The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

UPN Announces New TLC Reality Series “R U The Girl with T-Boz & Chili” (www.blacktalentnews.com)

Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas and Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, the two remaining members of TLC, one of the biggest-selling female groups of all time, have decided that they need to start the next phase of their career and what better way to do that than a nationwide search to find a female performer to join them in concert and in the studio to record a track for TLC’s “Greatest Hits” album (more…)

HBO Developing One Hour Hip-Hop Drama (www.blacktalentnews.com)

HBO is teaming with feature film screenwriter, Michael Elliott (“Like Mike”) and hip hop impresario Andre Harrell to develop “Fabulous,” on a one hour drama series about fictional, multi-million rap mogul. 3 Arts Entertainment’s Stephanie Davis, Steven Greener and Howard Klein are also serving as executive producers alongside Elliott and Harrell (more…)

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Annie Malone: Black Beauty Culture Pioneer and Millionaire (Exhibit at DuSable Museum in Chicago, IL–extended through 12/05)

Born in Metropolis, Illinois, Annie Minerva Turnbo Pope Malone (August 9, 1869 – May 10, 1957), was a little known beauty industry pioneer, who by the 1920’s ran a multi-million dollar empire consisting of a global network of Poro Beauty Colleges and product manufacturing.

At the peak of her career, Annie Malone employed 100,000 Poro agents, operated 48 beauty schools nationwide, over 100 beauty supply stores, and owned a city block of four mansions on the South Side of Chicago known as “Poro Block.

More on this great woman (click here)

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UPN network sees sharp ratings decline (USA Today)

CBS researchers suspect a change in Nielsen’s methodology is to blame. The company has changed its pool of participating families to label more citizens of Caribbean island descent as black. They’re primarily Spanish-speaking and often have different viewing habits than American-born blacks, said David Poltrack, CBS’ top researcher.

TRANSLATION - American blacks are more into minstrel shows than blacks from other countries.

What makes this story so laughable is that some people just cannot believe that black people are not interested in the typical minstrel shows that networks such as UPN pumps out on a regular basis. Notice how they are in such disbelief that they are more willing to dismiss it as some kind of “glitch” in the system rather than accept the fact that blacks are getting tired of the same – ‘ol, same – ‘ol. TV-ONE and Black Family Channel gives some credence to this trend.