Educator and author John T. Barber profiles twenty- six African Americans who have made significant contributions to the advancement of technology over the past four decades. From inventors to CEOs, educators to policy- makers, the compilation of perhaps unfamiliar names and faces adds richness to the history of technological innovation. Beyond the biography, each profile includes an insightful discussion about the digital divide, its persistence and how African Americans can create new paradigms for themselves in order to bridge the gap. -BOOK ReMARKS 2006 AMAG: I understand that one of the reasons you wrote this book was to show that not only are Blacks involved in the digital age but also in essence helped to create it. When did you recognize that? John T. Barber: Back in the day, probably in the eighties, Bell Laboratories put out a small pamphlet that highlighted a few of the Blacks who were working there on key projects. Over the years I misplaced that booklet but I never forgot about it. I realized then that major corporations utilize the skills and genius of brilliant Black people but we never hear about it because corporations seldom talk about the achievements of individuals who create their products. By the nineties I was teaching new technology classes at a major HBCU. I began to bring this to the attention of my students and classes. Blacks in laboratories, in corporations, in educational institutions, in community organizations were making the information age happen because they were not only creating the technology they were also making sure that the technology reached everyone in the nation and the world. So from one end of the spectrum to the other they were active contributors. Over the past ten years I began to recognize that Blacks were playing key roles in the development of the information age in many ways. I believe this is phenomenal. Just a few decades ago, Blacks were being barred from practically everything in this country. Now they are leading in one of the most significant epochs in the history of the world. I think that's significant. It's certainly a story that merits some attention. This is a story that plays out in many arenas, not just IT. I can't say enough about African American achievements in the past 40-50 years. But this is not what's played up in the media. We have to tell our own story in our own way. And that's what I tried to do with this book. When one thinks of policy makers or lawmakers, we do not automatically think of digital information, how do they contribute? This is a very profound issue. After all there is a formidable regulatory machine built up around communications and Information Technology. This system includes the President and his cabinet, both houses of congress and a few agencies like the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. During the height of the Information Revolution, Blacks were playing major roles in all parts of this political arena. Technology was on the front burner in the political arena during the Clinton administration. Al Gore was on the forefront of the creating an Information Infrastructure at the national and global levels. There was a political push for everyone and everything to be connected to the Internet. Politicians have the power to make this happen. Politics has the power to create programs that put technology into the hands of those who might not have it otherwise. Among other things, this is what the Black political leaders like Ron Brown, Jesse Jackson, William Kennard and others were working on for the past couple of decades. When you set out to write this book, who was your intended target and is that the target that have readily bought and utilized the book? When I set out to write this book my intended audience was Black people. The people who have readily bought and utilized the book are librarians and particularly librarians at major college and university libraries across the nation. This puts the book in the hands of white students and researchers and professors. My publisher targets libraries and research institutions. And this has been going pretty well. I don't mind having a mixed audience, but I still intended this book for Black people. I look at the task of getting the book into the hands of Black people as a personal responsibility. I appreciate AMAG's help in getting the word out to "the family." I have been getting out into the community to push it out to Black folks. I will start a campaign soon to get it into more public libraries and HBCU libraries where Black folks can get their hands on it. I think it will be especially useful for young people who are for looking for Black achievers in something besides sports and entertainment. Given your profession, is Information Technology a widely sought after field for African Americans? For African Americans, Information Technology is a complex issue. One of the main reasons I wrote the book was to take a different look at the idea that Blacks are falling behind in the new era and are somehow technologically dysfunctional. Information Technology and all that goes with it is a viable area for Blacks. Programs are underway all over the country to get young African Americans more involved in math, science and engineering and other disciplines that feed into IT. In the mean time Whites and others in the IT industry have found out that are not enough talented people to fill all of the IT jobs that are out there. This is an opportunity for African American's, but we have to prepare our young people to pursue this area as it continues to emerge in the future. We not only have to prepare them to deal with the science and technology, we also have to prepare them to deal with the politics. Many African Americans prepare for technical careers each year but face employment discrimination in IT as they do in other fields. We need more political leaders who will devote some attention to these disparities. The opportunities are going to be there but we have to do a lot of preparation in many different areas. So what else is new? I think we can handle it. What is the future of the Black Digital Elite and Information Technologies in the African American Community? I'm very optimistic about all of this. Many people have said to me that this area is for "whites only." It's just not true. Just like the Blacks who are in the book, I can see a future in which we have a whole new generation of African Americans who will become leaders in the IT arena. What I have tried to show in the book is that it's not just about computers, but it's a about business, communications, politics, education and more. Over the coming years, I look forward to seeing more Blacks involved than ever before. The future for African Americans who are able to lead in this area is very bright. Hopefully this will include African people on the continent and in the Diaspora. The nature of IT is such that there could be an emerging Black Digital Elite on a global scale. My hope is that these future leaders will use this technology to solve the problems of the Black community throughout the world. Going forward we have to define who we are and what we can do. It's time for the white supremacy myth to be put to rest. Black people have got to step up and do what they got to do. We can start by checking out how the people in this book did it.

