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Maya Angelou
Barack Obama
Arlene Holt Baler
Rhea McCauley
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Business World Index
---200th anniversary of the abolition of the U.S. Transatlantic Slave Trade---
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Transatlantic slave trade by the United States, New York University will host Slave Routes: Resistance, Abolition and Creative Progress, an international symposium convened to examine slavery, the slave trade and its consequences from October 9 - October 11, 2008 in New York. Maya Angelou will host the opening plenary at Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m., which will feature Amiri Baraka, Mary Frances Berry, Howard Dodson, Manthia Diawara, Jayne Cortez, Ali Mazrui, Rex Nettleford and Michael Gomez. Slave Routes will showcase three days of panel discussions, literary readings, musical performances, film, and video screenings presented by distinguished scholars, writers, musicians, visual artists, and organizers from the U.S., Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and South America.
---Senator Obama on the September Jobs Report---
Senator Obama recently commented on the September Jobs Report: “...Americans woke up to the sad news that 159,000 jobs were lost last month alone, making September the ninth straight month of job loss. With three-quarters of a million jobs lost this year, and millions of families struggling to pay the bills and stay in their homes, this country can’t afford Senator McCain’s plan to give America four more years of the same policies that have devastated our middle-class and our economy for the last eight. Instead of Senator McCain’s plan to give tax breaks to CEOs and companies that ship jobs overseas, I will rebuild the middle-class and create millions of new jobs by investing in infrastructure and renewable energy that will reduce our dependence on oil from the Middle East. I also call on Congress to pass an immediate rescue plan for our middle-class that will provide tax relief, save one million jobs, and save our local communities from harmful budget cuts and painful tax increases.”
---"It's Time to Turn Around America: Be Sure Your Vote is Counted This Election"---
Here is an excerpt from the Executive Vice President of the ten million member American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, Arlene Holt Baker, who recently issued a statement on the following topic: ”It’s Time to Turn Around America: Be Sure Your Vote is Counted This Election”:…Forty-three years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, and 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, we're on the brink of an election that promises to be historic on a multitude of levels. Not only is there an African-American candidate as the nominee of a major political party, but millions of young people and people of color have been aroused and are registered for the first time. Fannie Lou Hamer's fearlessness paved the way, along with the work of countless other civil rights activists. Now we need to make sure the promise becomes a reality…. The AFL-CIO has been working with union activists and constituency groups, civil rights organizations, faith-based organizations, students, lawyers, and other community allies in neighborhoods to help ensure that everybody who wants to vote is able to. There are six simple steps you should take to make sure your ballot is counted on November 4." For the full article, go to UnityFirst.com.
---Senator Barack Obama endorsed by Rosa Parks family members---
The nieces of Rosa McCauley Parks – Rhea and Susan McCauley – have endorsed their candidate of choice -- Barack Obama. “Together, we will support all efforts to elect Barack Obama as the next President of the United States,” said Rhea McCauley. “We stand on the shoulders of our Aunt Rosa, who would be proud to support Barack Obama. In her time, Aunt Rosa took what became one of history’s most defining moments in the era of Civil Rights and created a movement for change. She would be proud that such a distinguished African American has also stepped forward to advance this nation through the country’s highest office.” Susan McCauley, added, “Aunt Rosa believed in doing the right thing, not just for African Americans, but for the country. To me, Barack Obama’s historic run for the White House is just what Aunt Rosa could have hoped to happen – that the content of ones character would provide leadership to the country and world. Together, we endorse Barack Obama, as the next President of the United States.” Rhea and Susan McCauley continue the legacy of their Aunt Rosa by inspiring children across the U.S to walk in the example of Rosa Parks. Rhea, an artist, has dedicated a portrait of Rosa, in honor of her aunt’s contributions to this great country. For more information, send an email to: jfondon@unityfirst.com.
---Newark Public Library acquisition of “Obama: Making Waves II”---
Obama: Making Waves II, created by the artist Nefertiti, was acquisitioned by the Newark Public Library, for their Fine Print Collection, last month. This eminent New Jersey institution commenced with the Fine Print Collection over a hundred years ago acquiring artworks of “Old Masters,” European, Japanese, as well as contemporary artists, such as Picasso and Andy Warhol. Nefertiti is delighted to have a second print of hers purchased for the Newark Public Library’s distinctive art collection. Obama: Making Waves II is a timely and significant work for their collection, especially with the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. Obama: Making Wave II is a hand painted giclée print, 19”x15,” which is available for purchase. You can view the Obama prints on the artist’s blog: http://nefertiti9.wordpress.com/ or contact the artist by email: nefer.nefertiti@verizon.net.
---Joint Center on Obama and McCain health care reform proposals---
On Eve (October 6) of the second Presidential Debate, The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (Joint Center) will hold a briefing and luncheon with Tennessee leaders from the public and private sectors to discuss the presidential nominees' health care reform proposals. This discussion will build off the Joint Center Health Policy Institute's cutting-edge report, Health Care Proposals of the 2008 Democratic and Republican Presidential Nominees and the implications for racial/ethnic minorities. On the eve of the second Presidential debate, the Joint Center and its partners will seize this unique opportunity both to raise questions and to highlight existing efforts that work to address health disparities. The event will be held at Meharry Medical College.
---Patterns of employment in the construction industry---
As Congress contemplates another economic stimulus bill focused on transportation construction, a new report shows that women and minorities are least likely to receive the benefit of those jobs. The report, "The Road to Good Jobs: Patterns of Employment in the Construction Industry," an expansion of last year's first-ever such study, also notes that building public transit and maintaining highways would create more - and greener - jobs than building highways. Researchers at the University of Missouri - St. Louis examined minority and female employment in 25 metro areas and found that white males dominate construction work, regardless of the racial and gender makeup of the local workforce as a whole. Overall, the authors calculate that 137,044 black workers are "missing" from the construction workforce in those large metropolitan areas. In other words, if blacks participated in construction at the same rate they participated in all industries, thousands more blacks would be employed in construction.
---In Ebony: Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah and Alicia Keys talk politics---
It’s undeniably a lethal combination. Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah and Alicia Keys are strong, stand firm in their beliefs, and together create a stellar cast in the soon-to-be released movie, The Secret Life of Bees. EBONY magazine recently caught up with these phenomenal women, along with London actress Sophie Okonedo, at the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss much more than just their careers. When it comes to this year’s historic election with Sen. Barack Obama as the first Black presidential Democratic nominee, they are all equally concerned about what impact it will have not only in America, but the message it will send worldwide. For them, the movie, which chronicles how Blacks fought to earn the right to vote in the mid 1960s, makes a unique connection unlike any other that they’ve felt in years past. “We were glued to the television, and running back and forth watching the debates,” recalls Latifah, while filming the movie starting last January. “Then we had to carry our butts to the set to shoot. We had to pull ourselves away from the television.” This feature runs in the November issue (on sale October 7, 2008) of Ebony magazine. |
