February 2014 – Page 2 – Zakiya N. Jamal

10 Black Women Killing the Game

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Black women are truly a group of amazing people to behold. From Beyonce to Kerry Washington to Oprah Winfrey these women are doing amazing things and looking good while doing it. This Black HERstory Month let’s praise all the black women who are doing great things today.

1. Oprah Winfrey

Known as the “Queen of Media” Oprah Winfrey has greatly changed the face of media. Starting with her own talk show on ABC she now owns her own network (called OWN of course). She is currently the only black billionaire in North America. Talk about doing big things.

2. Beyoncé

Besides having the ability to release an album in the dead of night without any promotions and still making it to #1 on the Billboard Music Charts and iTunes, Beyonce is one of the greatest female powerhouses of all time. Earning herself a total of 17 Grammys both on her own and with Destiny’s Child, she is the third most honored female vocal artist. Outside of her musical accomplishments Beyonce has turned herself into a very successful brand with deals with Pepsi and H&M, her clothing line with her mom, and the start of her own fragrance line. Get it girl!

3. Kerry Washington

Many people forget that Kerry Washington starred in Save the Last Dance but she was there. Washington has been acting for a longtime now but it wasn’t until recently that she’s been recognized as the phenomenal actress she is. As Olivia Pope on the ABC show, Scandal, she has become very well known worldwide. Washington is not only a great actress but also a philanthropist supporting Woman’s Cancer Programs and V-Day, a global group that promotes awareness of violence against woman and girls. Amazing!

4. Gabby Douglas

Leaving the 2012 London Olympics with two gold medals (one for team and one for the all-around in gymnastics) Gabby Douglas practically became famous overnight. Douglas is also the first African-American to win the all-around gold in gymnastics at the Olympics. Lifetime recently released a biopic about the young Olympian where we get an inside look on who Douglas really is the struggles she and her family faced to get to where she is. Now preparing for her next Olympics Douglas is in full training mode. Good luck in 2016!

5. Allyson Felix

Speaking of the Olympics, Allyson Felix was also a star at the last one. Leaving with one gold and two silver medals she dominated the track. She is also a four-time recipient of the Jesse Owens Award from USA Track and Field that signifies the athlete of the year. She is the only woman to win the award four times. She is also training for the 2016 Olympics. Go girl!

6. Sasheer Zamata

Saturday Night Live is probably the most well known variety show on TV right now and yet for six long years they lacked any representation of a black woman on their show. Hence, they held a a national showcase to look for a new black actress to come onto their show and they found one: Sasheer Zamata. She is the first black actress on the show since Maya Rudolph left in 2007. Zamata has been included in many sketches on the show since introduction onto the show including being a part of their Black History Month skit which was phenomenal. I can’t wait to see where Zamata goes from here on the show and here’s to hoping SNL adds more color to their show in the future.

7. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Most well known now for her poetry on feminism in Beyonce’s song, “Flawless”, this Nigerian writer is in all senses of the word “flawless”. Receiving over 10 awards for her writing she also does multiple talks (including TED talks and talks with the Commonwealth League) worldwide. Her latest book, Americanah, was selected by the New York Times as one of The 10 Best Books of 2013. In summary, she’s a writing phenomenon that we’ll certainly be hearing more from.

8. Quvenzhané Wallis

At the age of nine, Quvenzhané Wallis became the youngest nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role in Academy Awards history for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Though she didn’t win the Oscar Wallis won 13 awards for her role in the film. Wallis will be playing Annie in the upcoming remake of the film/musical. She’s so young and doing such amazing things that I feel a little ashamed. Dang!

9. Nicole Beharie

Black women are getting more screen time on TVs these days and it’s fantastic. Nicole Beharie stars on the new FOX, sci-fi drama, Sleepy Hollow. Beharie plays a Lieutenant who is the sheriff-detective in her small town and she is the Second Witness of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I’m not entirely sure what that means but I think she plays a BAMF. Awesome!

10. Lupita Nyong’o

Most well known for her role in 12 Years a Slave, Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress and film director. So far she has won 29 awards for her role in the film and has been nominated for an Oscar. In a world where sometimes dark skin is seen as a negative, it’s wonderful to see a beautiful black woman proving everyone wrong. Keep doing you girl!

As we all continue to celebrate Black History Month let’s not only look at all the amazing people from our past but also celebrate all the amazing people who are doing great things today.

10 Nail Designs to Celebrate the Olympics

Posted on February 8, 2014February 8, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

The Winter 2014 Olympics in Sochi is now in full swing. To celebrate the occasion here are my top 10 favorite nail designs to show your Team USA spirit (or just love for the Olympics in general). Some of these are from the summer Olympics but they’re still relevant. To get the links to these awesome nail blogs just click the photo. Enjoy!

