---National feedback requested on African Burial Ground Memorial design finalists and first anniversary commemoration of re-interment rites for colonial Africans planned---The American public - and the world -- has an opportunity to comment on five revised designs proposed as a permanent memorial for New York's African Burial Ground Site in Lower Manhattan. The National Park Service (NPS) and the General Services Administration (GSA) have requested national feedback on the competing memorial designs to be unveiled on the web site www.africanburialground.com from September 7- October 8. During the same dates, there will be a New York City exhibition showcasing the five revised memorial designs. Plans call for the winning memorial design to be announced in Fall 2004. In addition, plans for "Africans in the Americas: Celebrating the Ancestral Heritage," the first anniversary commemoration of the 2003 "Rites of Ancestral Return" were announced by Howard Dodson, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The celebration will mark the anniversary of the sacred reburial of the remains of 419 enslaved Africans at the African Burial Memorial Site and will take place from Friday, October 1 through Sunday, October 3 in Lower Manhattan (a location considered by many to be "the first Ground Zero") and at faith institutions throughout New York City. October event highlights include: the marking of African American historic sites throughout lower Manhattan; placement of wreaths at burial sites around the Tweed Building and City Hall Park; participation of New York City schoolchildren and drummers in a Ring-Shout around the perimeter of the African Burial Ground; a street renaming ceremony at the African Burial Ground Memorial Site; an overnight public vigil; guided tours of African American historic sites in the area; involvement of faith institutions in tributes to the ancestors during their services; a concert; and a tribute ceremony with performances and readings of performers from Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and the U.S. reflecting the theme "Africans in the Americas: Celebrating the Ancestral Heritage." If you or organizations that you know of are interested in attending or supporting these events, send an email to info@unityfirst.com.

---E/WATCH (Election Watch): BET and the Vote---
Beginning Monday, August 23 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, BET NIGHTLY NEWS begins a five-part investigative series entitled "Locked Up, Locked Out," which looks into the lives of five successful African Americans who have struggled as parolees to regain a place among the voting populous in this pivotal political year. They may well be the most forgotten block of voters in the electorate for the 2004 Presidential Election -- prison parolees, individuals who have paid their debts to society for crimes of the past. Like so many, all they want to do is become contributing members in their local communities and exercise their constitutional rights. Some will finally have that chance in November, while others remain locked out by the political system. Award-winning CBS News journalist Randall Pinkston lends his talents as the narrator voice for the series. Among those subjects who can't escape the shackles of past transgressions is renowned actor, producer and director Charles "Roc" Dutton, who some 30 years following his parole for a manslaughter conviction still is not allowed to vote in his home state of Maryland. "This series is a sobering and inspirational look at what some African Americans are facing as our nation prepares for the Presidential Elections this Fall," said Heather Vincent Holley, Executive Producer for BET NIGHTLY NEWS.

---ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN FOR Pfizer MEDICINE PROGRAM TARGETING MORE THAN 43 MILLION UNINSURED---The new Pfizer Helpful Answers toll-free number (1-866-706-2400) and website (www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com) will assist America's uninsured people get Pfizer medicines for free or at significant savings. Get additional information at www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com or at www.pfizer.com. Check it out!

---PFIZER HELPFUL ANSWERS MAKES PFIZER MEDICINES EASILY AVAILABLE FOR FREE OR AT MAJOR SAVINGS---Pfizer Inc announced that America's uninsured can start saving on their Pfizer medicines by calling the Pfizer Helpful Answers toll-free number or accessing the web site. Every one of America's uninsured, regardless of age or income, can call toll free to 1-866-706-2400 or log onto the Internet at www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com to find out how to get Pfizer medicines for free or at significant savings. The toll-free number features trained, bi-lingual (English and Spanish) operators who will help patients find and enroll in the best Pfizer program for their needs. Information about the programs and applications can be accessed at www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com. "Anyone who needs a Pfizer medicine and does not have insurance covering prescriptions should take advantage of Helpful Answers," said Hank McKinnell, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer. Helpful Answers provides one-stop-shopping to help America's uninsured identify and enroll in the Pfizer program that is best for them, including existing Pfizer patient assistance initiatives and the new Pfizer Pfriends program, announced July 7, 2004. Pfizer Helpful Answers provides the greatest savings for those with the lowest incomes and offers something for every person without prescription medicine insurance, regardless of age or income. Dr. Winston Price, President, National Medical Association: "Through our 30,000 African-American physicians, the National Medical Association has been educating patients about Pfizer Helpful Answers. African-American patients are disproportionately affected by lack of insurance and I expect NMA member-physicians will continue telling their patients about the program until as many as need it are enrolled."

---FORTUNE Special Diversity Section: Deadline, September 10, 2004---
FORTUNE's special diversity section, "Diversity Matters," (deadline: September 10) will be in the magazine's October 18, 2004 issue. In this special text and advertising section , companies will explore best diversity practices. Through interviews with well-known diversity experts and company profiles, the section will feature the strategies many companies are using to run successful diversity programs. It will note the challenges they face and methods many executives have implemented to ensure a seamless diversity process - i.e. management training, mentoring programs, tying compensation to diversity achievement, integrating diversity into corporate mission statements and CEO involvement. Today, many companies are still struggling to create a culture of inclusivity some fifty years after Brown vs. Board of Education -- the landmark decision that had profound impact on public education and racism in our country. African Americans are leaving corporations to start their own businesses, women still face resistance in achieving senior management status, fewer young people are joining the workforce and more older workers are remaining. UnityFirst.com/African American Newswire will share FORTUNE's special section with its readers, including diverse businesses, corporations, journalists and communities, as well as thought-leaders, diversity practitioners, and others who have an interest in diversity best practices and multicultural issues. If interested in participating in the section contact: Janine Fondon, email: jfondon@unityfirst.com, phone (413) 734-6444 OR Gloria Lerner at FORTUNE, email: gilerner@verizon.net, phone (212) 831-7068.

--Tom Joyner and 'Chicken Soup'---
The hardest working man in radio is now an author. Tom Joyner, most influential radio personality among African-Americans nationwide, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, is co-author of the hottest and latest of the best-selling "Chicken Soup" series -- 'Chicken Soup for the African-American Soul, Celebrating and Sharing Our Culture One Story at a Time' He joins original Chicken Soup authors -- Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen -- as well as contributing author Lisa Nichols, a nationally renowned motivational speaker, in the upcoming release for the record-breaking book series. Slated for a September 14 release, a portion of book sale proceeds will benefit the Tom Joyner Foundation, which has raised more than $25 million to help keep students in historically black colleges and universities to date. Chicken Soup features stories that take readers through African-American history from the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights movement and addresses some of today's hottest social issues.

---Tour for Success: Business Exchange Conference -Washington, D.C. , Sept.7---
The Global Diversity Group's National Business Conference, "Tour for Success" will be held in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, September 7, 2004 at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. hotel. The conference, which attracts a range of African American and diverse businesses and offers various activities from free workshops to business networking events including "The Art of Networking" session with author and networking guru George Fraser, a "Success Stories" Session with Allan Houston, professional basketball player and entrepreneur and an Economic Empowerment Networking Reception. For more information or to register, go to MPBNETwork.com.