Kent birthed the leader of one of America's most famous slave revolts.

Photo courtesy soul.org

By Kelly Petryszyn

When people learn about slave revolts in class they normally don’t feel that they have a connection to them. People may be shocked to learn that one of the abolitionists behind these revolts, John Brown, lived right here in Kent. At the time Kent was referred to as Franklin Mills.

Brown led a group of armed men on a raid of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, according to the Portage County Timeline found at the Portage County Historical Society. He wanted to seize guns and ammunition to arm the slaves in a fight for freedom.

Before he was able to finish, he was captured by army General Robert E. Lee. He was later tried and convicted of treason. He was then hanged in Charles Town, Virginia.

Even though he failed at completing this revolt, Brown’s abolitionist spirit penetrated the hearts of Franklin Mills residents prior to his death, spreading abolitionism throughout the town.

John Brown helped turn Franklin Mills into a network of safe houses for slaves to get food or shelter on their journey to Cleveland, where freedom awaited them across Erie Lake in Canada.

It is interesting to look back at Kent today and imagine that one day the people opened their doors to runaway slaves. The activities of the Underground Railroad in Franklin Mills created a solidarity that united the people. Who is the John Brown of Kent today? Are the people of Kent still wiling to go to the same length to help their fellow people?

Check out a story about the journey of slaves who traveled on the Underground Railroad in Uhuru --available on the Kent State University main campus soon!

To do your own research on the underground railroad visit the Ohio Historical Society at http://www.ohiohistory.org/undergroundrr/ or the Friends of Freedom Society http://www.ohioundergroundrailroad.org/ .

Modista presents Dreamland

Modista hosted the first fashion show to take place on Rockwell Hall's runway in decades last Friday. The event ended Black History Month programming by taking its audience to dreamland. If dreamland is where the best fashion show at Kent State in the past three years takes place then Kori Fields and members of Modista sure got us there.

Co-founder of Modista, Fields, exudes confidence walking the runway in a chartreuse dress she made. The fabric is weaved on the silhouette of the dress. This is one part of her collection.

Intrendzick designer Jasmine Williams took spectators to the dark side of glamor. Models appeared to be incredibly vain as they exited a picture frame and posed as mannequins.

Williams' designs coming down the runway.

Audience members were heard saying "I'm scared" when designer Marquis "Lucky" Engle's scene began. His one part Rihanna, one part Saw introduction set a tone for his collection. From his "Diva" shades to the reoccurring shoulder pads, the whole collection encompassed what urban edginess is today. It was nice to see studded shades pushed to another level when Engle put a broken CD on the lenses of a pair of his shades.

This was Ashley Tolliver's first make-up scene in Ohio in almost a year. With Ashley Morgan on hair, Tolliver had audience members talking more about their leotards designs than their hair and make-up skills. Morgan used interesting colors to create couture hair, and Tolliver gave the models a natural look to match hair colors. But it was the pearl-embellished leotards that left the audience talking.

High Fashion

Left: Jasmine Williams, Right: Sheila Denanyoh

The .designers responsible for making the garments worn in the "Black is Beautiful" shoot

Sheila Denanyoh owner of Ill-La-La Designs

Sheila Denanyoh

Jasmine Williams owner of Intrendzick Couture

Jasmine Williams

Jasmine R Williams and Sheila Denanyoh are UHURU magazines' spring 2010 designers to watch. For more information read their interviews below and also look for their designs in our spring 2010 "Black is Beautiful" in April.

Designer to Watch: Sheila Denanyoh

Interview By: Britany Ruby

Photography By: Benjamin Moten

Sheila Denanyoh has always had a strong love of fashion, but she was raised in a community where being a fashion designer was not a respected occupation. When she entered college, Denanyoh chose to major in Interior Design. Now at the age of 21, she is an up and coming designer on her way to fashion greatness.

Clothing Line: Ill-La-La Designs

Based In: Kent, Ohio

What is your design style? Ill-La-La Designs is a very eccentric clothing line, with African print and soft fabrics.

When did you know you wanted to be a designer? I started sewing when I was in the fourth grade, but it wasn't until I was ready to graduate high school that I realized that I would like to get into designing clothes.

Where do you get your inspiration? Most of my inspiration comes from Africa. It ranges from the people to the culture. My friends are from all over the continent of Africa. I draw inspiration from them and their heritage.

What new trends should we expect from you in 2010? I am focused on a sophisticated more grown-woman style.

Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Be sure this is something you want to get into. When you really know that this is what you want, you have to push hard, look past all of the obstacles and keep pushing.

What are you currently working on? I have just started working on a WInter/Fall 2010 line, but I still have a lot to do.

For more Information on Ill-La-La Designs contact Sheila at

Sdenanyo@kent.edu

Designer to Watch: Jasmine R Williams

Interview by Britany Ruby

Photography by Benjamin Moten

Jasmine Williams set a record for student designers by winning two fashion show competitions in less than two weeks. Williams, a junior fashion design major, is taking Kent State's campus by storm. When the "Fashion C.E.O." isn't slaving away in classes she is winning competitions.

