---Fattah announces first portrait of an African American to hang in the Capitol---One hundred and thirty-three years after the first African American took his seat in Congress, the Committee on House Administration agreed to honor him with a portrait in the U.S. Capitol. Representative Joseph H. Rainey (R-SC) was the son of a slave who served in the U.S. Congress for eight years. In symbol and in substance, African American representation in the U.S. Congress is a continuing milestone towards a more perfect union. "In recognizing the legacy of the first African American in Congress, we inspire future generations to serve," said Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) who led the effort for the House Administration Committee to make this decision. Representative Joseph H. Rainey (1832 - 1887) was drafted by the Confederacy during the Civil War, but escaped to Bermuda, where slavery was illegal. After the war, Rainey moved back to Georgetown, SC, and became a member of the South Carolina Republican Party executive committee. After representing Georgetown at the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention, he was elected to the state senate in 1870.Rainey was elected in a special election to represent the First District of South Carolina in the United States House of Representatives. On December 12, 1870, he was sworn in as a member of the forty-first Congress and soon joined the Committee on Freedmen's Affairs. He used his position to advocate an end to racial discrimination and using the military to protect black voters from violence perpetuated by the Ku Klux Klan. Rainey remained in office through the forty-third Congress and eventually became a member of the Indian Affairs Committee. During a debate on a related appropriations bill, Rainey replaced then Speaker James Blaine as chair and presided over a House session, becoming the first African-American to do so. Rainey served until 1878.

---Keepers of the dream---
The Reverend Al Sharpton recently held his Keepers of the Dream Awards dinner and saluted several notables including, attorney Johnnie Cochran, State Senator Dianne Wilkerson from Boston, Massachusetts, Johnny Furr of Anheuser-Busch and California's Art Torres. Congrats to all!

---21st Century Black Massachusetts----
A statewide conference, "21st Century Black Massachusetts: Honoring the Legacy: Building the Future…A Call to Action," will be held on April 11-12 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA. Last year, some 2,000 people attended the event and took part in workshops focused on pressing issues affecting the Black citizenry of Massachusetts. For more information or to register, go to www.21blackma.org. Also, if you live in Massachusetts, we invite you to participate in a special UnityFirst.com reader poll by answering the following question: What are the critical issues Blacks face in Massachusetts? Is progress being experienced by Blacks in all communities across the state? Why and why not. Send your answer to: jfondon@unityfirst.com.

---Gerber and diversity ---
A coalition of ministers and representatives of the National Association of Black Organizations (NABO) and the National Action Network (NAN) contend that Alfred Piergallini, President and CEO of Gerber Products is running a company that derives millions upon millions of dollars annually from African Americans yet Piergallini and Gerber refuse to conduct a statistically significant amount of business with African American vendors, advertisers or media outlets that serve African Americans. Reverend Horace Sheffield III, the president of the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network and CEO of NABO says that direct action including a national boycott of Gerber products may be necessary to bring Gerber to the table to discuss economic and staffing diversity issues. Sheffield led NAN and NABO demonstrations focusing on diversity issues and economic reciprocity in the last year have taken place in Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Denver, Maryland, Michigan, Virginia and New York. Sheffield was the motivational force that placed 15,000 demonstrators outside of a Lord & Taylor store in suburban Detroit after an African American died at the hands of store security guards.

---April is National Minority Health Month---
April is National Minority Health Month! To improve the health status of minority populations in the country, Congress passed a concurrent resolution in October of 2002 to identify April as the "National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month...established to promote educational efforts on the health problems currently facing minorities and other health disparity populations."

---World's largest internal medicine society announces minority health initiatives---The American College of Physicians (ACP), the nation's largest medical specialty organization, announced the launch of three new minority health initiatives: (1) Two outreach programs to help improve the health of Hispanic-Americans and African-Americans. (2) A position paper on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. And (3) A 5K run and walk at their annual medical meeting to raise funds for health services for minorities in the San Diego area. The two patient outreach programs (consisting of patient education videos and guidebooks) help educate Hispanic-Americans about diabetes and African-Americans about breast, lung and prostate cancer. Because of their importance, ACP is giving the videos to its members for free for use in their offices or clinics and to give out to their patients. ACP is also working with community groups and the National Association of Black Churches to distribute the videos directly to patients. For more information, send email to carolynm@acponline.org.

---CareerWatch: Bentley College Library Director----
Bentley College, a business university focused on education and research in business and related professions, seeks applicants for the position of Director of the Solomon R. Baker Library. Providing innovative leadership in supporting Bentley's strategic direction, you will need to be skillful in managing a balance between research databases, electronic resources and print collections used in academic research. In addition to planning and budgeting, you will be responsible for staff management, the physical environment, and the selection of library services and collections to support the needs of our faculty. You will be expected to demonstrate strong managerial skills, a track record of innovation in a library setting, and an interest in developing and promoting the services and resources of the library. An MLS from an ALA accredited program in library or information science is required, as is at least five years' managerial experience in academic libraries. You must have substantial knowledge of new technologies and electronic resources as they relate to the role of libraries in an institutional setting. Please refer to Job Code 30159. Apply online at www.bentley.edu, or to: Human Resources, LaCava 225, Bentley College, 175 Forest Street, Waltham, MA 02452. EOE.

---UPN to premiere 'America's Next Top Model,' featuring Tyra Banks---
'America's Next Top Model,' a new 'dramality 'series which follows 10 young women for eight weeks as they try to prove they have what it takes to make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of supermodeling, will premiere on Tuesday, May 20 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on UPN. The winner will be awarded a multi-faceted grand prize package featuring the opportunity to receive a Revlon modeling contract and to be managed by Wilhemina Models, in addition to a guaranteed appearance in Marie Claire magazine. Created by world-renowned supermodel Tyra Banks, who executive produced the series with Ken Mok, 'America's Next Top Model,' exposes the transformation of everyday young women into potentially fierce supermodels, who live together in a New York penthouse and vie for the grand prize. Tyra Banks was the first African-American woman to grace the covers of GQ Magazine, Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and Victoria's Secret Catalog. In 1997, she received the prestigious Michael Award for Supermodel of the Year.

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