Young Black Couple Murdered The Night Of Their Engagement Party Live On Via Youtube

Online Video Celebrates Nia And Michael

In memory of Nia Haqq and Michael Muchioki, an emotional Youtube clip is making its way across the Internet, demonstrating the Web's unlimited ability to intersect love, loss and technology. The New Jersey couple were senselessly murdered due to a robbery and carjacking on April 4, 2010 after leaving their engagement party. Watch the touching video after the jump.

The young soulmates were upwardly mobile college graduates, with Michael, 27, being a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and Nia, 25, a Dean's List student who had just nabbed her dream job as an associate producer. Both were clearly ready to take on the world.

Our condolences go out to their families and loved ones.

To deal with the devastating pain, the couple's friends created a Facebook Fan Page and the viral tribute now pulling at the heartstrings of every person who briefly journeys into what was, and what might have been, lives full of possibility.

Each moment we breath is a gift folks. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes horrific tragedies like this to remind us all that we must cherish the short time have here on earth.

Nia and Michael's funerals were held separately last week, before later being buried side by side.

May they forever rest in peace.

Essence.com has additional details.

Black 70's Actress Sheila Frazier Holds Out For Love, And Finally Gets Her Superfly!

Mr. John Atchison, hair stylist to the stars who was seeing clients in Los Angeles, charmed her with his bright smile and formal Southern manners. I thought he was gorgeous, Ms. Frazier said.

But Sheila Frazier of "Superfly" fame was not a typical Hollywood star. When Mr. Atchison, put down the curling iron and leaned in to chat, she pulled out a small Bible that she always carries with her.

The next thing you know we're talking about Scripture,remembered Mr. Atchison, 67, sounding both amused and inspired. People didn't believe it, he said. Sheila Frazier's in your hotel room for a haircut, and you're saying you're just reading the Bible?

Ms. Frazier, now 59, said she was looking for a spiritual connection, not a romantic one. A recently divorced mother of a 3-year-old, I was trying to pick up the pieces, she recalled. Her priorities were taking care of my son and finding work.

Mr. Atchison admired her fortitude and especially her faith, since he was in the process of rediscovering his own.

He had transformed himself from being a subway token clerk, redesigning women's hairdos in his head, to a top stylist at Vidal Sassoon in Manhattan in less than two years. And it was only another four years before he opened his own Manhattan salon in 1976, attracting clients like Dionne Warwick, Cicely Tyson and Bill and Camille Cosby. But along the way Mr. Atchison's first marriage unraveled, and he became discomforted by the superficiality of his growing fame.

So he tried joining the EST movement (it was the 70s). Then he tried meditation. I went to some session upstate where they were chanting and carrying on, he recalled. Yet he inadvertently found the solace he was seeking while at a church service with his daughter at an A.M.E. church in Jamaica, Queens, which he began attending regularly.

But his friends in New York City were not churchgoers. They thought it was a phase I was going through, he said. So he looked forward to spending time with Ms. Frazier when in 1980 he opened a second salon, in Los Angeles, where he had occasionally operated from hotel rooms and client's homes.

His feelings for her soon deepened, which he repeatedly told her. But she didn't believe him. In Hollywood everyone says they love you, she said. It's like saying good morning.

He might have been more convincing had he not been dating other women.

Mr. Atchison was living a bifurcated life: devout in California but frequenting Studio 54 back East. His partygoing with models was only to promote his salons, he said.

Despite having developed strong feelings for him, Ms. Frazier had her doubts. I've always been taught to listen less to what a person says and watch more what they do, she said.

In 1993, when a man Ms. Frazier had been dating on and off for nine years proposed marriage, she accepted. John could have scooped me up and taken me away from the guy, she said, describing what she had hoped would happen. Instead he withdrew.

Her engagement was called off after nine months, but Mr. Atchison kept his distance for several years.

Ms. Frazier focused on her career, which has included television shows from The Love Boat to The West Wing. By 1990 she was also producing a talk show in Los Angeles for Black Entertainment Television, for which she eventually became the director of network talent, booking celebrity guests and training new hosts, work that she continues to do as a consultant.

