Simply Cheris. . .

Ten years ago, Tasha Martin started a movement wrapped in a book club. The SistahFriend Book Club is a women’s empowerment group that celebrates African-American voices in literature. Founded in November 2004 by  Tasha Martin , the sisterhood began with four members in Columbia, South Carolina. Currently, a branch exists in its founding city and in Atlanta, Georgia. Members bond as sisters (affectionately called “sistahs”) and discuss literary works in intimate settings at least once a month. Our Sistahs also gather annually for an empowerment retreat to celebrate the SFBC’s anniversary in January, and commit to community outreach throughout the year. Our mission is three-fold: women empowerment increase the awareness of quality literature written by and about African-American identities community outreach Today, there are chapters of SFBC across the country; from Columbia to Atlanta and in cyberspace. Known for their support of black authors. Sistahfriend B...

The kitchen has been open for a decade. No, not one at your favorite restaurant, but the Sol Kitchen – brain child of  promoter Mike Kitchen. From events like the wildly popular Pop Life to bringing artist like John Legend and Raphael Saadiq to Charlotte, Kitchen has changed the landscape of night life in Charlotte. “Ten years ago, in my opinion, the music scene was pretty lame,” he said. “My whole thing was I wanted to see more of an urban music scene. We didn’t really have anybody coming through here.   Everybody was going to major cities, Atlanta, DC, but nobody was stopping through here. So, with that being said, I said you know what, maybe this is my chance to do something different.”  And he did something, starting with a weekly event at the former Tonic lounge on Sunday nights. The music was nothing like what you heard on popular radio stations. And when Kitchen brought a live performer – like Dwele or Kindred The Family Soul – the crowd showed up....