1. Look at Her Nails

2. Sensationail Gel Nail Art

3. Blanket Print Nails

4. Klo’s to Me

5. Diva Polish

6. Olympic Nail Art

7. Fancy Phalanges

8. We Heart It

9. Nail Art: Entertainment

10. Meghan’s Nails

All these nail designs are amazing. Check ’em out and show me your own nail designs for this Olympics in the comments. Go Team USA! And the Jamaican bobsledding team!

A Free Week of Uber? I’m In!

Posted on February 7, 2014August 10, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Let’s be real y’all, we’re all living on a college budget. Therefore whenever there’s a chance to get something free we gotta take it. That’s why we (specifically my Hoyas) need to band together so we can get a free week of uberX. How is this possible you ask? Let me explain.

UberX is currently holding a competition for specific colleges/universities in Boston, Atlanta, and DC (Georgetown, American, and GW) to win #uberXtracredit through Tuesday, February 11 for one school to win a FREE week of uberX – for everyone! The winning school must reach 1,500 new sign ups using the school’s unique promo code. In summary, if our school can rally together and reach the #uberXtraCredit goal of 1,500 signups before February 11 at 11:59 PM EST, OUR ENTIRE CAMPUS WINS A WEEK OF FREE UBERX! FREE! Cue major freakout.

Also, if wasn’t enough to convince you to participate maybe this will: every new Uber user who signs up with our school’s new-user promo code will receive $20 off their first ride. For those who already have an Uber account don’t despair, just think of that free week of Uber we’re going to get. Besides, sharing is caring and this an opportunity for all of us to win big.

So here’s how to win:

Download the free Uber app on your smartphone.
Sign up using our school’s unique promo code (DCUberXtraCredit3)
Receive $20 off your first Uber ride (for new users only and not valid on TAXI)
Tell EVERYONE to do the same.
Win a FREE week of uberX for everyone on campus.

Guys, we can totally do this. Let’s band together and win this thing. We got this! Good luck everyone! And to keep track of our progress click here!#wearegeorgetown

Switched at Birth 3X04 Recap

Posted on February 4, 2014February 18, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in TV

This is episode was awesome, filled with twists I actually wasn’t expecting.

First, all the Bemmett feels!!! The promo last week of course had us all believing that Bemmett would be rekindling their love but sadly we were all hoodwinked. Instead, Emmett is now online dating this girl named, Mandy, which makes Bay very jealous. Like one of those crazy girls jealous. It also doesn’t helped that she got an email from Ty which just reminds her of the other guy that cheated on her (supposedly).

All these emotions eventually leads to Bay starting a fight with Emmett while they star gaze which leads her to kissing him. Emmett pushes her away (with some hesitation I think) making Bay angry because she doesn’t understand how he could’ve cheated on her but not on this Mandy chick. Clearly Bay hasn’t really forgiven Emmett which he points out. After breaking the camera Emmett needed to do his project the fight is over leaving all of us feeling like we were robbed.

That is until Bay apologizes to Emmett, giving him some photos for his project. She also states that she will never bring up the “Simone, cheating thing” ever again so that maybe one day . . . Well I guess we’ll just have to wait in see. Here’s to hoping there’ll be more Bemmett in our future.

Meanwhile Daphne is dealing with her own love issues. She’s trying to keep her crush on Campbell in check because of the girlfriend she just found out about but that’s easier said than done. But then what better way to get over one guy than to move onto another? Enter Jorge, a nurse at the clinic, who invites Daphne to his sister’s engagement party.

All goes well until Jorge’s sister realizes that it was Daphne who blackmailed Senator Coto and eventually led to his resign. Jorge’s sister basically gives Daphne hell, claiming Coto was on his way to being the first Latino governor of Kansas. Jorge didn’t come to Daphne’s defense leading her to storm out and straight onto a basketball court with Campbell where he then tries to kiss her. So much for staying away.

Daphne, however, pulls away before kissing can ensue, reminding Campbell he’s already in a relationship. Campbell then states that he likes Daphne and wants to be with her and just has to “figure things out” whatever that even means. Daphne’s not having any of it however and storms out of there (she does a lot of storming out this episode).

Back at the hospital Jorge apologizes for leaving Daphne out to dry with his sister which Daphne accepts and leads to a quick make out session in the office. Now that Daphne’s figured out who her new boyfriend of the season all should be right in the world, right? Of course not. As soon as she’s done kissing Jorge, Campbell informs her that he’s now a free man and is single to mingle. Oh dear! Seems like Daphne has a choice to make. Who will she choose? I’m personally rooting for Jorge but who knows?

