"I'm Gon' Need You To Say Somthing Baby!" -Let Your Inner Fashionista Be Heard!

One day causally I mentioned to someone in conversation that "We should host an event for Black Fashion Month..." They quickly agreed then pause to question "Wait...WHAT month is that?" To which I replied "It DOESN'T yet, but it should!" To which was the spark that lit a fuse in me to aggressively pursue a means to help bring to fruition this historically ground breaking pioneering dream of mine (and now my team the Block Association). Why April? April is the start of renewal, resurrection, in a word "getting fresh." So being that we as a culture had Feb. as Black History Month, June was elected as Black Music Month, we collectively felt that our (people of color) contributions to the fashion industry NEEDS to be recognized as well. Agreed? So being the proactive folks that we are, we decided to take on this daunting task with camera in hand, and start a grassroots campaign to push to make this dream of ours a reality. It well deserved. Here's a brief look at the steps we've taken to put our foot down.

April is...Black Fashion Month!
"Fashion 500" -Spring Gala is April 23rd




Fashion bloggers, fashion photogs, stylist, Black boutique owners, make-up artist,
designers, hair stylist, personal shoppers, models of color, etc.
If Interested we are STILL Filming interviews:

Sat April 9th, 16th
BLACK FASHION MONTH PSA filming
1-5pm
location given once contacted
RSVP to thBlockRSVP@gmail.com
Subject line "April is...BFM"

Black History Month, Black Music Month, now
April is...Black Fashion Month

"Do Fries Go W/ That (Harlem) Shake?" -I Can't Shake The Feeling That...

Now I know it'll never be on it's way to become a national holiday but, TODAY (June 16th) ladies and gentlemen, marks the 5 yr. anniversary of the now infamous "Harlem Shake" dance, the last big dance craze (and I do mean craze!) to originate from Uptown. Now most of the unsuspecting public became familiar with this dance via G-Dep's "Let's Get It" video, but truth be told, the dance was already popular long before that since '89. So to commemorate this monumental day in Black history, I took my lazy ass up to Harlem to track down some of the torch bearers that still kept the flame (and flamers!) alive. And boy, it wasn't hard to find willing dancers to prove that Harlem STILL clings on to old s**t the rest of the world has quickly moved on from (Pelle Pelle anyone). Here's some video I captured of some guys "shaking their stuff" (pause, no homo) in a "friendly fire" dance off. One guy was "shaking" so violently I was preying it wasn't a stroke or MS, and had to kept from him swallowing his tongue! LOL. History reads that the dance was originally a parody, poking fun at the crack & heroin addicts that haunted Harlem during those late Alpo, Rich Porter days. The fiends would "shake" involuntarily in between their next hit. So one day being driven through Harlem to get in touch with his roots again, Diddy peered out his heavily tinted windows, told the driver to stop, and studied the crack heads for a moment during a shaking fit and announced to himself "Now THAT'S Harlem! I gotta capture that essence!" Hired a crack team (no pun intended) of skilled dancers to make sense of the moves, and voila'... you go from milk shake to Harlem Shake! Bong! Now watch and see, I bet you some "genius" turns this into a workout video White folks will eat up! Lmao!

"Become A BLOCK Head!" -the Block Association Goes Viral!

Thank you for waiting patiently while we placed you on hold.We just wanted to make sure you got the best customer service possible. And trust me when I say, the wait will be well worth it!
We set out to create a positive movement toward high quality events to challenge people to party not only with a purpose but with penuche! So far if you've attended/heard about through word of mouth our previous events ("BK All Day"-July 4th, "Monsters Ball"-Halloween Night, "Casino Royale"-New Year's Eve, "My Uber Sunday"-Super Bowl Sunday) you understand the direction we're going in...which UP and FORWARD! So Saturday April 3rd (Easter weekend) the Block Association is humbly extending an invitation to you to attend our BIGGEST movement yet! The 1st EVER Black Fashion Month kick-off celebration! We have Black History Month (Feb.), Black Music Month (June), Black Fashion (April) deserves it's own...and it's about time! Join us to make HISTORY! Here's the details so far and other projects up our collective sleeves. Thank you for your continued support.

the BLOCK ASSOCIATION more than proudly presents...

"the Fashion 500" -the 1st EVER Black Fashion Month Formal
Saturday, April 3rd (Easter Weekend)

No.1 Front St. (near Old Fulton St. Dumbo)
10-4am
Music by the Ahficionados & Soundproof Hybrid
Hosted By theBrooklyn Circus, Beckenberg, Pedigree, Private Stock, Alador & Smith, La Vedette
Dress code: Spring Formal, Camera Ready!
Adv. tix $20
RSVP for tix w/ contact # to : theMreport@gmail.com

Other projects in development:
"Rock & Bowl" or "Brown Sugar Bowl"-Concert meets bowling night of fun!
"the Hooky Party" aka "Class Trip"-Just as it sounds! Once the weather breaks we'll pick a random day of the week to meet up and roam the city enjoying the Sun, and hit "the crib" to party & cookout!
"White Shirt /Blue Jeans" -the 10th Anniversary reunion is this YEAR! A huge turnout!
"BK All Day!" - July 4th/ One year anniversary of the Block Association!
"Popcorn & Patron" -Movie night,with liquor involved...of course!
"Poppa's Place" -Restaurant Grand Opening (April 9th)
And so MUCH more! Please give me feedback on what you may be interested in or other ideas!

