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If you’re looking for an alternative to the traditional wedding cake or if you’re looking for an edible favor to send your guests home with, try these sweet potato-pecan cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. The mashed sweet potatoes give the cupcakes extra moistness, while a myriad of spices including cinnamon and nutmeg, spice up the traditionally sweet dessert. The cupcakes are topped with a simple cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of chopped pecans. Click here for the recipe.

You can thank George Washington Carver for this delicious idea. George Washington Carver was an African American scientist, educator, humanitarian, and former slave. Carver developed hundreds of products from peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans, and soybeans; his discoveries greatly improved the agricultural output and the health of Southern farmers. Before this, the only main crop in the South was cotton. The products that Carver invented included a rubber substitute, adhesives, foodstuffs, dyes, pigments, and many other products.



 
 
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Amsale Aberra
The dress in our Black History Inspiration Board was Ibiza, a backless taffeta balloon skirt ballgown with taffeta flower detail at natural waist from Amsale’s Blue Label Collection.

Amsale Aberra is a couture bridal and eveningwear designer whos designs can be found nationwide at the finest boutique and specialty retailers.

As a young girl growing up in Ethiopia, Amsale never considered a career as a fashion designer. It wasn’t until 1985, when she was unsuccessful in her search for a clean sophisticated gown for her own wedding, that she started her own business designing gowns for brides who were looking for a fashionable, sophisticated and timeless look. Now the name Amsale is synonymous with the phrase “forever modern”.

Check out some of our favorite dresses from Amsale’s Fall 2010 collection. To view more dresses from Amsale click here. 
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Dress pictures by Dan Lecca



 
 
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Heidi Klum and Seal
Loving v. Virginia was a landmark civil rights case. The decision ruled that the prohibition on interracial marriage was unconstitutional and ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.

The plaintiffs were Mildred Loving, a woman of African and Native American descent and Richard Perry Loving, a white man. Trying to evade the Racial Integrity Act, a state law banning the marriages between any white person and any non-white person, the couple married in the District of Columbia in June of 1958. Upon their return to their home state of Virginia they were charged with the violation of the ban.

On January 6, 1959, the Lovings plead guilty and were sentenced to one year in prison.  The sentence was suspended on the conditions that the couple leave the state of Virginia. The Lovings moved to the District of Columbia and on November 6, 1963 the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion on their behalf on the grounds that the judgment violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Months before the Supreme Court ruling on Loving v. Virginia the Roman Catholic Church joined the movement, supporting interracial couple in their struggle for recognition of their right to marriage.



Picture courtesy of Celebrity Bride Guide


 
The First Couple 02/04/2010
 
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Mr. and Mrs. Barack Obama
Mr. and Mrs. Barack Obama made history when Barack was elected as the 44th President of the United States of America. The couple met in June of 1989 when Obama was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin. They began dating later that summer. "We clicked right away...by the end of the date it was over...I was sold," Michelle has said*. The two became engaged in 1991 and the couple married on October 3, 1992 at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. The reception was held at the South Shore Cultural Center. Michelle looked stunning in her off-the-shoulder white duchess satin gown as they dance to their wedding song, Stevie Wonder’s, “You and I”.

Want to get Michelle's look with a modern twist? Check out this Le Spose di Gio off-the-shoulder gown with sheer sleeves and multi-layered organza skirt.

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*Source

 
 
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If you're thinking about making a donation to charity in lieu of traditional wedding favors, consider making a donation to the American Red Cross. The Red Cross is the nation's premier emergency response organization and they are currently collecting donations to help the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. 

The American Red Cross has a long history of responding in times of crisis. In early 1940, when England faced possible invasion, it was realized that blood might be needed on a massive scale. In anticipation of the need, the Blood Transfusion Betterment Association in New York, supported financially by the American Red Cross, undertook a dramatic pilot project to collect blood for shipment to the British Isles. As a first step in the program, eight New York City hospitals began collecting blood in August 1940 in what became known as the Plasma for Britain Project. The man chosen as medical director of the project was Dr. Charles Richard Drew. 

Dr. Charles Richard Drew was an African American physician, surgeon and medical researcher in the field of blood transfusions. He developed improved techniques for blood storage and applied his knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II.

By war's end, millions of donations had been received by the Red Cross. These donations made it possible to save the lives of thousands of wounded U.S. servicemen, which would have otherwise been lost in earlier wars when blood therapy was unknown.

Please visit the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) for more information and to learn how you can donate.


 
 
Black History month is a time to reflect and learn how African Americans have helped shaped our country. Throughout the month of February we will introduce you to some notable African Americans throughout history as well as the African American inventors and innovators that inspired us to create this inspiration board. Enjoy!
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Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King
Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, and he has become a human rights icon. He was also a husband and a father.

King married Coretta Scott, on June 18, 1953, on the lawn of her parents' house in her hometown of Heiberger, Alabama. Martin's father, the Reverend King, Sr., performed the wedding ceremony. Mrs. Edythe Bagley, Coretta's sister, was maid of honor. Reverend A.D. King, Martin's brother, was the best man.

Martin and Coretta had four children. Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott King and Bernice Albertine King. When speaking of his wife Coretta, Dr. King has said, "I am indebted to my wife Coretta, without whose love, sacrifices, and loyalty neither life nor work would bring fulfillment. She has given me words of consolation when I needed them and a well-ordered home where Christian love is a reality."*


*Source: Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr
Picture courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photography Division