---African American legislators on America’s Future---
 State Representative Calvin Smyre (GA), President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), will lead hundreds of African American state legislators as they set forth to develop the organization’s 2010 national agenda at the 33rd Annual Legislative Conference(December 2-6, 2009). Smyre says, "The conference theme, Seeing Beyond: Sustainable Progress in the Economic Recovery, expresses our commitment as legislators to provide the leadership needed to assist President Barack Obama and his administration in moving our country forward by navigating our country and our states out of today’s recession. Our goal is to gain diverse perspectives, and ultimately, provide sound solutions to the President, his Administration, and congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, to bring about the change that our constituents have demanded.” The NBCSL is a membership association representing more than 600 African American state legislators from 42 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

Kent Thiry

Susan Smith Ellis

Cornelius Baker

Business World Index

---National Minority Bank Initiative and Industrial Bank of Washington, D.C.---DaVita, the nation's leading provider of dialysis services, was lauded by D.C. officials and members of the Anacostia community for a $1 million investment in Industrial Bank as part of an initiative aimed at investing in minority communities. Industrial Bank is now the oldest and largest African American-owned bank in the metropolitan Washington region and the sixth largest in the country. DaVita's investment in Washington, D.C. is part of the dialysis company's more than $5 million National Minority Bank Initiative, an effort to create jobs and aid community development in underserved communities across the country including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York City, and Columbia, S.C. "DaVita is committed to developing business and community partnerships that reflect our diverse base of patients and teammates," said Kent Thiry, DaVita CEO.

---Washington, D.C. leads the nation in kidney disease---
DaVita is also partnering with Industrial Bank to educate participants on the risk factors for kidney disease including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, encouraging anyone who may be at risk to get tested. Each year, more than 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with end stage renal disease (ESRD) - or kidney failure - and require dialysis or a kidney transplant in order to survive. Today, approximately 527,000 patients in the United States are living with kidney failure -- more than half of whom are minorities.  The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area leads the nation in the prevalence of kidney disease with more than 700,000 people affected, nearly 6,000 patients on dialysis, and more than 1,600 waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant. In fact, inside the 20019 zip-code, one of the Anacostia neighborhoods, the age-adjusted rate for new cases of kidney failure is 44 times the national average, according to the Chronic Kidney Disease Atlas.

---World AIDS Day, December 1---
 On December 1, World AIDS Day, Starbucks Coffee Company, Gap and Dell will make special increased contributions through RED-branded products where portions of the sale will go directly to the Global Fund to help generate funds for men, women and children affected by AIDS in Africa. Starbucks will contribute 5 cents (U.S.) for every handcrafted beverage purchased in participating U.S. and Canada stores on December 1; Gap will contribute 1% of all revenue generated in every store across the country on December 1; and Dell will be doubling their contributions for the full week of November 26 to December 2. "RED gives shoppers a way to give great holiday gifts and give back at the same time,” said Susan Smith Ellis, CEO, RED.  “Every purchase contributes to the fight against AIDS in Africa. To date, this has resulted in contributions of $140 million to the Global Fund and has supported programs that have reached more than 4 million people with testing, counseling and medication."

---Black AIDS Institute---
 The Black AIDS Institute welcomes its newly elected Executive Committee including Chairman A. Cornelius Baker, who has over two decades of experience in policy and government; 1st Vice President Cheryl Cooper, former Executive Director of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc.; 2nd Vice President Chris Cathcart, Executive Director One Diaspora Group; Treasurer Sid Porter, a CPA and retired controller for the City of Inglewood, Secretary Grazell Howard, an attorney; and Chair Emeritus Jesse Milan, Vice President and Director of Health Services for the Altarum Institute. "The Black AIDS Institute represents the best of our community's leadership to end the HIV epidemic," says Black AIDS Institute Board Chairman Cornelius Baker. Three new people were elected to the Board of Directors including Angela Bronner Helm, Senior Programming Manager  for AOL Black Voices Life and Style; Harry Simpson, Executive Director of CEO Point of Change, Inc.; and Eugene Cornelius, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations of the U.S. Small Business Administration.