---Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: May 2004---
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important anniversaries: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (May 10, 1869). In 1992, Congress expanded the 10-day observance to a month-long celebration. Some 13.1 million is the estimated number of U.S. residents who say they are Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This group comprises five percent of the total population. Since Census 2000, the number of people who are part of this group has increased nine percent, the highest growth rate of any race group.

---South Africa celebrates 'Freedom Day'---
On April 27, 'Freedom Day', South Africa held a great celebration including many world leaders to commemorate some 10 years since the end of apartheid. Also, on that day, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki was inaugurated for his second and final term. Although South Africa has come a long way, it still wrestles with significant HIV/AIDS issues, and a variety of economic factors such as unemployment and poverty.

---The Grand Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity to observe the 100th anniversary of the organization's founding---The Grand Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity will observe the 100th anniversary of the organization's founding on June 26-30, 2004. More than 900 members of the fraternity and their spouses will attend the Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia, the city of the fraternity's founding with its chapter, Alpha Boule. The theme of the Centennial Celebration is: "Basking in Memories--Appreciating the Present---Forging the Future." Sigma Pi Fraternity today consists of 112 member boules (chapters) throughout the United States and in Nassau, with a membership comprising 4,200 distinguished African American men. In 1904, an African American physician and pharmacist, Dr. Henry A. Minton, gathered five of his Philadelphia-based colleagues to form a fraternity. Their primary purpose was to create a forum wherein they could pursue social and intellectual activities in the company of peers. At the time, there were no black college fraternities, and Black professionals were not invited to participate in the professional and cultural associations organized by the white community. Dr. Minton tapped into a deep need. He and his colleagues deliberately chose to model their group after ancient Greek organizations, and they organized themselves as a boule, meaning "a council of noblemen." The Greek model was a logical one. The values of ancient Greece-- intellectual development, citizenship, democracy, law and culture-- were fundamental to the very values that sustained the fraternal relationships of the six men in Philadelphia. The fraternity's membership provides the highest level of leadership in civic, social service, education, charitable and religious affairs in the communities in which they live. For more information, call (202) 488-4948. For the full story by Calvin O. Pressley, Grand Sire Archon, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, click here or go to UnityFirst.com.

---The lessons and legacy of Brown v. Board of Education---
An impressive lineup of nationally and locally respected educators, political officials, authors and social scientists will discuss and dissect the decisions and aftermath of the historic 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation in public schools, when the Chicago Urban League hosts "The Lessons and Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education" on May 10. The conference will be held at the Chicago Historical Society, Clark Street at North Avenue from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. As the nation observes the 50th anniversary of the court's decision, the conference will feature plenary sessions focusing on "Still Separate and Unequal: Savage Inequalities, America's Children and the Crisis of American Education"; "Jim Crow's Children: The Rise and Fall of Public School Desegregation From the 19th Century to The Present"; and "Race, Place and School Funding Equity." During a reception beginning at 4 p.m., Ernest Green, a member of the "Little Rock Nine" students who integrated Little Rock Central High School after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, will be honored. In 1958, Green became the first black student to graduate from Central High School. He graduated from Michigan State University and served as assistant secretary of Labor under President Jimmy Carter. He currently is a managing director of Lehman Brothers in Washington, D.C.

---African American official of U.S. Secret Service participates in unveiling of new $50 note---C. Danny Spriggs, the African American Deputy Director of the United States Secret Service, joined top officials of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in unveiling the newly designed $50 note. The new design -- which has enhanced security features, subtle background colors of blue and red, images of a waving American flag, and a small metallic silver-blue star -- is part of the Government's ongoing efforts to stay ahead of counterfeiting and protect the integrity of U.S. currency. The new $50 note, which will be issued in late September or early October, is the second denomination to include background color. The first was the $20 note, which began circulating in October 2003. Spriggs participated in a special unveiling ceremony for the new $50 note on April 26 at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Other top officials of the federal government participating in the unveiling were Treasury Secretary John W. Snow; Mark W. Olson, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and Thomas A. Ferguson, Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

---Hispanic Journalists---
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is troubled by the lack of net growth in the number of Latino journalists employed in the nation's newsrooms last year reported in the American Society of Newspaper Editors' annual newsroom census. The number of Latino journalists working at U.S. dailies increased by only 46, climbing from 2,212 in 2002 to 2,258 in 2003 -- an increase from 4.04 percent to 4.16 percent. "We are dismayed and perplexed by the continued lack of significant progress in the overall hiring of Latinos last year," said NAHJ President Juan Gonzalez. "Given all the attention newspaper chains are devoting to new publications geared to the Latino community, we expected a big increase in the numbers of Latinos now more than ever. What happened? "Furthermore, NAHJ's analysis of the newsroom census indicates that there was "virtual stagnation" for the nation's more than 1,400 daily English- language papers when it comes to increasing the numbers of Latinos, Gonzalez said. NAHJ is also concerned that for the second consecutive year, African American journalists have seen an even more woeful increase in their numbers -- only 19 new jobs in 2003 -- and that they were the only minority group to see a net decline in the number of newsroom supervisors, from 587 to 572."These numbers certainly should not serve to pit one racial or ethnic minority group against another," Gonzalez added. "There is not much here for any of our minority journalists groups to be very happy about. That's why we will continue to work together to jointly face a media industry that resists change when it comes to diversifying its newsrooms."

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