Women of Color Inc. make shopping an art at museum

Our Truth, Our Voice

Dec 01, 2011

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Adai Lamar

OW Staff

CAAM holds event to benefit health outreach program

The WOCI, Women of Color Inc. entertainment networking group is hosting “Girl’s Night Out: Shopping 4 A Cause,” a holiday shopping cultural event at the California African American Museum to raise money for its Black Beauty Shop Health Outreach Program (BBSHOP). More than 400 women are expected to come out on Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. to shop for their gifts in the ambiance of the museum, where they can enjoy the current exhibits, including the very fitting “Women: Game Changers, Less Known, Here Celebrated,” which showcases 70 women of color and highlights their accomplishments. The exhibits will be open until 8 p.m.

The BBSHOP is a national project that takes the healthcare and fitness industries to the beauty shop where women meet, mix and mingle. It will address the illnesses and diseases that are among the top health concerns facing African American women. BBSHOP provides testing, screenings, informational workshops and literature to enlighten and inform women, empowering them to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.

An array of vendors’ merchandise will offer the shoppers alternatives to what they’d find at retail department stores. Unique art, jewelry, hats, scarves, purses, designer T-shirts, home accents, body and hair products, and many other one-of-a-kind items will be available.

In addition to the shopping, women will be gifted a swag bag of goodies and partake in food, wine, and champagne tastings while enjoying Jazz saxophonist Antonio Jackson and R & B recording artist Darcell.

KJLH morning radio personality Adai Lamar will join in the festivities to celebrate her birthday and lead the women in a stiletto strut contest with winners walking away with new pairs of stilettos. Door prizes will also be raffled off, including a trip to a wine tasting and tour in Northern California.

Margo La Drew, executive director of WOCI said: “This is the season to give, and we thought it was the perfect opportunity to introduce one of our signature events where we bring women together to network and do what they love—shop, network, celebrate life and friendships while contributing to the transformation of women’s well-being.”

Tickets, including swag bags, are $35 and $20 for general admission, which includes cocktail-sipping. Groups of 10 get $5 off their ticket price.

For more information, call (310) 674-6700 or email womenofcolorinc@gmail.com

| Tags: Adai Lamar, African American Women, Black Beauty Shop Health Outreach Program, CAAM, California African American Museum, Girls Night Out Shopping 4 A Cause, Honor Roll, KJLH, Women of Color Inc, Honor Roll

The art and business of fundraising -

At this time of the year, Charmaine Jefferson is under no allusion about what her job is.

“My job is to put my hands (deep) in your pocket and pull out something big.”

Although drolly humorous, Jefferson, who is executive director of the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Exposition Park, is quite serious. The-state supported cultural institution will host its eighth fundraiser Saturday and Sunday, “An Artful Evening at CAAM,” and the money collected provides approximately one-quarter of the museum’s annual budget.

Visionary saw Black museum -

Services were held last Friday for Adelia Andrews, at Bel-Vue Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles Calif. She was the mother of veteran musician and educator Reggie Andrews and one of the forces behind creation of the California African American Museum (CAAM).

Adelia transitioned on Aug. 7. She was 96 years old.

Leaders look more favorably on latest redistricting visualizations -

The Citizens Redistricting Committee (CRC) released its latest visualization map detailing what proposed congressional and state political boundaries could look like.

The Apollo Theater meant music to our ears for generations -

For those of who think Harlem’s Apollo Theater is the syndicated television show of the same name, the California African American Museum’s (CAAM) ongoing exhibition, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” should be an eye-opener.

Haizlip speaks at CAAM -

Shirlee Taylor Haizlip participates in the “Conversations At CAAM” program Saturday from 1 –2:30 p.m. The best selling author, lecturer and president of the Wilshire Ebell Club, is the author of the renowned memoir, “The Sweeter the Juice.” Haizlip will be interviewed by Karani Marcia Leslie, chair of the CAAM History Council’s Conversation Committee. She will also share her personal story and talk about how to encourage and uplift a diverse Los Angeles community. This event is free and open to the public.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
Allied Integrated Marketing recently announced it is launching a new African American marketing division, Allied Moxy. The new division will create innovative campaigns that integrate publicity, promotions, digital and grassroots outreach to speak directly to the full diversity of African American consumers. Spearheading Allied Moxy are industry veterans Kim Walters and Gloria Jones. Walters will oversee national strategy from Los Angeles, while Jones will oversee regional/local strategy from Washington, D.C. Walters brings more than a decade of marketing experience working with entertainment companies such as Codeblack Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and A&E Lifetime Television, as well as consumer brands such as KIA and L.A. Gear and awards programs such as NAACP Image Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. Jones has been with Allied for five years running publicity and promotional campaigns for clients, including Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Relativity Media, and previously worked for WBDC-TV in D.C. and MTV Networks’ Nick @ Nite and TV Land.

Representing Los Angeles and Center Theatre Group, Tyler Edwards, a senior at the Orange County High School of the Arts, placed third at the national finals of the fifth annual August Wilson Monologue Competition (AWMC) at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre in New York City. “I am thrilled . . . I’m so glad that I took it for L.A. the first time we got up . . . that’s what we’re talking about!” said an elated Edwards following the competition. Edwards, an aspiring actor, describes the soaring, lyrical monologues found in the plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson as “very inspirational,” and said prior to the Los Angeles Regional Finals of the August Wilson competition, “I would love to share a bit of that inspiration with any audience, in hopes that they leave with more appreciation than they walked in with.”

Georgia
Bounce TV, the nation’s first-ever over-the-air broadcast television network for African Americans, will launch a second new original comedy series, “Uptown Comic,” on June 18, immediately after the series premiere of the just-announced sitcom “Family Time.” “Uptown Comic” is a half-hour series featuring stage and skit performances by some of the hottest up-and-coming comics in the country. The show is currently in production in front of a live studio audience at the longest-running African American comedy club in the U.S.—Uptown Comedy Corner in Atlanta. Actor and comedian Joe Torry (Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam) hosts. “Family Time,” a half hour situation comedy created by Bentley Kyle Evans ( “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Martin,” “Love That Girl”) and produced by Evans and partner Trenten Gumbs is set to launch Monday, June 18, at 8 p.m. The series premiere of “Uptown Comic” will follow and be seen weekly at 8:30 p.m. (All Times Eastern.)