---NAACP calls for American solidarity---
NAACP President Kweisi Mfume announced that in the face of attacks from terrorists such as those who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, all Americans should stand together against terrorism: "This is a time for all Americans to stand united and defend the ideals of a free and open society where terrorism has no place."

---New York's Apollo Theater leads community relief efforts---
The legendary Amateur Night at the Apollo returns on Wednesday, September 26 after an historic two-week cancellation of theatrical institution following the September 11 World Trade Center catastrophe. For the first time in its 60 year history, the curtain came down on the world famous Apollo Amateur Night. Until this past week, the show had never been disrupted since its 1934 inception, except when the theater was closed between 1975-1982. David Rodriquez, Executive Director of the Apollo Theater Foundation, said, "Due to the gravity of events on both a local and on a national level, we felt it was appropriate to disrupt this historic Apollo tradition, as a symbol of the community's respect and mourning for the victims of the heartless terrorist action perpetrated against our nation this past week." With the lifting of the curtain on September 26, the Apollo has committed itself to being a major community resource. Starting with the relaunch of Amateur Night on September 26, and until further notice, the Apollo Theater will donate 50% of its Amateur Night box office proceeds to the Red Cross Relief Fund for the World Trade Center disaster. The theater will serve as a drop off center for cash donations from the greater Harlem community as well as from visitors to the historic Apollo.

---The Radio One Relief Fund---
Radio One, Inc. announced that the company, along with its executives and employees, are donating $100,000 to aid the victims, their families and survivors and to help the relief efforts associated with the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. Since the attacks, Radio One's radio stations have been involved with blood drives throughout the country, but this donation will provide much needed financial resources to those affected by these acts of terrorism.

---St. Kitts and Nevis Hotel Association offers complimentary hotel stays---Members of the St. Kitts and Nevis Hotel Association and the St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism teamed up to offer complimentary hotel stays to all firefighters, police officers and EMS workers involved in the rescue efforts following Tuesday's tragic events in New York and Washington, D.C. "This is just our small way of saying thanks to our neighbor for their assistance in the past," said Mr Fred Lam, owner of the Fairview Inn, who spearheaded this effort. "We are a small national of limited resources, but maybe this measure can be our means of showing the USA that our sympathies lie with them." Rescue workers are to contact the St. Kitts Tourism Authority at 1-800-582-6208 or by email at info@stkittstourism.kn to redeem this trip, which will be valid until December 2002.

---Joint Center Creates South African Advisory Board---
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies announced the creation of the first advisory board to guide the operations of its office in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 22-member South African Advisory Board includes leaders and other professionals from the political, financial, media, and academic sectors and will be chaired by Moeletsi Mbeki, the brother of South African President Thabo Mbeki. The Washington-based Joint Center established an office in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1993 to provide technical assistance prior to the historic 1994 elections and continues to work on governance, capacity-building and research projects in Southern Africa. This program is operated under its Office of International Affairs which is headed by Dr. Carole Henderson Tyson. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a non-partisan, non-profit organization, conducts research and analyses on public policy issues of concern to African Americans and other underserved populations, promotes their involvement in the governance process, and operates programs that create coalitions within the minority, business, and other diverse communities. For more information, visit www.jointcenter.org.

---Women of Color Technology Awards Conference--
Some of the nation's most powerful business and technology leaders will meet in Atlanta this October to address the gender and ethnicity gap that limits women and minorities to only 7 percent of the nation's most senior executives. The nation's only multicultural technology awards conference, the Women of Color Technology Awards Conference, will kick off its sixth year on October 11, 2001, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in downtown Atlanta, Ga. This year's Technologist of the Year is Sherita T. Ceasar, vice president of Subscriber Services for Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., in Atlanta, Ga. As a young person pursuing a math and science career, Sherita Ceasar had to beat the odds. Ceasar, who is African American, grew up in Chicago during the 1970s, in housing projects where drugs, fights, gunshots, and gangs were commonplace. But the people of Ceasar's community knew that she was smart and supported her resolve to make it out of the neighborhood.

---Black Broadcasters Alliance: Resurrecting Minority Ownership?---The Black Broadcasters Alliance (BBA) will host its 2nd Annual Fall Media Conference, "Resurrecting Minority Ownership - ?," on Tuesday, September 25, 2001, from 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., at the Washington Monarch Hotel, 2401 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20037. The BBA Fall Media Conference is free, open to the public. This media conference will host a high powered panel discussion, have a luncheon keynote address by The Honorable Bill Campbell, Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, and a salute to The Honorable Congressman John Lewis who will receive the prestigious BBA "Golden Mike Award." Lunch will be provided by and courtesy of the Black Broadcasters Alliance. The BBA is a national trade association founded in 1997 to represent the interests of both employees and owners in broadcast communications, which includes television, radio and cable. The organization is primarily comprised of owners and professionals who want to see equality and real opportunity for African Americans employed in the broadcasting industry and/or who are in pursuit of ownership. Its mission is to better educate and assist those who seek career opportunities in the industry in areas such as ownership, management, engineering and sales.

---Columbus NAACP Announces 2001 Freedom Fund Gala---
The Columbus NAACP announced their annual Freedom Fund Gala honoring community leadership and celebrating more than 86 years of commitment to civil rights and justice. The gala will be held October 6 at Columbus' Hyatt Regency Hotel. The theme is "Going the Distance Through the 21st Century ... Together We Can Get There." "The gala allows this organization to reflect on the significance of our purpose and acknowledge the accomplishments and dedication of volunteers that have served along the way," said Fred Parker, president of Columbus NAACP. "This is also a time for recommitting the fundamental principles of the NAACP, while encouraging many of us to seize the mantel of leadership so that we can all stay the course," Parker added. For additional information, please call the NAACP office at 614-464-1108.

---Say it Loud---
"Say It Loud: Black Music In America" recounts the evolution of urban music's most powerful and trend-setting genres through firsthand accounts of those who experienced and created the history, including James Brown, Queen Latifah, T-Boz, Smokey Robinson, and George Clinton. Covering jazz, blues, gospel, and hip hop through modern R&B and Soul, the five-part documentary series premieres October 8 on VH1. Additionally, a full spectrum of releases celebrates this unprecedented vehicle for Black music's greatest living artists to give testimony to their roots, dreams, struggles and accomplishments. September 18 marks the release of "Say It Loud! A History of Black Music In America," Rhino's six-CD boxed set, spanning eight decades on 110 tracks. More than 70 artists provide an oral history in this first-ever documentary series to examine the roots of Black music, which has come to influence every aspect of popular culture in America and around the world.

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