---Jewel Diamond Taylor's "Don't Give Up" Conference, October 19, 2002---The highly acclaimed motivational speaker and author Jewel Diamond Taylor invites you to attend her "Don't Give Up" conference. This eight hours of power experience is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2002 in downtown Los Angeles at the Department of Water and Power. Jewel and invited guest speakers promise to bring life changing messages for men, women and youth in attendance. Special guest Victor McGlothin, the Dallas based author of newly the released book "Autumn Leaves" will join other speakers who promise to inspire, motivate and 'innergize' your life. Jewel is the author of Success Gems, Sisterfriends, You Are Too Blessed to Be Stressed, Don't Give Up and 100 Ways to Lose the Wait Habit. Jewel teaches her audiences and readers how to see, believe and seize their possibilities. She preaches and teaches that the three enemies to success are fear, low self-esteem and procrastination. Jewel challenges you to grow by saying, "Take your life to the next level. A loser finds excuses. A winner finds a way! Life will change without your permission. To learn more about this budget friendly, empowering an d exciting event, call 323-964-1736, or send an e-mail to JewelMotivates@aol.com.

---Reparations rally in D.C.---
The U.S. government promised to give newly freed Black slaves 40 acres and a mule and the agreement was never made true. On August 17, 2002 thousands of people gathered for the Millions for Reparations Rally in Washington, D.C. on the national mall. Some who attended felt that the U.S. should make good on its promise and atone for the tragedies against Blacks. Although Blacks have come a long way since slavery, the legacy of slavery leaves gaps in 'equal opportunity', such as the disparities in healthcare, education, finances, poverty and other issues. With discrimination and racism still prevalent in today's world, the issue of reparations remains to be a key issue. The topic of reparations has not only divided Black America, but also has reminded White America that there are active movements across the U.S. seeking resolutions to America's unjust actions.

---African American Women in Business---
Next week, check out UnityFirst's coverage of the recent African American Women in Business Conference, held in Baltimore, MD. If you are a women-of-color owned and operated business, please send your email to editors@unityfirst.com, with a 45 word summary of your business and your contact information, including email address, and we will also share your information with many of the conference attendees. Network for success!

---Dennis W. Archer, first American Bar Association President-Elect of color---Dennis W. Archer, a former mayor of the City of Detroit, cited a "new beginning, a new chapter and a brighter future" as he became the first African-American chosen as president-elect of the American Bar Association, the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. Archer was escorted to the podium of the ABA House of Delegates by Mrs. Thurgood Marshall, widow of the first African-American justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who Archer said was "breaking glass ceilings while I was opening doors." Archer was the first chair of the ABA Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession at the same time that Clinton was first chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. In his remarks, Archer spoke of the past presidents of the National Bar Association and the ABA Minority Caucus. The National Bar Association was founded in 1925 by African-American lawyers who then were denied membership in the ABA. Archer said he could not help but think of lawyers of color who had preceded him, and were at one time denied membership in the ABA -- lawyers such as William Hastie, Leon Higginbotham, Charles Hamilton Houston, Damon J. Keith, Constance Baker Moteley, Juanita Kidd Scott, Wade McCree and Justice Marshall -- and wondered how the legal profession and the nation might have advanced in race relations had they been admitted.

---Minority executives weigh costs of moving up---
"Do We Check it at the Door?," a state of the industry report issued by the McCormick Fellowship Initiative explores the extent to which media executives of color feel they have had to "check it at the door" to fit in at work. Funded by the McCormick Tribune Foundation and administered by the National Association of Minority Media Executives (NAMME) Foundation, the fellowship's purpose is to help the Fellows advance professionally and to assist the media industry by sharing their insights and perspectives on relevant issues. In the report, the Fellows say they still must work harder and longer than their white colleagues to achieve equal success. They also said they feel a special obligation to succeed for the sake of their race or ethnic group and often find themselves misunderstood, under-appreciated or under-utilized. Other findings: (1) 86% of the survey participants make adjustments in the workplace having to do with their status as a person of color (2) 79% report that these adjustments create a least some stress for them. (3) Only 14% feel their organizations are doing very well in serving the news needs of people of color.

---Does merit yield job advancement---
Fewer than half of Americans believe merit is what counts most in job advancement, according to a nationwide telephone survey by J. Howard & Associates, a multicultural consulting unit of Provant, Inc. While 39% of employed Americans think merit is what's key to promotion, more than half cite other factors, including seniority (26%), personal connections (17%) or luck (6%). "More people now regard merit promotion as a myth, or at least secondary to who-you-know or how long you've been around" said Mike Hyter, President and CEO of J. Howard. Among the survey's other findings: Belief in meritocracy increases according to both income and education. The higher the income or educational level, the greater the belief that merit counts. Although there was no significant difference between Blacks and Whites in their trust in merit (42% and 40% respectively), one quarter of Blacks credit connections compared with just 15% of Whites. "J. Howard & Associates wanted to explore how employees think they get promoted," said Hyter. "Do Americans really accept the idea of the corporate meritocracy? Turns out most people think the system doesn't work and that merit promotion is a myth. In fact, some just believe in pure luck. And a majority of Blacks mistrusts the system and thinks it's who-you-know that counts. Senior management has to take a hard look at its own workplace realities. And companies have to do a better job communicating what's expected for job advancement and developing employees so they can succeed."

---Companies still lacking in diversity efforts---
Despite efforts made by civil rights organizations and the creation of diversity departments in many corporations, employees still feel that their companies' diversity efforts are lacking, according to a recent survey by WorkplaceDiversity.com. The survey, answered by people who visited the site in July, found that 83.3 percent of respondents felt that their current employers could do more to promote workplace diversity. Respondents also indicated that there is a disparity between their work workplaces and their companies' customers with 72.2 percent saying that their companies do not reflect the diversity of the communities that they serve. Fifty percent of respondents, who are diversity job seekers, said that diversity is a consideration when accepting a job offer. Although the overwhelming majority of respondents felt that their employers could do more to promote diversity, 44.4 percent believed that their employers really care about workplace diversity. "These finding show that companies still have a long way to go with their workplace diversity efforts," said Dan Honig, chief operating officer of WorkplaceDiversity.com. "Employers need to understand that although it is an employers' job market, workplace diversity is still important to current employees and to job seekers. Employers who do not realize the importance of diversity and successfully implement diversity initiatives could be losing their share of the top talent to their competitors." Added Honig, "Employers who are hiring need to focus on making their environments more diverse. Otherwise, when the economy changes, they will lose some of their top talent to companies that value and implement workplace diversity. This survey also shows that companies may be having difficulty bridging the gap between their desire or intention to create workplace diversity and actually doing it."

----Muslim American Society to hold annual event---
The Muslim American Society (MAS) will hold its Annual Islamic Convention in Chicago, IL from August 30-September 1, 2002 at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. The event will feature major addresses by Imam W. Deen Mohammed (Sept 1 at 1 pm/UIC Pavillion), Muslim American Society leader. The event's theme is "The Life Blood of Christianity and Islam is Peace."

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