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Halle Berry
Michael V. Roberts
The Black West
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Business World Index
---Racial consciousness of Blacks and Asians---
Asian Americans are less attached to their racial identity than Black Americans. This finding confirms that minority politics in the United States today is more complex than generally realized and that understanding the increasingly multicultural nature of the U.S. requires perspectives that incorporate, but go beyond, the Black historical experience. The study which led this finding was conducted by political scientists Jane Junn (Rutgers University) and Natalie Masuoka (Tufts University). It is entitled "Asian American Identity: Shared Racial Status and Political Context," and appears in the December issue of Perspectives on Politics, a journal of the American Political Science Association (APSA). Asian Americans exhibit relatively high levels of economic and residential integration with mainstream White America, leading to predictions that they are assimilating more rapidly than Black Americans and other minority or immigrant groups. They are also among the fastest growing minorities in the United States, having grown from less than 1 million people in 1960 to 14 million today. In political terms this growth has made Asian Americans a decisive swing vote in states such as California, New York, and Washington. Yet, despite their differences with Black Americans, Asian Americans do exhibit racial consciousness in politics.
---Halle helps Jenesse Center---
Coach Cares was developed as a way to support the philanthropic causes of various celebrity fans of Coach by donating a percentage of sales from top selling handbags and accessories. This unique viral campaign allows celebrities to highlight their charitable interests and raise awareness and funds for their favorite causes. Participants include Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Evangeline Lily, Eva Longoria, Mandy Moore, and Ryan Reynolds, among others. Supporters may purchase the stunning suede Halle Berry Style Coach Bag (Style #12659) and 20% of the proceeds will benefit Jenesse Center. Coach Cares will be featured on www.coach.com and will run now through December 31st. Housing women and children from 30 days up to two years through its 156-bed emergency and transitional shelters, Jenesse also provides a variety of support services to more than 1,000 families annually including mental health counseling, independent life skills classes, computer training, job referrals, after school programs for children, field trips, tutoring and legal assistance offering assistance with obtaining restraining orders for domestic violence victims.
---Roberts Hotel Group, Choice Hotels’ Largest African-American franchisee---
Choice Hotels International, Inc. announced that Roberts Hotels Group is the company's largest African American franchisee with Choice Hotels room inventory fast approaching the 1,000 mark. Roberts Hotels Group also happens to be the largest African American owned and managed hotel group in the United States. With the purchase of five Choice Hotels franchises since 2006, Choice branded hotels will comprise over 40 percent of the Roberts Hotels Group's portfolio. Their Choice properties include the currently open Comfort Inn and Conference Center hotel of Tampa, Fla. and the Clarion Hotel of Shreveport, La., as well as three properties slated to open in 2009 -- the Comfort Inn & Suites hotel of Fort Myers, Fla., the Roberts Benchmark Clarion Hotel of Memphis, Tenn., and the Roberts Walthall Clarion Hotel of Jackson, Miss. "The Roberts Hotels group enjoys a wonderful working relationship with Choice Hotels," said Mike Roberts of Roberts Hotels Group. Roberts Hotels Group, LLC is just one of the businesses that comprise the Roberts Companies, owned by brothers Steven and Michael Roberts. As a multi-faceted company, the Roberts Companies include: four television stations- WRBU/my46 St. Louis, WZRB/CW 47, Columbia, South Carolina; WAZE/CW 19, Evansville, Indiana; WRBJ/CW 34; a radio station, WRBJ/ 97.7 FM, Jackson, Mississippi; a cellular broadcast tower company; an aviation company; the 1,550 seat Roberts Orpheum Theater; several residential and commercial real estate developments in St. Louis, Mo., and the Bahamas, a hotel group, as well as a construction management and consulting firm.
---The Black West: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Cowboys----
The largest exhibition of Western art by Black artists ever assembled opens December 20 at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. "The Black West: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Cowboys and Untold Stories" features 65 works of art by 16 contemporary African American artists. Visitors to the museum can view the exhibition through March 22, 2009. "The Black West" is an important and groundbreaking exhibition because it tells the often overlooked story of Blacks in the West through the art of contemporary African American artists. In addition to the stories of Black cowboys and buffalo soldiers, the art chosen for the exhibition focuses on the complete African American experience in the West, encompassing Black explorers, lawmen, rodeo stars, outlaws, and women. The exhibition is co-curated by Booth Museum Executive Director, Seth Hopkins, and "Cowboy Mike" Searles, professor of history at Augusta State University. |
