

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