Xpress Yourself Publishing, LLC congratulates esteemed author, Bill Holmes, for ranking #4 on the ESSENCE Best Seller's List for his 2007 Alternative Soul award winning novel, One Love! The XYP family is proud of Bill and stand behind him in all of his future successes and endeavors!

It goes without saying: I disagree with Don Imus' sad generalization of a group of women that have contributed to the fabric of American culture. His comments labeling the members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed 'hos" insult the very essence of Black women, myself included, who strive to set themselves apart academically, professionally, athletically, and socially. The comments are, as the Rutgers players charged, "insensitive and hurtful." Yet I'm going to step beyond my personal outrage and, even further, beyond Imus' all-too-apparent ignorance to look at these comments from a larger perspective. The very core of Imus' job as a shock-jock requires him to say things that get under people's skin and push the envelope of traditional media. His comments are no different than those of some of the more celebrated media personalities, such as Howard Stern. Yet, the veils that these people wear offer us little insight into the people they really are. It's hard to tell how much of their commentary is for job purposes and how much of it truly reflects who they are. Therefore, I'll be the first to say that Imus' racist comment, standing alone, does not necessarily make him a fire-breathing racist. It's more his history of making comments against races, religions, and women that have led him to such scrutiny. I agree that Imus' comments were in extremely bad taste. They were an unfair judgment on a group of women who had otherwise had an impeccable sports season, bringing their team to the NCAA championship game after a 17-year absence. But, unlike many others, I do not call for Imus to be fired, shot by a firing squad, or stoned, all of which suggestions I've heard. Our democracy thrives on the power of free press and free speech. And this is also inclusive of speech with which we may not necessarily agree. This is the part of practicing law that goes uncelebrated. We often cheer and applaud when someone in our own likeness champions a cause. But it is the inclusion of rights for people who speak against our interest that truly embodies "equal protection under the law." If we are not happy with a person's right to their expression, there are many more ways that we can express our dissatisfaction. Boycotts and letter-writing campaigns - which have been employed in the wake of this spectacle - are some possible alternatives. Just as we choose not to listen when extremist groups buy airtime to relay their views, we also have an option here to take the simplest remedy of all: Don't listen. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and we also have the option of participating. After all, these comments came from a television personality, not an elected leader, religious figure, or community activist. His job is to entertain, and if you find yourself not laughing, move on! The networks that pay him will get the hint, and they can decide whether they want him as a representation of their network. But Don Imus' comment also brings to light a larger issue that is waiting to be tackled by the Black community. While Imus' comments were hugely disappointing, they are no more disparaging than some of the latest rap lyrics in mainstream rotation or the latest entry thereof. In short, it amazes me that our communities' self-appointed spokesperson, Al Sharpton, can jump into the spotlight to chastise Imus when people in his own community are disrespecting Black women on a daily basis-and making money and fans as they do so! This incident transports me back six years to a Jennifer Lopez remix in which she used the N-word to cement her role in being "down" with minority audiences. This incident also drew the ire of Black leaders, who immediately called for her apology but failed to go against the leagues of other performers who, in the same context, used the word freely. This draws into focus the key to resolving these incendiary issues. There is a double standard that makes people of other groups feel it is OK to use these terms. But they're not getting these ideas out of the blue; they come directly from the source. We cannot expect respect from larger groups of others when it is not a mainstay within our own inner circles. As long as we continue to use these terms loosely in our community, we cannot be surprised when we hear them thrown back at us. Therefore, my proposed resolution is simple: Don't call anyone by a name that you wouldn't want bounced back at you. It sounds simple, I know. Perhaps too simple. But sometimes the easiest resolution to a problem is right in front of us-it starts at home.

