---Coretta Scott King and Rev. Bernice King to address over 500 diversity practitioners---Linkage, Inc. will deliver its fourth annual Summit on Leading Diversity with the mission of increasing the effectiveness and impact of diversity initiatives within our organizations using a top - down / bottom-up approach. Coretta Scott King and Rev. Bernice King will kick-off the event with a very unique and moving presentation that looks at the evolution of the diversity movement from both a historical and forward thinking perspective. The comprehensive, four-day summit will be held March 24-27, 2003 in Atlanta, GA. -The Summit on Leading Diversity plays a vital role in the effort to create inclusive work environments that more closely mirror the demographic make-up of this country through a combination of practical workshops, "how-to" case studies, unparalleled networking opportunities, leading research, and inspirational keynote address. This event also features: Susan Taylor, Essence Magazine, Mark Williams, the Diversity Channel, Maria Hinojosa, CNN correspondent, Dr. Roosevelt Thomas, author, Building a House for Diversity and Redefining Diversity, Dr. Edward Hubbard, author, Measuring Diversity Results and How to Calculate Diversity Return-on-Investment. Case studies from companies such as Fannie Mae, the FBI, Merrill Lynch, Raytheon, NASA and Shell Oil, will also be presented. For more information, contact Robin Pedrelli Phone: (781) 402-5469 or send email to: rpedrelli@linkage-inc.com.

---OneUnited Bank becomes nation's largest Black-owned bank---
OneUnited Bank announced the closing of its merger with Family Savings Bank, a leading Los Angeles-based minority controlled financial institution, creating the largest Black-owned bank in the country. This historic merger was approved by the FDIC, the Commissioner of Banks of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Office of Thrift Supervision, the State of California and the U.S. Department of Justice. The newly combined entity which comprises Boston Bank of Commerce, Peoples Bank of Commerce in Miami, Founders Bank of Commerce in Los Angeles with Family Savings Bank, reached $500 million in assets under its new name, OneUnited Bank. With added resources, OneUnited Bank has expanded its leadership in serving urban communities by launching the OneUnited Bank Membership Program, an innovative new deposit offering providing customers expanded access to affordable banking. With the addition of Family Savings Bank, OneUnited Bank has expanded its Los Angeles branch network and increased its lending capabilities. Family Savings Bank brings a powerful lending engine that had recently exceeded its capital capacity resulting in a loan to deposit ratio last year of over 100 percent. Family's loan products and services coupled with OneUnited Bank's higher lending limit will enable the combined entity to expand its community lending in Los Angeles, Boston and Miami. By combining four banks over the past four years, OneUnited Bank has achieved the critical size and scale necessary to expand access to financial services to urban communities. For more information contact: Marie McGehee, 617/558-6850 or send email to: mmcgehee@causemedia.com .

--White House Wrong on Affirmative Action---
Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) criticized the Bush Administration for its repeated failure to address policies that perpetuate continued practices of ethnic and racial discrimination. Recently, three different patterns of racial policies have been exposed. Two reports, one in Massachusetts and one in Los Angeles, highlight the illegal, unethical and discriminatory process of racial profiling; a University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and MIT study proved job discrimination on account of race. "To simply pretend discrimination no longer exists is to ignore the growing mountain of evidence that clearly demonstrates discriminatory practices continue unabated," said Congressman Fattah. "Our failure to adequately address ongoing discrimination is an affront to the very core of our deeply held principles of fairness and equality embodied in the Constitution." According to a study released by professors at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, resumes with white-sounding first names received 50 percent more responses than ones with black-sounding names. This study involved 5,000 resumes sent to want ads in Boston and Chicago.

---President Bush on University of Michigan Policy on Affirmative Action--
Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP said, "Today, the President of the United States, the 'so-called' leader of freedom and democracy in the free world, took a gigantic step backward to the year of 1896 and "Plessy v. Ferguson." The outrageous notion that the University of Michigan Affirmative Action Policy adds to discrimination is absurd, unfounded and unworthy of the President of the United States. It is about time that the Republican party and conservative Democrats who think alike, must speak with one clear voice that America is a land of diversity. It is important that we understand very clearly that while former senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said what he thought, the President's policies reflects what he thinks. This is totally reflective of forked-tongue politics, i.e., speaking out of both sides of the mouth on a single issue."

---Chicago Urban League, Responds to President Bush's Opposition---
"On the heels of the pro-segregationist sentiments recently expressed by Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, we are deeply disappointed in President Bush's characterization of the admissions policy at the University of Michigan as 'divisive, unfair and impossible to square with the Constitution.' Over the past 25 years, affirmative action programs have repeatedly proven to be an effective and fair-minded method of ensuring diversity and equality of opportunity for qualified minorities. Consequently, any attempts to dismantle the civil rights progress facilitated by the use of affirmative action programs must be met with strong and sustained opposition."

---BLACK ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE to take Vail by storm----
BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine, along with title sponsor AXA Advisors, will turn Colorado's Vail Cascade Resort & Spa into an exhilarating winter paradise as they proudly host the fifth annual Black Enterprise/AXA Advisors Ski Challenge held over the Presidents' Day weekend, February 12-17, 2003. This winter's premier event for business networking, the Ski Challenge attracts more than 700 of the country's leading African American entrepreneurs and business professionals. Headlining the weekend's entertainment lineup is J Records recording artist and neo-soul diva, Angie Stone. Vail's breathtaking backdrop will set the stage for five days of networking, skiing, snowboarding, spa indulgence, snowshoe tours, après ski cocktail receptions, as well as dazzling evening entertainment. Event highlights also include financial seminars hosted by title sponsor AXA Advisors, motivational and wellness seminars, yoga and pilates classes, a mountaintop picnic, and an off-site shopping excursion. For more information, send email to Donna Dick at dickd@blackenterprise.com.

---Loving Donovan---
In LOVING DONOVAN: A Novel in Three Stories (Dutton, On-Sale: January 27, 2003, $23.95), Bernice L. McFadden, bestselling author of three award-winning novels, shares what may well be the longest love letter she's ever written. A powerful novel of love, destiny, and the role fate plays in our lives, LOVING DONOVAN unfurls in three parts: Her, Him, and Them. LOVING DONOVAN traces the lives of two damaged but resolute people destined for an ill-fated love affair. The first section of this unconventional love story belongs to Campbell. Despite being born to a brokenhearted mother and a faithless father, Campbell still believes in the power of love…if she can ever find it. For more information, contact BJaneway@penguinputnam.com.

---Sodexho Foundation provides $150,000 grant to The United Negro College Fund---William H. Gray, III, president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Inc., announced that the Sodexho Foundation, the charitable arm of the nation's leading provider of food and facilities management services, has donated $150,000 to fund UNCF scholarships for college students in need of financial assistance

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