Meanwhile, Mr. Atchison enrolled in correspondence courses to become an evangelical minister and started offering Bible study classes to stylists and clients at his salon. Since Ms. Frazier also led a Bible study group, it gave him an excuse to re-establish contact and compare notes.

Then last February, unable to fall asleep one night, I poured my heart out to God about the kind of woman that I want, he said, and recalled that he heard a voice respond: God said, Sheila. She's the one.

It was 4:30 in the morning, but he picked up the phone and called her. I asked "May I have permission to date you?" he said.

Cards and flowers followed, as did late-night phone calls exploring liturgy and love. I was no longer straddling the fence, he said. He invited her to New York for Easter and included an after-hours candlelight dinner at his salon, providing a cappella musical accompaniment with a song he had rehearsed for the occasion, I'm Glad There Is You.

She had been uncertain for so long about the depth of his feelings. But no longer. Consistency is what gets me, she said before the wedding. No one holds me like John does. Although we are celibate, I love his kisses.

On Feb. 2, gentle R&B music pulsed through the barrel-vaulted sanctuary at the Crenshaw Christian Center East in Manhattan, as Mr. Atchison and the couple's 160 guests waited for the bride's arrival.

Looking svelte and serene, Ms. Frazier floated down the aisle in her strapless champagne-colored gown, gathering calla lilies and blessings from her nine bridal attendants.

Billy Brown, from the musical group Ray, Goodman & Brown, performed a song for the couple, and the Rev. Terry Starks, an evangelical minister, led them in their vows as they beamed at each other.

But it was not until the reception that Mr. Atchison could fully express his joy by serenading his new wife. I'm glad there is you, he crooned. She swayed and snapped her fingers as she had done in his salon. Then they moved together and melted into each other as the music played on.

By NY Times Writer Robert Stolarik

Barack & Michelle Obama: That's Some Serious Black On Black Love

ENOUGH SAID!

For Michelle Obama, 44, the emphasis was on Barack Obama, 46, and his character. ``So, if you haven't heard, my husband is running for president of the United States,'' she said to a crowd of students at the University of South Carolina in Columbia on Jan. 23, an event that drew about a dozen national reporters. Throughout the day, she used ``we'' as often to refer to the audience or Americans as a whole, as she did when speaking of herself and her husband. [Forbes]

Web Pics Of Usher & Tameka's Wedding: The Power Of Love???

Pictures Courtesy Of People

No Sex In The City #8: Can You Be A Single Black Woman In Los Angeles And Not Be Bitter?

Why I Haven't Given Up On Love

By Cousin Kim

"Kissing my soul mate is like making love with your clothes on."

The people next to me completely stopped their conversation upon hearing my pronouncement. They laughed with me. I was in a workshop led by Kathryn Alice called "Calling in the One". Single men and women were gathered to learn important tools for attracting their soul mates.

The premise of the workshop was that everyone has a soul mate and everyone gets love. Love is God's desire for all of us. So the very desires in our hearts for love and partnership are proof that we have a soul mate. When I left the workshop, as reflected by my pronouncement, I truly understood this on a deep level.

"You need someone who adores you," my friend Bob said as we sat outdoors under an umbrella at the Howard Hughes Center in Los Angeles.

We'd just finished a hearty lunch at Kabuki and after taking a walk , we sat down for a heart to heart talk.

In response to one of his earlier statements, I'd asked him what kind of man he thought I should be with. He indicated that I needed a man who could lead, but didn't mind following; who was about six feet tall, smart, stylish and not as wild as he. According to Bob I couldn't handle a wild man and needed someone quieter. Then we talked about our visions of what our weddings would be like.

Bob is one of the reasons I haven't given up on love. He appreciates my talents, intellect, and sees my outer and inner beauty. We both also know each other well enough to know that we aren't a good fit romantically. Bob reflects some of the qualities that I ultimately desire in my soul mate.

