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---African American unemployment rate the nation's highest---
African Americans have suffered another month of double-digit unemployment. According to a government report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10.2 percent of African Americans were unemployed in November compared with 11.5 percent the month before. The national unemployment rate in November was 5.9 percent. "For those Americans without jobs, the term "jobless recovery" is a cruel joke, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) said. The new data also showed that job loss continued during the month of November in the manufacturing sector. According to today's data, in November, the economy lost an additional 17,000 manufacturing jobs. The country has lost manufacturing jobs every month for the last three years, for a total loss of 2.6 million manufacturing jobs since President Bush took office.

---Resilient resistance: The Myers Outstanding Awards---
Striking images of dignity and human rights by internationally acclaimed graphic artist Chaz Maviyane-Davies will provide the backdrop for the announcement of the 19th annual Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Awards on December 11, 2003 at Simmons College in Boston at 5pm. A dozen books and authors will be welcomed into the prestigious Myers Outstanding Book Awards Winners' Circle this year that speak to creative resistance and to possibilities for social change. Dr. Loretta J. Williams, director of the Myers Center, joined by Simmons College President Dan Cheever, will announce the awards. The theme of this annual observance of the United Nations Human Rights Declaration speaks of creative resistance to all that oppresses. A Zimbabwean national, Maviyane Davies is a Visiting Professor at Mass College of Art and recipient of numerous international commissions and design awards. The Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights is the sponsor of the exhibit and awards. The Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights was established in 1984. Its hub office has been housed at Simmons College since 2002. For additional information, call (617) 521-2171.

---Newsweek: Michael Jackson---
If the case against pop star Michael Jackson goes forward, one likely target of the defense will be prior allegations of sexual assault made by the alleged victim's family. The boy's parents filed a lawsuit in 1999 against JC Penney and Tower Records, in which they claimed store security guards beat the family after an alleged shoplifting episode in West Corvina, Calif. In the suit, the family never mentioned sexual assault, but two years after the incident, Newsweek has learned that all four members of the family claimed in depositions that the Tower guard had sexually assaulted the mother during the incident. The companies eventually paid the family a total of $152,500 without admitting guilt and though the shoplifting charges were filed, they were later dropped, L.A. Correspondents Jennifer Ordonez and Andrew Murr report in the December 15 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, December 8). Michelle Moyer, who represented Tower's parent company, MTS Inc., in the case, told Newsweek that the material "would be very useful to [Jackson lawyer Mark] Geragos." Geragos wouldn't comment.

---Onyx Woman: Get a copy---
Onyx Woman is a career, entrepreneurial and financial magazine created to provide empowering information and resources to African American women. The publication's mission is to inspire and motivate women on their adventures up the corporate ladder and to offer support, inspiration and mentoring on their journeys through entrepreneurship. This month's issue features Linda M. White, International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha. It also covers other features such as: "What Black women have to say about racism." For more information, go to onyxwoman.com.

---Kidney & Urology Foundation of America---
An unprecedented national discussion of kidney disease and the crisis in organ donation has ensued following last week's sudden announcement by NBA star Alonzo Mourning of his retirement due to his own battle with the disease and need for a transplant -- the Kidney & Urology Foundation of America announced. The Kidney & Urology Foundation has received hundreds of inquiries from around the country and Canada from people seeking to become organ donors, become involved in programs that support the patient community, and to learn more about the disease. Kidney disease and the shortage of available life-saving organs, represent two of the most significant and growing health crisis in the United States. More than 50 million people in this country are impacted by kidney disease. Additionally, nearly 90,000 people are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant, with approximately two thirds of those people needing a kidney. Approximately 17 people die each day in the United States awaiting an organ transplant. The disease and crisis affects men, women, and children, and disproportionately attacks African Americans.

---Florida: Hurston Festival '04---
The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. will host the 15th Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, January 28-February 1, 2004, in Eatonville, Florida, Hurston's hometown (located ten miles north of downtown Orlando). The theme for the Hurston Festival is "A Fest for the Eyes - A Celebration of Visual Art." An incomparable line-up of guest artists is set to participate in this event that features a mixture of world-class arts and humanities programming. The School of Film and Digital media at the University of Central Florida will host ZORA! Celebration of new Black Cinema, January 28-29. Legendary artist Elizabeth Catlett will headline "In Coversation", Thursday, January 29. Dr. John Hope Franklin (Duke University) will present the inaugural Zora Neale Hurston Arts and Humanities Lecture on Friday, January 30. In addition, Elizabeth Catlett, Gordon Parks and Samella Lewis will be the 2004 recipients of the Zora Neale Hurston Festival Award. The Hurston Festival attracts some 90,000 people with thousands more expected for 2004.

---Detroit: Gladys Knight---
Motown legend Gladys Knight returns to Detroit's fabulous Fox Theatre with special guest "The Commodores" at 8 p.m. Saturday, January 17. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, December 13.In recent years, Knight has released several compilation albums that feature her numerous legendary hits, some that were originally recorded with the Pips, including "Midnight Train to Georgia," "Every Beat of My Heart," and "I Heard it Through the Grapevine." In addition to recording albums, Knight has established herself as one of the hottest attractions in Las Vegas.

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