December 14th Washington Post Article Proves Alarming Disparity in Employment Between Black Americans and White Americans

Robert L. Johnson, chairman of The RLJ Companies and founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) today calls on President Barack Obama to renew his commitment in addressing the employment gap between African Americans and White Americans, by encouraging U.S. corporations to adopt the RLJ Rule to address the overwhelming gap in unemployment.

The United States Playing Card Company (USPC), the makers of Bicycle® Playing Cards, is proud to announce the launch of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Playing Card Deck.  Bicycle® Playing Cards has partnered with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum by donating $0.15 per deck sold.

While the United States lags behind countries like China, Germany, and Japan in graduating students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) curricula, Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is bucking the trend – enrolling and graduating more underrepresented African-Americans than any United States college or university.

Generation Opportunity a national, non-partisan organization advocating for Millennials ages 18-29, is announcing its Millennial Jobs Report forNovember 2012. The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29 year olds:

Nearly every major indicator of economic, social, and physical well-being shows that black men and boys in the U.S. do not have access to the structural supports and opportunities needed to thrive. It is within this context that the Foundation Center and the Open Society Foundations jointly release a new report of groundbreaking research entitled Where Do We Go From Here? Philanthropic Support for Black Men and Boys.

"It is my hope that this report will motivate other philanthropists and foundations to invest in efforts to improve achievement by African American boys and men," saidGeorge Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations. "This is a generational problem that demands a long-term commitment."

Several North Carolina women – including author and poet Dr. Maya Angelou – were honored for their work to improve the lives and health of women and girls around the world at a benefit for the new Maya Angelou Center for Women's Health & Wellness at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Dr. Angelou received The Lifetime Achievement Award during "An Evening Celebration of Women" for her encouragement of women to be their own advocates and for her partnership with Forsyth in establishing the Center for Women's Health & Wellness, which opened in July.

Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker and civil rights activist.

Also honored: