---Class action lawsuit against Cargill--
Twenty-five current and former African-American employees at Cargill, Inc. filed a sweeping, company-wide race discrimination class action case against the food distribution giant on behalf of potentially more than a thousand African-American salaried employees who have worked at Cargill at any time over at least the last six years.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Minneapolis near Cargill's secluded Wayzata headquarters, alleges that the problem starts at the very top level of Cargill's executive ranks. Former CEO Whitney MacMillan is quoted in the complaint as stating that the purpose of Cargill's recruitment, promotion and mentoring systems is to "find and advance people who look and talk like me." The result is devastating to African Americans at the company. Cargill has only one African-American among its top 150 executives, and astonishingly low percentages at all management levels. It systematically compensates African-American employees at far lower rates than white peers, according to the complaint. Schaefer estimates that the damages to the class could be well over $50 million. Cargill, one of the world's largest privately held companies employing approximately 90,000 employees in 57 countries, is an international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food, financial and industrial products and services, and is referred to as the "quiet giant" in these industries. Cargill is a supplier to many of the world's largest food and beverage companies, including Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeye's, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Hershey, Anhueser-Busch, Heinekin, and Miller Brewing Company.

---Education today---
A groundbreaking new report released by the Manhattan Institute and the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAER) shows that more than a quarter of all American public school students from the class of 1998 failed to graduate from high school. Even more troubling, the report shows that almost half of all African-American and Latino students drop out, compared with smaller percentages of white students in communities across the country. The report is authored by Dr. Jay P. Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. "The results of this study are merely another indication of the disastrous consequences of trapping low income families, mostly of color, in educational systems in which they have no meaningful options," said Kaleem Caire, president and CEO of the Black Alliance for Educational Options. The study specifically found that:
-- The national graduation rate in 1998 was 74 percent. The graduation rate was 78 percent for white students, 56 percent for African-American students and 54 percent for Latino students.
-- Less than 50 percent of African-American students graduated in seven states and less than 50 percent of Latino students graduated in eight states, out of 38 states for which there were sufficient data.
A copy of "High School Graduation Rates in the United States" is available on the Manhattan Institute Web site at www.manhattan-institute.org.
The Black Alliance for Educational Options (www.baeo.org) is a national, nonpartisan member organization whose mission is to actively support parental choice to empower families and increase educational options for black children.

---African-Americans and radio----
Since l996 African-Americans in 85 metropolitan markets have made impressive economic gains while remaining the most loyal radio audience in the US, according to data released by The Media Audit. The number of African-American households with annual incomes exceeding $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 increased dramatically. Impressive gains were also made in the numbers of those with liquid assets of $100,000 or $250,000. Although some of their media habits are changing their loyalty, the Urban radio music format remains the strongest in the nation. More than 53 percent of African-Americans rated Urban as their "most listened" to radio format. The Media Audit is a syndicated survey covering 85 markets.

---ACORN Releases Report on Predatory Lending---
ACORN and ACORN Housing Corporation have released a study documenting the concentration of subprime lending to minority and low-income borrowers. The report analyzes national data and that for 60 metropolitan areas, and it looks at both purchase and refinance loans. In 2000, 49.9 percent of all conventional refinance loans received by African-American homeowners were from subprime lenders, as were 26.2 percent of the refinance loans received by Latino homeowners, compared to 18.0 percent of the refinance loans received by white homeowners. African-Americans were 2.8 times more likely than white borrowers to receive a subprime loan, and Latinos were 1.5 times more likely to do so. Lower income homeowners of all races receive a disproportionate share of subprime loans. Subprime loans carry higher rates and fees, and in many cases involve abusive features that have come to be known as predatory lending. While not all subprime loans are predatory, all predatory loans are subprime. The new report, titled "Separate and Unequal," is available at http://www.acorn.org.

---Jacob Lawrence-
The works of artist Jacob Lawrence will be on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City through February 3, 2002. The show features paintings that were created over a period of 60 years. Lawrence, one of the most celebrated African American artists, died last year at the age of 82.

---United Negro College Fund and Destiny's Child---
United Negro College Fund (UNCF) supporters, ranging from music stars Destiny's Child and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to UNCF alumni Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton and Brown University President Dr. Ruth Simmons, will appear on An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence, the annual television fund-raising event airing on nearly 70 top stations nationwide Saturday, January 5, 2002* (check local listings for station, date and times). Yolanda Adams, Debbie Allen, Bishop T.D. Jakes and Lou Rawls will co-host this year's fund-raiser. The diversity on UNCF campuses, which are populated by African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, White and international students, will be reflected on An Evening of Stars with two salutes. There will be special segments on students Zinnia Jimenez, a senior at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, who is president of the campus Mexican-American student association and Kenyan twins John and Joseph Ondinyo, seniors who are attending Wiley College in Marshall, Texas on full basketball scholarships. The United Negro College Fund is the nation's oldest African American higher education assistance organization.

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