---Harry Belafonte joins Wyclef Jean salute---
Eighty-two year-old Jamaican-American recording star, actor and humanitarian, Harry Belafonte, believes he could not pass on the torch in the struggle for peace and human dignity to a better person than Haitian musical adventurer Wyclef Jean - the 2009 ASCAP-Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award recipient. Presenting the award to Wyclef Jean at the 2009 WHY (World Hunger Year)-Chapin Awards at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City, Belafonte - himself a previous ASCAP Humanitarian Award winner whose contributions to the civil rights, anti-war and anti-apartheid movements are as legendary as his music - saluted the 36 year-old Haitian and fellow Caribbean musician for leveraging the celebrity and activism of himself and his friends for the humanitarian work he does. "Wyclef's greatest contribution can't easily be measured because Wyclef himself has said the greatest accomplishment is giving hope to young kids," noted Belafonte as he educated the audience about the four-year-old Yéle Haiti nonprofit foundation Wyclef established to bring back hope to his native country. "Yéle Haiti allows kids to dream - they have not dreamt often, and most of the time their dreams have been nightmares. That's what got me here - dreaming," he said.

Mignon Clyburn

Margaret Carter

George C. Wolfe

Business World Index

---Mignon Clyburn's nomination to the FCC---
The National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL) praised President Barack Obama for nominating Mignon Clyburn to serve on the Federal Communications Commission."The women of NOBEL salute President Obama's nomination of Mignon Clyburn," said Senator Margaret Carter, president of NOBEL. According to Senator Carter, "the magnitude of President Obama's pick in Mignon Clyburn is amplified by this moment in history." Amongst the many issues facing the Federal Communications Commission over the coming years will be the development of a national broadband plan and a likely shift in the diversity and media ownership rules. Currently, Ms. Clyburn is the Chairwoman of the Washington Action Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). "As the first African-American woman to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, Mignon Clyburn carries a powerful legacy on her shoulders and the women of NOBEL support her efforts in creating the communications policy that will shape the American landscape for generations to come," noted Senator Carter.

---George C. Wolfe, new chief creative officer for Atlanta’s Center for Civil & Human Rights---George C. Wolfe, Tony Award-winning theater director, producer, playwright and author, brings his renowned artistic talent to the design of the upcoming Center for Civil & Human Rights (CCHR) in Atlanta as its new chief creative officer. Wolfe will oversee the creation of design concepts and themes for CCHR, including creative interpretation of exhibits, a storyline-based approach to content and the overall visitor experience. "The fight for civil rights is a great American story, filled not just with leaders of astonishing power and vision, but everyday citizens, who because of their bravery, humanity and heart, transformed this country, politically, spiritually and culturally," said Wolfe. "I am thrilled and honored to be a part of helping to share and celebrate their stories." Slated to open in 2012, the Center will serve as a dynamic space designed to be a global hub for contemporary discussion on the link between civil rights lessons and human rights issues. It will also serve as the home for powerful, thought-evoking works and exhibits, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers and Without Sanctuary photography collection.

---Anna Julia Cooper: 32nd inductee into United States Postal Service Black Heritage Series---Educator, scholar, feminist and activist Anna Julia Cooper (c.1858-1964), who gave voice to the African-American community during the 19th and 20th centuries -- from the end of slavery to the beginning of the Civil Rights movement – was recently immortalized on postage. Cooper, best known for her groundbreaking collection of essays and speeches, A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the South, also exhibited educational leadership, most notably challenging the racist notion that African Americans were naturally inferior. The U.S. Postal Service dedicated the stamp today at Washington, DC's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (previously M Street High School and the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth), where Cooper taught math and science and ultimately served as principal.

---Health disparities evident in every state between women of different racial and ethnic groups--- A decade after U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher called for the elimination of racial disparities in health, women of color in every state continue to fare worse than white women on a variety of measures of health, health care access and other social determinants of health according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The report, "Putting Women's Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level," documents the persistence of disparities on 25 indicators between white women and women of color, including rates of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, AIDS and cancer, as well as insurance coverage and health screenings. It also documents disparities in the factors that influence health and access to care, such as income and education. Women of color fared worse than white women on most measures and in some cases the disparities were stark.  The report reveals tremendous variation among states within racial and ethnic groups. For example, among white women, the rate of diabetes was 7.5 times as high in West Virginia (6.0%) as in the District of Columbia (0.8%). Among women who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 10% in Ohio had late or no prenatal care compared to 34% in Utah. Forty-three percent of Hispanic women in Oklahoma had not had a mammogram in the past two years, compared to 14.5% in Massachusetts.