A Positive Black Image…Deputy Secretary Dennis F. Hightower - Dennis F. Hightower was appointed by President Obama as Deputy Secretary of Commerce and sworn into office on August 11, 2009. At the Department of Commerce, Hightower is charged with general management duties, including driving efficiency and effectiveness through the Department's twelve bureaus. Read More…

VILSACK ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY IN FIRING OF SHIRLEY SHERROD. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack responds to questions regarding his decison to terminate Shirley Sherrod. (Susan Carter and Ag Sec. Tom Vilsack). Listen-up click here

David H. Blackwell dies at 91; pioneering statistician at Howard and Berkeley…David H. Blackwell, 91, who rose from poverty in Southern Illinois to become one of the country's most prominent statisticians and the first African American to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences, died July 8 at a hospital in Berkeley, Calif., of complications from a stroke.

 BP is getting criticism from civil rights leaders about African Americans being left out of the highly profitable oil clean up process. According to a recent investigation by the NAACP, minority contractors are not being given an opportunity to make money by cleaning up the spill that has destroyed the livelihoods of so many black people in the gulf region...MORE CLICK HERE

Gene linked to high kidney disease rates in blacks: study…Researchers said Thursday they have identified gene variants that help explain high rates of renal disease among African-Americans, who have a four times greater risk of kidney problems than whites. More click here…

Interactive One, LLC, the digital connection for Black America and the digital division of Radio One, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROIAK and ROIA), the largest African American multimedia company, today announced that it has partnered with the Council of Urban Professionals ("CUP"), a nonprofit that advances the social, political and economic interests of minorities and women, to host the inaugural Digital Summit in New York City on July 21st…more click here

Lee Saunders Elected Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME; Among the Highest-Ranking African-American Officials in the Labor Movement…more click here

Susan Rice receives WNBA inspiration award...When searching for this year's Inspiration Award recipient, WNBA president Donna Orender hoped to find a world leader…She got one. The WNBA honored the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice.

Orender said she wanted someone who had a strong background in social and cultural issues - "She really was the perfect choice," she said. More on Ambassador Rice: http://archive.usun.state.gov/ambassadors/current/srice.html