---African American History on the Block---
On Saturday, October 25, 2003 Guernsey's, the renowned New York auction house, will offer at auction, an important part of African American history in the form of a sports collection with some 2,000+ items called: The African American Sports Tributary: A Schoolteacher's Dream. The schoolteacher who had the "dream" is Elizabeth Meaders, an active and well-known participant in the burgeoning field of African American history documentation and collecting. The chronology of her sports collection starts in the year 1776. The Meaders Collection includes memorabilia from all the predominate American sports fields. It also includes tributes to African American sports icons, as well as tributes to unheralded sports heroes. The collection features antique photos, letters, original artwork, trophies, awards and equipment. In an unprecedented move, Guernsey's auction house is offering The Meaders Sports Collection as a single lot in acknowledgement of the importance of keeping the integrity of the story that this collection documents intact. If interested in making a bid on this wonderful collection, contact Guernsey's at (212) 794-2280 or send a note to Ms. Meaders via UnityFirst.com (editors@unityfirst.com).

---U.S. Muslims increase political activity since 9/11---According to results of a poll released by a national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, roughly half of American Muslims surveyed say they have increased their social (58 percent), political (45 percent), interfaith (52 percent) and public relations activities (59 percent) since the 9/11 terror attacks. Almost three-fourths (70 percent) of Muslim respondents said they feel free to practice their faith without restrictions and almost all (86 percent) said they had experienced an act of kindness from people of other faiths. Those figures are balanced by the high number of respondents (88 percent) who said they knew of at least one person who suffered anti-Muslim bias or discrimination in the past year. Fifty-six percent said they themselves had experienced discrimination. When asked to name the political party that best represents the interests of the American Muslim community, more respondents named the Democratic Party (27 percent) and Green party (25 percent) than the Republican Party (3 percent). A large number (44 percent) said none of the parties represented their interests. When asked to name the media outlet worthy of praise for coverage of Islam and Muslims, PBS topped the list. Fox News was viewed by respondents as the media outlet exhibiting the most biased coverage.

---Verizon expands availability of Spanish phone bills to 15 more states---Building on its success in New York, Verizon has begun offering customers in 15 more states the free option of receiving their monthly local and long-distance phone bill in Spanish. The company has already informed nearly half a million Spanish-speaking customers in the Great Lakes, Southern and Western regions. These customers had previously told Verizon that Spanish is their preferred language when the company communicates with them, and they will automatically receive their next bills in Spanish unless they notify the company that they want to continue receiving their bills in English. Other customers in the initial rollout area can choose the option by contacting their regional Verizon business office via the toll-free number on their phone bill. Customers in the following states can now receive their monthly phone bills in Spanish: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and Washington. By next April, Verizon will make the Spanish phone bill option available throughout all 29 states the company serves, as well as in Washington, D.C.

---Harold Washington: The Man and the Movement---It has been twenty years since one of the cardinal moments in Chicago's political and social history -- the election of the city's first Black mayor, Harold Washington. The Chicago Historical Society (CHS) now presents an exhibition that reminds us who Harold Washington was, looks at the forces that carried him to office and examines the legacy he left in Harold Washington: The Man and the Movement, on view October 4, 2003, through May 31, 2004, at CHS, Clark Street at North Avenue. This exhibition is presented by Bank One. "This wasn't only a movement of African Americans, but of Hispanics, Asians, and the liberal white community, all of whom rallied around Washington in the hopes of breaking the regular Democratic machine politics," said Peter Alter, CHS curator. "He appealed to a wide range of disaffected and under-represented citizens, and the items in the exhibition reflect this."

---Spanish Broadcasting---
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive asset sale agreement to sell its two San Antonio, Texas, radio stations to Border Media Partners, a Hispanic-owned company, for $24 million in cash. Tom Gammon of Americom acted as media broker for Spanish Broadcasting in this transaction. The sale is subject to FCC approval. Raul Alarcon, Chairman, President and CEO of Spanish Broadcasting, commented, "This is a win-win transaction that will help us fund our growth in Los Angeles, the nation's largest Hispanic market. I am pleased that we were able to provide a growing Hispanic-owned company the opportunity to serve San Antonio's Hispanic radio audience." Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is the largest Hispanic-controlled radio broadcasting company in the United States. SBS currently owns and/or operates 27 stations in seven of the top-ten U.S. Hispanic markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, San Antonio, and Puerto Rico.

---First Arab American National Museum---
The Michigan-based Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) takes the official step to the realization of the Arab American National Museum. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the Dearborn City Hall (13615 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126) in the Council Chambers on September 29, 2003 at 2 p.m. While almost every national ethnic minority has built more than one national museum to showcase its cultural heritage and contributions, like Asian, Latin, Native, African, and Jewish Americans, there is not a single national or local museum that documents the cultural heritage and contributions of the Arab world and Arab Americans. ACCESS is proud to be behind this historical $12.8 million project and have the generous support of our government, business and corporate communities, as well as many dedicated individuals. The Arab American National Museum is dedicated to showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the Arab American community and the contributions it has made, and continues to make to the United States, along with contributions to civilization emanating from the Arab world.

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