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The article focuses on the relevance of being knowledgeable about breast cancer as a preventive measure in the U.S. Sandra Ferguson, a breast cancer survivor, cites that the use of sound medical support and information on saving lives are some of the methods that made her overcome her disease. She further suggests that women age 40 must undergo mammogram because of its health benefit. Moreover, mothers with breast cancer must have their daughters tested for early detection of the disease.

The article focuses on musician Rueben M. Koroma and his music band, Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars (SLRAS). Koroma had reportedly fled Sierra Leone in 1997 after it was ravaged by the civil war and came to a refugee camp in nearby Guinea in 1998. It cites Koroma's telephonic interview from Africa. It discusses circumstances that led to the formation of SLRAS with 12 members. It talks about band's several tours and albums. The band's latest tour aims at promoting their music in the U.S.

The article focuses on scholar Kewulay Kaimara, who was sent away from his family village of Dankawali to study at a Roman Catholic boarding school in another town. In 1997, he and other Africans of the Diaspora officially created a non-profit organization in New York City called Badenya Inc., dedicated to community building through the mobilization of Africa's expressive cultural resources to inform, educate and service. With Badenya as a supportive ideal, Kaimara said he continuously works to keep the aid flowing to Dankawali, which, like other villages in the region, was destroyed during the war.

This article reports that celebrated Guyanese-born reggae singer Ricky Husbands, a long-time resident of Brazil, is currently in the United States promoting his new soul/reggae/ballads album titled "Steppingstone" and traveling with the Annual Legends of Rasta Reggae Festival Tour starting this month in Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and on to stops in California and Las Vegas. Husbands toured in the United States last year as well, promoting his third CD, "Oneness and Justice," and greeting fans in New York and Canada. In between singing on the road, he's been recording a CD of soul at the recording studio of Owen Flynn of Connecticut.

Humanitarian Claire Effiong has made several trips to Rwanda where she has organized an African staff, joined forces with the government in the capital of Kigali, and solicited for global assistance, as of January 8, 2004, to help orphans of those who were killed in social riots of 1994. Mama Claire, as the kids call her, has assisted in providing temporary shelters and education to homeless street children, children living in garbage dumps and in the bush, and children living in hovels raising other children. In the U.S., she has worked to get the word out about Rwanda with her volunteers, and has received donations of food, medical supplies and clothes that she has shipped back to the needy masses in the landlocked African nation of Rwanda.

As high-fashion model Kenya Heyliger grew up in Brooklyn, New York City, she knew that she definitely wanted to be a model and actor one day. So with cool confidence she asked her parents to send her to a modeling school. They agreed by sending her to the New York Barbizon School for Modeling in New York. During the mid-1990s as a computer science major at Howard University in Washington D.C., she acted in a variety of theatrical productions and modeled back and forth between New York and Washington D.C. On a return to her hometown of New York, a designer who knew her from Howard stage-plays hired her as spokes-model for his private production company. Around then she had acquired modeling agent Hillary Beckford, mother of male supermodel Tyson Beckford, to represent her.

The Afro-Brazilian group Ologunde was formed last year to introduce the world to the traditional Afro-Brazilian dances and culture like maculele, samba, candomble and capoeira. Ologunde is currently part of the Africa in the Americas series running October 25-December 6 at New York's Symphony Space theater. The 14-member ensemble consists of a featured singer, other vocalists, percussionists, dancers and capoeristas. The recent cast includes star singer Erminia Apolonario of Vitoria, Brazil, who lives in New York.

Reports the relocation of the New York African Burial Ground Project, Office of Public Education and Interpretation in New York City. Destruction of the office during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; Transfer of the office to Varick Street; Collaboration of the office with the General Services Administration.

Reports the enjoyment of children swimming at city pools in New York City. Free swimming sessions offered at Marcus Garvey Park; Existence of the free aquatics program of the Department of Parks and Recreation; Anticipation of Citywide Aquatics Program director John Hutchins on the turnout of the program.

This article focuses on a health forum for African immigrants and other "minorities of color," titled African Women/Children & HIV Health Summit. The U.S. immigrant population is steadily on the rise and is estimated to be about one third of the United States's overall population by the year 2005. The U.S. Census 2000, researched by scholar Jill Wilson of the Migration Policy Institute, reveals that New York City now has the largest African population in the country and is still growing. The summit emphasized on the disproportionate percentage of African American women and children afflicted with the deadly virus and disease worldwide. The highly informative but sobering health summit ended on an upbeat note.

In a rousing reception, uptown officials and community representatives joyously welcomed the Hon. Benedita da Silva of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Harlem. Da Silva has the distinction of being the first Black woman in Brazilian history to serve as the governor of Rio de Janeiro. The Coalition of 100 Black Women joined Brazilian nationals from across the city who congregated at Sylvia's to pay homage to the once powerful legislator. Da Silva has a long history of fighting for the rights of Blacks and other minorities in her native country.

Highlights the 2000 Kente Cloth Festival held at the Minisink Townhouse in Harlem, New York City. Backdrop of Ghanaean pageantry; Sponsorship by Kente Cloth Festival Inc.; Educational tribute to the uniquely woven textile; Showcasing of the origins of Kente cloth in Bonwire, Ghana; Entertainment provided to festival participants via a fashion show; Keynote speech by radio broadcaster Imhotep Gary Byrd.

Reports on the recognition of South African singer Miriam Makeba at a gala reception hosted by the United Nations in New York City. Role in fighting apartheid in South Africa; Guests at the event.

Reports on activities relating to the African Burial Ground in Manhattan, New York City. Preservation of the gravesite's historical and cultural significance; Hiring of Black consultants to create venues that honor the lives of people found in the burial pits; Design of the Interpretive Center, a resource to he located inside the World Trade Center.