Clothing Line: Intrendzick Couture

Based In: Kent, Ohio

Where do you get your inspiration? Life experiences and daily encounters.

What is the hardest part of starting and running your own clothing line? Getting the money and having everything fall into place.

Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? They should never stop believing in themselves, never accept "No" for an answer and know that you can do all things with God.

What are you currently obsessed with? Rihanna. I love her style, her edginess and how she is constantly evolving. I think fashion is ever changing.

What is your style philosophy? To think outside the box and to always wear something that will leave an impression on people's imagination.

What are you currently working on? I have a couple of fashion shows coming up next semester, and I am working on planning and making the clothing for those shows.

For More Information on Intrendzick Couture visit www.intrendzickcouture.com

UHURU Event: Where's the Unity Forum

Video by Teiairra Brewer
Story by Kelly Petryszyn
Solutions were the topic of discussion at the UHURU-sponsored “Where is the unity forum?” on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Oscar Ritchie multipurpose room. The forum addressed the problem of racism and how to overcome this issue. Attendees spoke out about experiences with racism they had. One student had a cup of soda thrown at her because she was black. Another was out on Halloween in Kent and continuously called nigger. Professors George Garrison and Idris Kabir Syed were in attendance. The Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Alfreda Brown was also in attendance and reminded the audience of the Gandhi quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Education was a key point of discussion. Some brought up how Pan African Studies classes have helped them learn identity and truth. Many agreed that Pan African Studies classes should be a requirement for all KSU students. The discussion also turned to the youth. Some feel the change needs to start with the youth because it is important to educate the youth about these issues so they know the truth growing up. UHURU co-editors Dwayne Yates and Kyle Roerink also spoke. John Byerly closed the program by challenging the crowd to let the change happen within our own thoughts.
The forum was successful in starting dialogue, but now UHURU wants to start taking action. John Byerly passed around a sign up sheet at the event for a group he is starting that will meet and discuss Pan-African history. Other service ideas and community outreach will be considered in the future. Tell us if you have some suggestions for how UHURU can proceed past racism and towards unity!

Sex Column: Let’s Get Undressed and Watch TV

As we get closer to the holidays it always gets busier. Some people forget to say “I love you” to the people they care about. Some people may skip a few credit card payments. And others, like me, may be so busy they forget to masturbate.

If you don’t know me by now, once I notice a problem I will fix it, especially if it is a sexual problem.

One night while watching television, I found my answer.

Lately MTV has been airing retro shows. One you might recall is Remote Control, a popular game show where contestants must correctly answer trivia questions based on television, music and movies. Another is “Beavis and Butthead," a cartoon by creator Mike Judge about two outcast teenagers living in Texas.

But what I really wish they would re-air is Undressed, a provocative late-night drama offering a mix of soap-opera dialogue and soft-core porn. It followed college (and some high school) students and their fetishes, sex-escapades and relationships. Episodes were titled with the most erogenous of insinuations: "Bi-Gones," "Twice a Virgin," and "Three in the Van." Savy, older, night owls who watched undressed during the earlier part of the decade would be sure to catch the sexual inneundo. But when I first saw the show I was only in elementary school.

Nonetheless, I loved Undressed because it was the closest thing to porn I had besides the blurred and fuzzy HBO channel. When I look back at that time period, I now know the true meaning of the phrase "ignorance is bliss." I laughed at a pink vibrating thing that looked like a lipstick contanier. But not becuase I knew it was for pleasure. I just wondered why the hell it was vibrating. But when a man and a woman cuddled in a bed, I knew I figured out the truth behind the whole stork story. I loved Undressed beacuse it gave me something that I had never seen before on TV: promiscuity.

So the nostalgia and intimate connotations on Undressed got me thinking: When was the last time I watched porn? To me, the only reasons porn is unnecessary are a) When you are getting the real thing, and b)When you become so addicted you forget what the real thing is.

For me, it has been two months of no porn! And now that I am an adult, reruns of Undressed don't count. But luckily for all you readers out there, after I made the porn-celibacy discovery through my childhood recollections, it ended. And it felt great. Thank you, Undressed, for helping me get back to my sexual roots.

For those who excel in masturbation or for those who would like to learn a few things, you are in luck. As an early Christmas present, I decided to compile a list of my favorite (and mostly free!) porn sites. Enjoy.

If you are into…

Porn stars like Jenna Haze, Lexington Steele and Lacey Duvalle…

http://www.SpankWire.com

Porn with a plot…

http://www.brazzers.com

Something random…

http://www.KeezMovies.com

A certain category…

http://www.Xnxx.com


Erotic literature…

http://www.literotica.com

Lesbians…

http://www.lesbian-sapphic-erotica.com

Gay porn…

http://www.skeezy.com

Group sex or Orgies…

http://www.madsexparty.com

Weird Porn…

http://www.strangeweirdporn.com

Amateurs or a Quick Fix…

http://www.youporn.com

A mixture of Amateurs, Porn Stars, video and pictures.

http://www.xxxpornorgy.com



You can watch Undressed episodes here: http://www.undressedtv.com

Questions for the readers: How often do you watch porn? What's your favorite porn site?