While the teens deal with their love drama the adults are having their own issues. John is upset that Katherine is doing her own thing and decides to do something solo as well: get a motorcycle. Not his best idea. The bike doesn’t last long as he wipes out and destroys it. This leads him to tell Katherine that he won’t be running for reelection (thank God!).

Regina and Angelo are having money issues as Angelo finally has to admit that they have less money than he originally led Regina to believe. Regina then asks her new partner, Wes, to chip in so she can buy K&D, her new shop. Regina has also convinced Wes to help her renovate an auditorium in East River Side which leads Wes to get the even bigger idea of renovating the whole area which would lead to the buy out of many of the storefronts Regina grew up with. Oops. Seems like Regina has found herself in a pickle. I wonder how this one will work out. Will she choose to keep her hometown the way it is or the money? Only time will tell.

Here’s the promo for next week. Looks like there’ll be even more drama and maybe something happens to Bay? We shall see.

15 Black Men To Spice Up Your BHM

Posted on February 3, 2014February 3, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Honestly it was hard to pick just 15 but if I kept going we’d be here all day. Feel free to comment who you think should’ve be on this list. Now, shall we begin? (Disclaimer: This is in no particular order.)

Musical Accompaniment:

1. Idris Elba

Although this list isn’t in any special order Idris had to be number one. Let’s be real about this.

2. Shemar Moore

It should be criminal for him to look this fine.

3. Usher

Throwback:

Let us hope Usher continues to look this good forever more.

4. Morris Chestnut

Yes. A 1000 times yes.

5. Taye Diggs

He’s going to be back on the market soon ladies. Get ready!

6. Drake

This boy is all swirled up and ready to go.

7. Columbus Short

In summary, it’s handled!

8. LL Cool J

His nickname literally means, “Ladies Love Cool James”. It might be cocky but it’s true.

9. Laz Alonso

His role as the horrible husband in This Christmas gave me a negative impression about him but his good looks fixes all of that.

10. Lance Gross

LOOK AT THOSE ABS!!! LOOK AT THEM!

11. Blair Underwood

Another actor who played a horrible character but has the smile of an angel. *sigh*

12. Will Smith

Keeping it fresh since the 90s.

13. Djimon Hounsou

The darker the berry the sweeter the fruit, y’all. 😉

14. Trey Songz

His smile + the dimples + the abs = everything I’ve ever wanted.

15. Michael Ealy

His eyes just draw me in. Every time.

Bonus:

Sorry I had to do it. He’s too attractive. I just can’t.

Happy Black History Month everyone!

10 Movies To Watch During BHM

Posted on February 2, 2014February 18, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

There’s no better time to catch up on your Black Pop Culture than during Black History Month. Whether it’s a historically based film or a comedy, “black” films tend to be underrated. If you haven’t seen these films before now’s as good a time as any to see what you’ve been missing.

1. The Best Man

The 90s were a great time for Black films. This film is a hilarious dramedy focusing on Harper, a novelist, who’s recently written a book based on his college days. However, the books contains a secret that Harper has been hiding from his best friend, Lance, who is about to get married. Filled with a very attractive cast this movie will have you laughing, crying, and gasping all the way through.

2. The Wood

1999 was clearly a good year for films that revolved around a wedding and a group of guys. Friends, Mike, Slim, and Roland, reminiscence on their high school days (shown in flashbacks) as Roland prepares to get married (or maybe not). Showing the hilarity of a man (or boy’s) mind this one is definitely a goodie.

3. Love & Basketball

Seriously, if you haven’t seen this film before I just can’t. I love this movie. Following two kids from the first day they meet on the basketball court all the way through their college years we get to see all the drama, laughs, and fights that define their relationship. As they say in the film, “Nothing’s fair in love and basketball.”

4. Remember the Titans

Again, another movie everyone should watch. Classic film. What I love about this movie is it deals with the issues of segregation in a way that keeps people interested but also makes it clear that this isn’t just for entertainment. This film tells the story of integration and how a football team was able to bring together two different groups of people in a way that hadn’t been done in that town before. Amazing.

5. The Great Debaters

Another amazingly moving film. This film not only has a great cast (Denzel Washington and Forest Whittaker amongst so many others) but was also directed by Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey. The movie itself is great because it deals with a time that many don’t talk about. The time between the Reconstruction Period and the start of the Civil Rights movement. It has been argued that the civil rights movement started long before Martin Luther King, Jr. was around and I think this movie kind of shows that. Many stories of African-Americans doing great things has been lost to an American history that lacks color. The thing that I love most about this movie is it shows people there’s more to Black History than just the big names. There’s so many others that have been forgotten and people need to be reminded of that.