Recently, on a lunch date, a new male acquaintance asked me if I was a scorned woman. I knew that this was his way of discerning whether I was a card-carrying member of the "Bitter Black Woman's Club." I felt a great deal of peace when I could honestly respond, "No, I'm not a scorned woman. I am a grateful woman."

I am grateful for all the men I've dated in my life because every one of them has demonstrated a quality that I desire in my soul mate. Each of them has shown me things about myself that I might not have seen on my own. Each of them has given me an opportunity to share the love in my heart.

According to the Law of Attraction, seeing the qualities that I desire in a mate demonstrated through these wonderful men is evidence that my desire for a soul mate is in the process of manifestation.

At forty I am single, I don't hate men, I'm not bitter, I've never married, and I have no children. My biological clock is not ticking, I am not afraid, and my eggs are not dried up. I have not given up on sharing my life with a soul mate who adores me. I know that the desires of my heart were placed there for a reason--to be fulfilled. Love is eternal, like God.

And I get love because I AM love.

And so it is.

WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT SEX & LOVE?

O.K. I'm going to take a risk here and talk about something I don't usually speak much about and that's sex and love.

I love sex and love. Love and sex are even more pleasurable when they can take place together. However, this morning I read that a recent study was released in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior that revealed that there are at least 237 reasons people have sex.

Go figure.

Personally, it was nice to know that most of the more than 400 students surveyed at the University of Texas at Austin said that the main reasons they had sex were because they either wanted to show their love and affection for an individual, they were attracted to the person and/or it felt good.

It was even nicer to know that at the bottom of that list were reasons like: "I wanted to give someone a sexually transmitted disease," or "I did it because someone offered me money," or "I felt sorry for the person."

Growing up in a religious environment, I had many conflicts concerning sex. While I liked the notion of it, especially in the context of a loving romantic relationship, ideally, one was encouraged to believe it was for solely marriage and pro-creation purposes. As one matures and comes face-to-face with the reality of romantic emotions in the context of potential life long unions, the subject of sex and love can be quite exciting and complicated all at the same time.

With the census reporting there are more single women living alone in the United States vs. those who are married and cohabitating, it does make one wonder...

Get the rest from Why Black Women Are Angry>>>

WHILE I'M BLOGGING MY A** OFF, MY WOMAN IS IN THE BED, ALONE!

Steve Harvey Educating Folks About
Lenny Williams' "I Love You"

THIS IS FOR MY GIRL. JUST BECAUSE!

Malcolm-Jamal Warner: Theo's Grown Folks Show

In the 80's we watched Malcolm-Jamal Warner play the adolescent Theo Huxtable.

Now Theo is all grown up and no where is that more evident than in his one-man spoken-word jazz show called "Love and Other Social Issues" which is running through July 8 at the Assistance League Theatre in Los Angeles.

(pictured: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Denise Dowse, Avery O Williams)

Warner, now 36, delivers a gritty, soulful show that is divided into three categories: thoughts and images, women and transitions.

His spoken-word virtuosity speaks to a number of sexual and social obsessions that have plagued and/or enraptured him. He also skewers "bling"obsessed hip-hop stars as he rails against the Sprite inspired phrase: "Image is Nothing" because for Warner, image is EVERYTHING, which he underscores by a series of thought provoking (and sometimes poignant) photos created by image designer Avery O Williams which are displayed behind him while he rhymes.

Then he shifts into confessional poetry as he rhymes about his not-quite-so-confident history with women, then later his love and pride of black women."Love and Other Social Issues" is adroitly directed by Denise Dowse (a powerful actress in her own right) whose inventive blocking and lighting is never boring or static.

The show is produced by Pamela Warner who has surrounded her star actor/performer with all the elements necessary, like a live jazz band, to create a well-woven and rewarding 90-minute wordfest. But at it's center is Warner, and he holds it well. The musician/actor delivers his poetry with unabashed energy, vigor and stark honesty.

Theo has truly grown up in such way that dad, er, Bill would undoubtedly be very proud of. Even Olivia, aka Raven-Simone has come a long way. Look at her all grown-up.

Now Denise, aka Lisa Bonet, is another story. You won't believe the latest drama on her!

Get it here.