---New York: National Leadership Alliance announces "Turn Off the Radio" rally---In a follow up to the January 14th Community Tribunal that revealed censorship of, and separate standards for Black music in New York music media, Bob Law of the National Leadership Alliance announced that a coalition of prominent community leaders, ministers and elected officials including Rev. Calvin Butts, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, and Rev. Willard Ashley, have joined with performers, like Chuck D and Dead Prez, in calling for the first major "Turn Off the Radio Rally" at the Abyssina Baptist Church (Harlem, NY) on Tuesday February 18, 2003 at 7 pm. Charging that New York airwaves that target the Black community are filled with a preponderance of negative, violent, and destructive ideas the coalition of activist, community leaders, and performers will ask the community to on selected days to turn off the radio. The National Leadership Alliance says that this programming policy is part of the assault on the spirit of the Black community. At the rally the organizers will issue an open letter that will articulate the community's concern and they will announce the first turn the radio off day. For more information, contact Maxine Hunter at (212) 862-9120 or via email: mghunter20@aol.com.

---Washington, D.C.: Congressional Black Caucus members talk about Morris Brown College---U.S. Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Major Owens (D-NY), John Lewis (D-GA), and Denise Majette (D-GA) met with U.S. Education Secretary Roderick Paige to discuss the on-going financial crisis at Morris Brown College. "We were pleased to hear from Secretary Paige that Morris Brown College is taking the necessary steps to get back on the right track" said U.S. Rep. Cummings, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. "Our main concern is saving this Historical Black College and providing its students with the opportunity to both graduate and continue their education." The bi-partisan meeting is part of an ongoing effort by the Congressional Black Caucus to reach out to Administration officials, business and labor representatives, civil rights advocates and other leaders to find solutions to the most pressing questions facing this country.

---Derek Young, New Director of Outreach Administration for Cracker Barrel--
Senior Vice President of Human Resources Norman J. Hill announced the appointment of Derek Young as the new Director of Outreach Administration for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. Young will oversee all aspects of organizational efforts to build, maintain, and assure a diverse climate in employment, purchasing, vendor and community relations and other functions that impact outreach efforts. Prior to joining Cracker Barrel, Young served as the executive director of 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee, Inc., a not-for-profit agency, which provides scholastic and leadership development opportunities to young black males. For more information, contact: Dawn Rutledge-Jones via phone: (615) 235-4105 or Email: DRJones@crackerbarrel.com.

---Amnesty International USA introduces Director of New US Domestic Human Rights Program---Benjamin Jealous is Amnesty International USA's Director of its new US Domestic Human Rights Program based in Washington, D.C. Jealous' commitment to activism has propelled him through 15 years as a community organizer, journalist, and media executive. In his new role, he will steward the organization's efforts to monitor and combat racial profiling, police brutality, voting rights abuses, and torture in America's prisons and jails. Amnesty International's 1.7 million members worldwide (including 300,000 US members) will promote this work through grassroots organizing, public awareness campaigns, letter writing, and lobbying for legislation at the state and federal levels. For more information, contact Jen Corlew at 202-544-0200 x302 or send email to jcorlew@aiusa.org.

---Job Opportunity: PROGRAM MANAGER, MIT ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER---The MIT Entrepreneurship Center is seeking a results-driven, self-starting individual with entrepreneurial experience to fill the position of program manager. A key academic unit of the MIT Sloan School of Management serving all schools of MIT, the MIT Entrepreneurship Center trains the men and women who will make high tech start-up companies successful. The Program Manager works closely with the center's Managing Director, Chairman, and other members of the center's team to build and sustain the center's educational programs, events, publications, alumni outreach, networking activities, and academic research. Click here to see the full job description, responsibilities and requirements. Responsibilities include: (1) Promoting the center's courses, programs and activities throughout MIT.(2) Managing relations with MIT faculty, students and alumni, as well as entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and private and corporate donors. Preferred qualifications include: Bachelor's degree required, graduate degree and familiarity with academic institutions preferred. Must understand the business of technology-based entrepreneurship and needs of entrepreneurs (such as having worked in a startup).For more information, please contact: Anthony Ives, Program Manager, MIT Entrepreneurship Center via email: ajives@mit.edu. Click here for the full job description.

---Opportunities in education---
There will be a job fair at Harvard University at the Graduate School of Education/Gutman Library (6 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA) from noon to 3 pm on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2003. Positions include: teachers, coaches, admissions reps, business managers, dean of students and more…Over 50 private and public schools will attend. For more information on this event send an email to info@nemnet.com .

---VA honors African-American Medal of Honor recipients---
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi kicked off the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) observance of Black History Month on Feb. 11 by unveiling an exhibit honoring African-Americans who received the Medal of Honor. In a public ceremony, Principi also honored Clarence Sasser, a former VA employee who received the Medal of Honor for his courage under fire in Vietnam. The VA exhibit honors more than 80 African-Americans who are among 3,400 recipients of the nation's highest award for valor in action against an enemy force.

---Muslim Group launches national ad campaign---
A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group announced it will launch a year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter what the group says is a rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will kick off the campaign with an ad, headlined "We're All Americans." That ad features images of an African-American girl, an Asian man and another man of European heritage, and asks the question: "Which one of us is a Muslim?" The response: "We all are. We're American Muslims." The text of one ad reads: "It's impossible to make general assumptions about Muslims because we represent more than one billion people from a vast range of races, nationalities and cultures -- from the South Pacific to the horn of Africa. Only about 18 percent of Muslims live in the Arabic-speaking world. The largest Muslim community is in Indonesia. Substantial parts of Asia and most of Africa have Muslim majority populations, while significant minorities are to be found in the countries of the former Soviet Union, China, North and South America, and Europe.

---Massachusetts: Haitian Student Conference at UMASS---
The Sixth Annual National Haitian Student Conference will be held at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst from Friday February 21st to Sunday the 23rd, 2003. The Haitian American Student Association (HASA) of UMASS Amherst, will be organizing and facilitating the three-day interactive event, which seeks to edify, celebrate, and explore Haitian culture, politics, and society. According to HASA, the objective of this year's conference, under the subtitle "Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Spirit of Survival," is to expose the conferees and the community to the Haitian culture and critical issues surrounding the Caribbean nation. One workshop will deal with the immigration issues that Haitians are currently facing in this country. Another workshop will focus on the present day form of child slavery, Restavec servitude in which, according to a recent United Nations study, 300,000 Haitian children are victims. Planned attendees include renowned motivational speaker Rene Godofrey, Dina Paul Parks from the National Coalition of Human Rights in New York, supermodel Tyrone Edmond, and hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean. For more information, contact Jeff Belizaire at 617-590-0529.

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