DC Urban LifeStyle Magazine

Feburary 26 marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of Travyon Martin by self-proclaimed vigilante, neighborhood watchman, George FU Zimmerman. Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, and their attorney, Benjamin Crump, said Martin's death last February 26 in the Orlando suburb of Sanford has altered the debate about Stand Your Ground gun laws. Police cited that law in initially refusing to arrest Zimmerman, which sparked celebrity protests and popular demonstrations across the country, turning the case into international story. Although this story, like so many other Trayvon Martin stories, did not spark a national debate on gun control laws like the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings, D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton plans to re-introduce a racial profiling bill.   A press release today from Norton's office states:   Today, a year after the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African-American boy who was killed by a ...

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will host a statue dedication ceremony in honor of the late Rosa Louise Parks on Wednesday, February 27 at 11:00 A.M. ET in National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol. “All of ... the statues in this building are important, but none honor an African-American woman … that is, until next week, when Mrs. Parks takes her rightful place alongside the inventors, war heroes, freedom fighters, and doers who represent the heart of the American story", said Boehner. It’s another breakthrough for someone who has made so many of them possible.” President Obama will also give remarks. Tomorrow's event will stream at 11am at whitehouse.gov/live.

The President met with African American leaders yesterday in the Roosevelt Room at the White House to continue their dialogue on his plan to strengthen the economy for the middle class and continue to build ladders of opportunity for those striving to get there. The President reiterated his commitment to supporting policies that will directly impact those hardest hit by the economic crisis by making sure that America is a magnet for jobs, increasing access to job training programs, partnering with high-poverty communities to help them rebuild, and encouraging companies to invest in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The president also reiterated his call to reform education by expanding universal pre-K for every child as a way to significantly decrease the achievement gap.  The president and the leaders expressed a shared concern about the need to implement common-sense improvements to the voting process, reiterating his belief that our democracy works best when every A...

  Marty Papazian, Actor, Writer and Director of Least Among Saints to Headline Special Event for Boulder Crest Retreat in Bluemont, Va. Marty Papazian will be the featured guest at a special event to help raise awareness about the challenges veterans face returning from war and to support Boulder Crest Retreat, a new rural sanctuary for wounded warriors and their families. More than 200 guests are expected to attend this special screening of Least Among Saints  and hear Papazian speak about his film and commitment to raising awareness about veterans’ issues on Thursday, Feb. 21 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the United States Navy Memorial. “I began encountering soldiers returning home in 2004 and I have been deeply moved by their sacrifices and the cost of war on their psyche and souls,” said Marty Papazian, actor, writer and director of  Least Among Saints . “I am honored to help bring greater awareness to Boulder Crest Retreat that will help our nation’s wounde...

Watch out food and fashion worlds.  Huda Mumin Clarke , aka Chef   Huda ,  is a multi-faceted brand taking both worlds by storm. She is a celebrity professional  chef , food & entertainment writer, fashionista, good food enthusiast and philanthropist.  She is the daughter of PR mogul to the stars, Priscilla Clark of Priscilla Clark Public Relations. She is also the sister of aspiring actor and model, Qasim Clark.  Coming from such a talented family, it isn't hard to imagine Chef Huda making her own mark.  In addition to her many endeavors and aspirations Chef   Huda  is also owner and CEO of Pretty and Delicious , a personal  chef  and culinary company, and creator of 'A Happy Food Place', Hu's Who?, and Styled by Hu. Chef Huda and her brand are undeniably stylish and classy.  Her goal is to create beautiful dishes that keep people craving more, while helping to improve people’s ...

Stage play hits Washington, DC Mar 5th-10th at the WARNER THEATRE. THEATRICAL DRAMA—MY BROTHER MARVIN UNCOVERS THE UNTOLD, UNCUT STORY OF ICONIC SOUL SINGER MARVIN GAYE FEATURING EMMY WINNING ACTRESS LYNN WHITFIELD MULTI-CITY TOUR KICKS OFF  TONIGHT IN DETROIT @ FISHER THEATRE DETROIT- His legacy has been marred with misconceptions of the life he truly lived and the family he dearly loved. He constantly walked a tightrope between being who the world expected him to be and who he felt God called him to be. He secretly suffered in silence from the scars that women in his life had inflicted on him and longed for the true love they never supplied.  He also inwardly battled to stay true to who he was as a person, safeguard his place in musical history and not succumb to an industry and music label that fought to turn him and his world upside down. He was Marvin Pentz Gaye and now a theatrical drama that focuses on the man behind the music reemerges on st...

  At the city’s send-off celebration of the move of the District of Columbia’s Frederick Douglass statue to the U.S. Capitol, Steven Weitzman , who created the statue, will offer a rare glimpse of how a major work is created, and John Muller , the author of the book Frederick Douglass in Washington: The Lion of Anacostia,will speak about Douglass’s little known but deep commitment to the rights of D.C. citizens. Mayor Vincent Gray and Council Chair Phil Mendelson will also help celebrate the enactment of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s (D-DC) bill to place the first-ever D.C. statue in the Capitol.  The celebration will take place on Monday, February 4,2013,from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in thelobby of One Judiciary Square (441 4th Street NW), where the statue is currently displayed. Douglass was known as an abolitionist and an international human rights champion, but he was also a great fighter for equal citizenship for D.C. residents in particular, and served as Reco...