6. The Butler

If you’re looking for something a little more recent this movie was fantastic. Forest Whittaker and Oprah Winfrey did a great job in this movie. What makes it so inspiring is it shows two different generations of African-Americans: one who grew up being taught to be silent and respect the white man and one who challenged those ideas. I still can’t believe it didn’t get nominated for any Oscar. A shame.

7. The Color Purple

Based on the novel written by Alice Walker, this film tells the story of Celie, along with many other African-American women during the 1930s. The story demonstrates the trials these women faced, how they overcame them, and how some didn’t. I think this movie gets a bad rap sometimes because it’s not the easiest movie to watch but that’s because it deals with tough issues that can make people feel uncomfortable. However, I think it’s a great film and the musical was awesome as well, though it’s sadly no longer running.

8. Coming to America

I love Eddie Murphy. I think he is absolutely hilarious and talented. Playing multiple roles in this movie, he shows the story of a African prince traveling to America to find his Queen which of course leads him to Queens, NY. Naturally hilarity ensues as Prince Akeem (Murphy) pretends to be a normal American and falls in love.

9. Friday

Out of the whole trilogy (though supposedly they’re making a fourth one) this is the funniest one. Ice Cube and Chris Tucker make a hilarious pair. These two friends go through their Friday running from gangsters trying to kill them, trying to get money, and just plain trying to survive. These two are hilarious as is the whole cast. Definitely a movie to watch.

10. Set It Off

Last but certainly not least is Set It Off. This cast is filled with four amazing black actresses. The premise is four women getting even with a system that they feel is against them and in a way most certainly is. Obviously I’m not saying robbing banks was the best solution but it definitely makes for a good movie. A must see!

There are way more films that could be added to this list but for now I’ll leave you with these. Definitely try to expand your horizons this Black History Month by not only watching movies but actually learning about black history. Enjoy!

How to Pick Your Superbowl Team

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

If you’re anything like me, you don’t know anything about football and that’s okay. Just yesterday I learned the two teams playing in the Superbowl this year are the Seahawks and the Broncos. Interesting.

As someone who has no knowledge on the sport and the Superbowl is the one football game I watch all year here’s how I figure out who I’m rooting for. It’s not the best system but I’ve found that it tends to work.

1. Are either of the teams from your hometown?

This is the easiest way to pick a team. If the team is coming from your native land you’ve gotta root for them. It’s only right. This only gets tricky if you find yourself in a Jets vs. Giants situation but I don’t think this happens often. Then again what do I know.

2. Which team is closer to you?

Of course since there’s so many teams in the NFL there’s a good chance that your home team won’t make it. Such a shame. If this is the case, you can then choose your team based on which one is closer to you: either the place you live now or your hometown. For example, last year I rooted for the Baltimore Ravens ’cause I figured that was close enough. Clearly, that was a good betting system.

4. Whatever team your significant other is rooting for

If you’re currently in relationship or even casual dating someone, it would be in your best interest to cheer for their team. Do not get yourself into a fight you can’t get yourself out of. People take their sports very seriously. Unless you have a crazy good reason for not supporting their team you better come with a jersey and sign saying, “Go Broncos!”

4. Who has the cutest player(s)?

Now if a significant other isn’t a factor then this should definitely be a good determinate. Who wouldn’t want to root for a team with attractive players? Yes it’s hard to see what they look like with all their gear on but they do take off their gear at some point. Plus, their attractiveness helps them play better. Right?

5. Whichever team your family/friends/host is supporting

Similar to the boyfriend/girlfriend scenario, if you’re surrounded by a whole bunch of people supporting one team don’t be THAT person, especially if you don’t know anything about football. Just sit down and cheer with everyone else. Make the party’s team your team. It’s just easier that way. You don’t even have to watch the game; just follow everyone else. That way instead of focusing on the game you can spend more time focusing on the commercials and waiting for the halftime show (we all know you’re just waiting for Bruno; it’s okay).

6. Don’t choose a side

Here’s a crazy thought: you don’t have to choose a side! If you are really only watching the game to be social and waiting for the commercials and halftime show that’s fine. Just play with your phone or talk to people during the ~~boring parts~~ game. However, if you actually want to at least pretend you know something about what’s going on it’s better to have a team. You’d be surprised how quickly you can get competitive over a team you just committed to an hour ago.

Whether you choose to pick a side or not, or if you actually are really excited to watch the game tomorrow I hope you have a Happy Superbowl!