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Carolyn Kilpatrick
Lorraine Miller
Randall Pinkett
Marc Morial
Coretta Scott King
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Business World Index
---Honoring the First African American Head Football
Coaches in the Super Bowl---The U. S. House of Representatives
unanimously passed H. Res. 90, a bill honoring Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy
for becoming the first African American head coaches in the Super Bowl.
Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (13th District, Michigan), chairwoman
of the Congressional Black Caucus, initiated the legislation. "For
the past four decades, African Americans have dominated the National Football
League as players,” said Kilpatrick. “On Super Bowl Sunday,
the two competing teams --the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts--
were led by two African American coaches, Lovie Smith and Anthony "Tony"
Dungy, for the first time in the history of the National Football League
and our nation. I am proud of the commitment, tenacity, and effort exhibited
by both coaches and their players, who focused not on making history or
headlines but on exhibiting the hope and heart needed to be successful
in their quest to play in the championship game." The resolution
also recognizes the NFL for valuing and promoting diversity. Kilpatrick
also acknowledged the league's efforts to increase the number of minorities
in coaching positions by implementing the Minority Coaching Fellowship
Program and adopting the "Rooney Rule." Crafted by attorneys
Johnnie Cochran, Jr. and Cyrus Mehri, the rule requires NFL teams to interview
qualified ethnic minority candidates for coaching positions. "This
is an exciting moment for Mr. Smith, Mr. Dungy, their players, their respective
organizations, and the NFL,” said Kilpatrick. “It is also a
significant occasion for the African American community, our country,
and the world. These two gentlemen have demonstrated that they are exceptional
coaches who have accomplished great things because they were given equal
access and opportunity. African American players, personnel, and young
people everywhere will look to Coach Smith and Coach Dungy as shining
examples of their own promise and potential."
---Lorraine C. Miller, Clerk of the House for the
110th Congress---
House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn released the following statement
on the appointment of Lorraine C. Miller to Clerk of the House for the
110th Congress: “I am excited to extend my most heartfelt congratulations
to Lorraine C. Miller on the news of her appointment to the Clerk of the
House for the 110th Congress. Lorraine has had a remarkable career of
public service, through her many years in the House of Representatives
as well as important positions in the Executive Branch. This appointment
is well deserved and I applaud the Speaker on this outstanding selection.
As the first African-American Clerk of House, and only the third woman
Clerk in over 200 years, this appointment is nothing short of historic.
I am proud to see an unprecedented level of diversity at the highest ranks
of power in the 110th Congress, and Ms. Miller’s appointment is another
step in the right direction. It is fitting, this Black History Month,
to honor a woman who is not only helping break the marble ceiling but
is also breaking racial barriers.”
---Dr. Randal Pinkett, winner of NBC's The Apprentice,
releases new book, “Campus CEO: The Student Entrepreneur’s Guide
to Launching a Multimillion Dollar Business---Google. Yahoo!
YouTube. Student Advantage. Facebook. The list of successful businesses
started by college students continues to grow. However, while nearly two-thirds
of college students say they intend to become entrepreneurs at some point
in their careers, 75% of educators say their students have no idea where
to start. A new book entitled “Campus CEO: The Student Entrepreneur's
Guide To Launching A Multimillion Dollar Business” by Dr. Randal
Pinkett, winner of NBC's The Apprentice (season four), an academic superstar
with five advanced degrees, and the CEO of a multimillion dollar business,
aims to give these students the tools and advice they need to get their
ventures started and to grow them successfully. Campus CEO is rooted in
Pinkett's experiences as a student entrepreneur at Rutgers, a Rhodes scholar,
a MBA/Ph.D. student at MIT, a winner of the Apprentice, and currently
as the CEO of BCT Partners, a thriving consulting services firm. In the
book, he shows students how to take the entrepreneurial leap, why it's
worthwhile, and how achievable starting and running a profitable campus-based
business can be.
---Katrina Recovery in Major Need of National Summit
to Get the Job Done: By Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban
League---This year's State of the Union Address by President
George W. Bush offered little hope for the thousands of New Orleanians
who fled the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and never returned
and those who did return home. Not a reference to the tragedy that halved
the population and left in the region in ruins was made. What a difference
over one and one-half years make after the President vowed to restore
New Orleans to its former and greater glory in a poignant speech in historic
Jackson Square with much of the city under water and the National Guard
patrolling around. But Capitol Hill Democrats are hardly great saviors
of New Orleans. They also failed to reference Katrina in their response
to the President's State of the Union. They put nothing in their first
100 hours agenda that addressed the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast Region.
For the full story, go to UnityFirst.com.
---African American ministers focus on New Orleans---
President George Bush's failure to mention Hurricane Katrina in his most
recent State of the Union speech drew rhetorical fire -- from members
of Congress to hometown newspaper editorial boards. Now, African-American
ministers and lay leaders are taking action to address the devastated
region's urgent needs. The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc., the
nation's fastest growing ecumenical, social justice organization, will
convene its annual meeting, "In the Wake of Katrina: Lest We Forget
... Call To Renewal" in New Orleans this week to engage in hands-on
restoration and examine public policies affecting the African-American
church and community. Participants will take "Sacred Pilgrimages"
to hurricane-ravaged areas to help restore homes, churches and communities.
Open forums, powerful evening worship and commemorative sunrise services
are planned for the 1,000 nationally-recognized civil rights leaders,
ministers and community advocates scheduled to attend.
---Spelman College announces Coretta Scott King scholarship---
Bernice A. King announced an endowed scholarship at Spelman College in
memory of her mother, the late Coretta Scott King, and founding president
of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Titled,
Be A King Scholarship, in honor of Coretta Scott King, the scholarship
was announced on the one-year anniversary of Mrs. King's death. "This
endowment pays tribute to my mother's life service to human rights and
the philosophy of nonviolent social change," said King, who is a
Spelman alumna and the youngest child of Mrs. King and the late civil
rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.The Scholarship was established
with $100,000 from King and a $75,000 contribution from The Home Depot,
Inc.
---Remembering Charles H. Bynum---
As Americans commemorate Black History Month, the March of Dimes pays
tribute to one man who fought both the dreaded epidemic disease polio
and the evils of segregation, and whose legacy has not received the recognition
it deserves. Charles H. Bynum, an African-American educator and civil
rights campaigner, served as Director of Interracial Activities for the
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) from
1944 to 1971. In the course of his work for the March of Dimes - most
of which took place in a segregated United States - Mr. Bynum traveled
widely and tirelessly throughout the country to ensure that African-American
children and adults received proper medical care and rehabilitation during
the polio epidemics. He also was responsible for March of Dimes publicity
and fundraising efforts that featured African-American "poster children"
each year from 1947 to 1960.
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