"Brooklyn's On Strike!!!" -Brooklyn Bowl Is Far From Being Gutter

Now I know how Chris Nolan felt after "Dark Knight" became a hit. Since New Year's Eve ("Casino Royale") folks are already asking "What's next?" from the BlocK Association. Well one strong idea being tossed around is a HUMONGOUS bowling party complete with DJ's and a live concert to boot! Yeah, I know your next question is "Where is that gonna go down at...in Brooklyn?" Great question. The answer to that would (and can only be) Brooklyn Bowl located in Willyburg, right around the corner from Beacon's Closet & Brooklyn Brewery. Just when folks thought bowling alleys in NYC are going the way of the dinosaur, up pops this gem of a spot laced with a performance stage, large bar area, and wall to wall 40'' flat screen tvs. Plus they serve food! Friday night some friends & I made a spontaneous decision to all head over there to socialize and bowl off some steam. Only to be told that the wait time would be (NOT 1, NOT 2, NOT even 3, but...) 4 freakin' hours. So we only chilled and ate waiting till the rest of our party arrived. 2 1/2 hrs passed with no luck of an open lane so "plan B" was head over to play pool at Ocean's 8 (Flatbush & 7th). Long story short, we're planning to book a "private" party over at Brooklyn Bowl (possibly for Black History Month) and we would love for you to join us. Here some flicks I took to get you hype!

"Post Return To Sender"- Really? You Serious? On Blk History Month! Come On Now!

Honestly I NEVER liked the NY Post. Their paper's approach to news seem always tabloid-like to me. So when folks start rallying for a boycott, I've been on that kick for a min already! Even more so now that they have the mind-less audacity to publish this cartoon featured above, and feel that they were just doing so w/no malice intent...
huh? There's this line that Deniro says in "Casino" that reminds me of this situation "You're either in on it, or you're too stupid to figure it out! Either way you're OUTTA here!" Meaning if the cartoonist didn't THINK it may come across as offensive, then the NY Post editors could have seen a red flag go up. I'm betting there wasn't a single person of color in the room when the decision was made to go to print with this. Not one. I'm with Sharpton on this one folks. The next time I even SEE a Post, it better be wrapped around old fish or dog $#it! Straight up! Now let someone drawn one with the Post cartoonish shot on the ground! Watch folks be up in arms then!

"I'm Not Ol', I'm Vintage!" -It's a Celebration!

Wow! What a year for black culture huh? First a the first president of color gets sworn in. Then the world's famous Apollo turns 75 years of age. Both Motown and Alvin Ailey mark their 50th anniversary. Last night the NAACP hit their 1ooth year being around! And now what better benchmark for our people to raise their hands in praise of forward movement during Black History Month...KING magazine is releasing issue no.# 50th soon! We shall overcome...our lust for big booties! YES we can...buy two issues! Keep hope alive...that's it's not sold out already!

"Black & Gold"-The Oscars Black Eye

This year as the Academy Awards turns the ripe old age of 80, I decided to do some research on OUR history w/ the "golden guy," being that this year it will be even harder to find faces of color among the celebrated crowd. If you haven't been keeping abreast of the nominations, Long time actress Rudy Dee will be the only African-
American up for an award Sunday. In the 80 yrs. that awards have been handed out, only 25 blacks have gone home with one, here's that line up:
Hattie McDaniel, Best Actress in a Supporting Role Gone With the Wind (1939).
James Baskett, Honorary Award for Uncle Remus, (1946)
Sidney Poitier, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lilies of the Field (1963).
Isaac Hayes, Best Music, Original Song for "Theme from Shaft" from Shaft (1971).
Louis Gossett, Jr., Best Actor in a Supporting Role for An Officer and a Gentleman (1982).
Irene Cara, Best Music, Original Song for Flashdance (1983).
Prince, Best Music, Original Song Score for Purple Rain (1984).
Stevie Wonder, Best Music, Original Song for The Woman in Red (1984).
Lionel Richie, Best Music, Original Song for White Nights (1985).
Herbie Hancock, Best Music, Original Score for 'Round Midnight (1986).
Willie D. Burton, Best Sound for Bird (1988)
Denzel Washington, Best Actor in a Supporting /Lead Role for
Glory / Training Day (1989/2001).
Russell Williams II, Best Sound for Glory (1989)
Whoopi Goldberg, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Ghost (1990).
Russell Williams II, Best Sound for Dances With Wolves (1990)
Quincy Jones, 1995 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Cuba Gooding, Jr., Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jerry Maguire (1996).
Halle Berry, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Monster's Ball (2001).
Sidney Poitier, Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award
Jamie Foxx, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Ray (2004).
Morgan Freeman, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard [Three 6 Mafia], Best Music, Original Song from Hustle & Flow (2005).
Forest Whitaker, Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Last King of Scotland (2006).
Jennifer Hudson, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Dreamgirls (2006).
Willie D. Burton, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing for Dreamgirls (2006)

Root for Ruby and CHANGE this Sunday night while you watch.

"Coming to America" -the Real Story

I'm not sure if you've had a chance to tune into channel 13's
airing of this biographical documentary
on the life of a real African Prince whom governed a large section of Africa
(more spacious than the 13 colonies).
It tells the griping story of how he had gotten captured and became enslaved in America (Mississippi) for over 40 yrs. Narrated by Mos-Def, the doc re-enacts his then famous struggle to become a free man and return to his homeland. Descendants of this man are even reunited by the story's end, giving viewers a more in depth perspective how his life expanded on two different continents. Hopefully you'll get an opportunity to watch this when 13 airs it again...which you know they will.
Happy Black History Month.