---Obama Administration pledge of $20 million toward remaining Haiti debt---
 Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) applauded the Obama Administration’s pledge of $20 million dollars to cover Haiti's upcoming debt payments to the World Bank and Inter American Development Bank. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Lee with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), and more than 70 other Members of Congress wrote a letter urging the administration to suspend immediately all further debt service payments from Haiti and grant complete debt cancellation to the impoverished country. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the Obama Administration’s decision at the Haiti Donors Conference. “Haiti has experienced tremendous loss of life and destruction of infrastructure following a string of devastating hurricanes and tropical storms,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “The decision of the Obama Administration to provide debt relief to Haiti will allow the country to focus its limited resources on improving basic infrastructure, providing basic services like healthcare and education, and strengthening the justice system.” The $20 million pledge should cover all of Haiti's remaining debt payments for 2009.  Before the end of this year, Haiti is expected to achieve permanent cancellation of most of its debts by reaching "completion point" in the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program.  

Dr. Eric Goosby

Jamie Foxx

Mae Jemison

Bill Gates

Business World Index

---Sojourner Truth: the first African American woman with a memorial in US Capitol----On April 28, 2009 American history will be made. The National Congress of Black Women, Inc. (NCBW) will introduce Sojourner Truth as the first African American woman to have a memorial bust in the United States Capitol building amidst hundreds of guests. After nearly a ten year effort spearheaded by the late Dr. C. Delores Tucker, former chair of NCBW, the memorial has been completed by current National Chair, Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. and members of NCBW. The Celebration of Truth campaign will include: The unveiling of the Sojourner Truth bust, a presentation of "Ain't I A Woman," by long time NCBW supporter and actress, Cicely Tyson. Music will be led by Lomax Spaulding, Yolanda Adams and Dorinda Clarke Cole at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center Emancipation Hall. "This accomplishment has been a struggle, but at the National Congress of Black Women, we have learned that it is from our struggles that we gain our victories," says Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq., National Chair of NCBW. Presenting co-sponsors of the Sojourner Truth Memorial include: Ford Motor Company, Shell Oil Company, Wal-Mart, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Capitol City Links, YWCA USA, Senator Ed Brooke, Events of the Heart and the Obama Family. President Barack Obama says, "Sojourner Truth inspired generations of women to demand equality and who later would dare to reach for the ballot. Her Memorial, the first to a Black woman in the U.S. Capitol, is a milestone, not just for African Americans and women, but for all Americans."

---Global AIDS Alliance Fund welcomes Eric Goosby---
Dr. Eric Goosby, named Global AIDS Coordinator has a unique opportunity to hold the Obama Administration accountable for its campaign promises to increase funding for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS overseas through the U.S. foreign assistance budget. In 2008, then-Presidential candidates Obama, Biden, and Clinton signed a pledge promising to provide at least $50 billion by the year 2013 to support the global fight against AIDS.

---The Soloist: A Call to Action ---
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched a new web site, www.nami.org/soloist, as part of a social action campaign with the release of The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. "The movie will help humanize people who live with schizophrenia and are homeless," said NAMI executive director Mike Fitzpatrick. "It will help people look beyond stereotypes and create better understanding of the challenge for treatment and recovery." "The mental health care system is in crisis. After people exit theaters and leave popcorn behind, we want to translate new awareness into action." Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects about 2 million Americans - twice the number living with HIV/AIDS. The Soloist is based on the true story of the unlikely friendship between Nathaniel Ayers, a street musician living in Skid Row, and Steve Lopez, a columnist with the Los Angeles Times. In a series of columns, Lopez reports on Ayers' journey as a gifted student from Julliard School of Music to the streets of Los Angeles, living with schizophrenia.

---Dr. Mae Jemison on math and science education---
 Former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison said Minnesota needs to develop a "science literate society" to ensure its economic competitiveness in the future. She said all students have "a world filled with ideas and possibilities before them" if they receive a balanced education that includes rigor in science and math through problem solving and real-world applications. Jemison, the first woman of color to travel into space, is also a medical doctor, chemical engineer, teacher, scientist, and technology entrepreneur. As a young African-American from the Southside of Chicago, she entered Stanford at age 16 and is regarded as a national leader in encouraging science education.

---Gates-funded scholarship program has high graduation rates---
UNCF(United Negro College Fund) announced that the nation's largest and most successful minority scholarship program -- the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMS) -- has awarded good-through-graduation college scholarships to 1,000 students from low-income families. The scholarships can be used at the colleges or universities of their recipients' choice. The 5,000 current Gates Scholars attend over 900 schools, including Ivy League colleges, flagship state universities and minority serving institutions including historically black colleges (HBCUs).Gates Millennium Scholars recipients have an average graduation rate of almost 80 percent, higher than the graduation rate for all college students, and higher than the rate for high-income students. "President Obama has committed the nation to having the highest college education rate in the world by 2020," said UNCF president and CEO Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D.