--Obama Statement on Women's History Month---
Senator Barack Obama released the following statement on Women’s History Month: “Women's History Month isn't just a chance to celebrate women's history; it's a chance to honor the extraordinary role women have played in shaping American history. From midnight journeys on the Underground Railroad to marches for women's suffrage and civil rights, from the bomber assembly lines of World War II to the boardrooms of today, women have always shown us what we can achieve when we refuse to settle for the world as it is and choose to remake the world as it should be. But despite the achievements we honor this month, we know we still have challenges to overcome.  We need to build an America where women earn the same pay as men for the same work, and have time off to care for a loved one who's sick; where women have control over the health care decisions that affect their lives, and don't have to choose between their kids and their careers. It's not enough to have a holiday that honors women if we don't also make sure our laws value women. This holiday is particularly meaningful to me because I would not be the person I am without the women in my life. I was raised by a single mother across two continents, and by a grandmother who instilled in me her own Midwestern values. And my wife Michelle - a woman who's overcome a number of challenges as a lawyer and hospital executive - continues to make me a better man. Every night I'm home, Michelle and I tuck two little girls into bed. And we want to make sure that they have the same opportunities as every little boy in this country. That's the dream that women have fought for throughout our nation's history, and that's the dream I'll fight to make real as President of the United States.”

H. Johnson & C. Robert Henrikson

Dewardric McNeal

Spike Lee

Business World Index

---In honor of Women’s History Month---
We invite you to forward inspirational stories of women who are making a difference in their corporations, businesses or communities. Please email stories and photos to: jfondon@unityfirst.com.

---MetLife Foundation donates $2 million to The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project ---The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. announced a $2 million donation from MetLife Foundation.  Shown (left to right) in the photo (Photo credit: Marc Baroni) are:  Harry E. Johnson, Sr, President and CEO of the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. and C. Robert Henrikson Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MetLife, Inc.  “I am proud that MetLife has joined our family of supporters which includes corporations, foundations, and citizens worldwide,” said Johnson. “Now is the time to make history – now is the time for others to follow the lead of MetLife Foundation and to make a contribution of any amount to this lasting memorial to Dr. King and the ideals of hope, democracy, justice, and love for which he stood. Dr King helped us achieve a more inclusive world and inspired generations of Americans to live his dream." The donation from MetLife Foundation brings the Memorial Foundation’s total to $93 million. 

---International Public Policy Institute seeks fellows ---
Images of the genocide in Darfur, starvation across the globe, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic enter our living rooms almost every night. In almost every region of the world, conflict, extreme poverty and disease challenge our humanity and demand a global response.  For some Americans, these images are too close to home; for others, they’re too far away.   Unfortunately, the troubled, desperate faces we see are more often than not black and brown.  Yet, few of those setting international public policy or providing humanitarian relief are people of color.  The United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP) is working to change this.  A hallmark of UNCFSP is the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP), a prestigious five-year fellowship program aimed at increasing the number of minority college students choosing careers in international affairs.  The fellowship was inspired by the triumphs of Ralph Bunche, a diplomat and political scientist who was a key figure on the world stage when Jim Crow ruled America. A black man born just 39 years after slavery’s end, Bunche had little expectation that his accomplishments would change the course of global affairs. However, more than half a century after Bunche’s Nobel Prize, it’s still uncommon to find people of color in careers impacting the global stage. Now entering its 14th year, the IIPP has placed almost 300 minority students in over 50 countries across the world to study global issues and gain hands-on experience through a series of activities, such as summer international policy institutes, foreign language instruction, study abroad, internships and funding for a master’s degree in international affairs; each fellowship is valued at nearly $100,000. Dewardric McNeal has chosen to walk down this path.  He’s black, male and fluent in Mandarin Chinese.  When asked if he knows other young black men also fluent in Mandarin, the IIPP alumnus rolls off the names of five others—all men he met through the IIPP program. During his IIPP fellowship, this “Morehouse Man” studied Chinese politics, culture and language at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and at Nanjing University in China. Today, he serves as assistant director for international programs at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center.  Applications must be submitted no later than March 15th for the IIPP program beginning in early June.  For more information on the IIPP Fellowship Program and to apply online, please visit www.UNCFSP.org/IIPP. 

---Honoring Spike Lee---
Spike Lee, one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinema, has been named the Chrysler LLC 2008 Behind the Lens honoree. Lee, a director, producer, screenwriter, author and educator, is to be recognized for his outstanding achievements in film and television at the sixth annual award ceremony. Hosted by CNN's anchor Soledad O'Brien, the private invitation-only event will be held on March 26.In recognition of Lee's accomplishments, the Chrysler Foundation will donate $25,000 to Lee's alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta. The donation will benefit the vision of the Morehouse College School of Sports Journalism, a program created to expand the field of sports journalism from the small percentage of African Americans currently working in it today. The program, which began with seed money donated by Lee, launched its first course offerings in January 2007. A graduate of Morehouse, class of 1979, Lee is a third-generation Morehouse graduate and now serves on the school's Board of Trustees. To date, his efforts have raised more than $1 million to benefit the program.2008 will mark Lee's Broadway debut when he directs a new production of "Stalag 17," the 1951 comedy-drama about American prisoners of war written by two former P.O.W.s. Lee's next feature film, "Miracle at St. Anna," based on the bestselling author James McBride's novel, will be released in theatres Fall 2008.