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Dear AMAG Readers, We are so excited and delight to feature our new column ASK COACH CLEOPATRA Bell. We invited Cleopatra Bell, Artistic/Life Coach to engage your questions about love, life, money, career and more. If you have a question, email Cleopatra at archangelcleo@yahoo.com, put in the heading ASK COACH CLEOPATRA Bell. If you would like to know more about Cleopatra click on link below. . If you would like to learn more about coaching, go to www.coachu.com or www.blackcoaches.org. P.S. Remember, this is only just an opinion of Cleopatra Bell and may not represent the views of AMAG, We do sincerely wish the best in creating a life you love to live. CLEOPATRA Bell, Distinguished Toastmaster, Artistic Coach, Keynote Speaker, Workshop Leader, and Author of Be A Thriving Artist, Not A Starving Artist -- future release--

Let's Talk About It (LTAI) is a free community-based program developed by the American Cancer Society and 100 Black Men of America to increase awareness and knowledge of prostate cancer among African- American men. For more information about prostate cancer, or to find out how to hold a Let's Talk About It event in your community, contact your local American Cancer Society or call us toll-free at 1-800-ACS-2345.

Origins On June 19, 1865, the Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Tex., to inform inhabitants of the Civil War's end two months earlier. Two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Granger's General Order Number 3 finally freed the last 250,000 slaves whose bondage, due to the minimal Union presence in the region, had been essentially unaffected by Lincoln's efforts. June 19th-which was quickly shortened to "Juneteenth" among celebrants-has become the African-American addendum to our national Independence Day, for, as Juneteenth jubilees remind us, the Emancipation Proclamation did not bring about emancipation, and the prevailing portrayal of Independence Day ignores the ignominious incidence of slavery entirely. Evolution Observance of Juneteenth has traditionally tended towards church-centered celebrations featuring food, fun, and a focus on self-improvement and education by guest speakers. Although initially associated with Texas and other Southern states, the Civil Rights Era and the Poor People's March to Washington in 1968, in particular, helped spread the tradition all across America-to the extent that Milwaukee and Minneapolis now host two of the largest Juneteenth celebrations in the nation. Juneteenth Today The state of Texas made Juneteenth an official holiday on Jan. 1, 1980, and became the first to grant it government recognition. Several states have since issued proclamations recognizing the holiday, but the Lone Star State remains alone in granting it full state holiday status, a day when government employees have the day off. Nonetheless, supporters and celebrants of Juneteenth continue to grow in number and in diversity; today, Juneteenth is promoted not only as a commemoration of African-American freedom, but as an example and encouragement of self-development and respect for all cultures.

AMAG/Awareness Magazine is a six year old publication (soley online since 2006) whose mission is to inspire, empower, entertain and educated the African American Community in areas of business, community involvement and accountability. Our tagline For The Conscious Professional is meant to make us aware of the conditions of our communities and act to correct. In our six year of existence we have interviewed many authors /celebrities (Judge Greg Mathis, Danny Simmons, Omar Tyree, Gerry Eastman, Dr. Lorenzo Pace, Heather Covington, Hill Harper, Zane, J. Anthony Brown, Dr. Joyce Ladner, Donald Bogle, Harlem Book Fair Founder Max Rodriguez to name a few) but the core goal is to establish and promote the work they are doing within our communities.