Basketball legend, Mr. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, recently announced that he has been diagnosed with leukemia in order to fight public misconceptions about the disease. Excerpt: "Abdul-Jabbar learned last December that he has chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow in which the body produces cancerous white blood cells. Chronic describes a relatively slow-growing cancer that may take years to progress. Myeloid refers to the type of white blood cell being overproduced. “It’... Read Full Story

Mr. AC Wharton was recently elected to be the new Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Excerpt: "After winning two back-to-back terms for Shelby County Mayor, A C Wharton will move across the street to Memphis City Hall in a few weeks. On Thursday, October 15th, 2009, Wharton handily defeated the competition. With 60-percent of the vote, he earned more votes than all the other 24 candidates combined." Read Full Story

Mr. Seth Williams was recently elected to be the new District Attorney of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Excerpt: "Williams talks tough on the campaign trail about getting guns off the streets, improving witness protection, fighting municipal corruption, and needing a "chief performance officer" to identify strengths and weaknesses in the district attorney's separate units. But he said he also wants to improve relations with residents alienated by the justice system, who view it as biased, inef... Read Full Story

Mark Obama Ndesandjo recently published his first book. Excerpt: "The mixed-race son of a brilliant but troubled Kenyan academic and a white American woman writes an emotionally moving book about his search for identity and self. This is not the familiar story of President Obama. It is the tale of his little-known, publicity-shy younger brother, Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo, who has lived in the Southern Chinese city of Shenzhen for seven years and has just produced his autobiographical novel... Read Full Story

Mr. Xavier Oliver is a 9-year old who provides inspiration for the Lincoln Football Team. Excerpt: "It's probably hard for some to comprehend how Xavier Oliver is able to smile. The 9-year-old's mother, Tamara Oliver, has been hospitalized since August due to a bout with diabetes. Her left leg was amputated below the knee. His father, Darrell Oliver, was killed in a single-car accident while pulling out of a gas station, three days after his mother was rushed to the hospital..."He'll see s... Read Full Story

Ms. Shirley Ann Jackson is the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the highest-paid leader of a private college in America. Excerpt: "Shirley Ann Jackson had big plans when she was hired as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute a decade ago. Shovels hit the ground soon after as part of a wide-ranging strategic plan that she directed. Ms. Jackson's compensation matched her ambition, and just two years into her presidency she was the highest-paid private-college chief. N... Read Full Story

Mr. Albert Vann is currently running for his third term on the City Council of New York. Excerpt: "Albert Vann built his legend in Brooklyn from the ground up, first as an outspoken community leader during a fight with the teachers’ union in Ocean Hill and Brownsville in the late 1960s. By the early 1980s, he had transformed from a rebel assemblyman into a political power broker and a leader among black politicians who labored outside traditional Democratic politics." Read Full Story

Mr. Meb Keflezighi recently won the New York City Marathon. Excerpt: "The 40th New York Marathon saw its first American male winner in 27 years Sunday when Meb Keflezighi came back from both injury and tragedy to finish with a personal best of 2:09:14...Keflezighi, 34, who scored a silver at the 2004 Olympics, was born in Eritrea in Africa but he fled war and became a U.S. citizen in 1998." Read Full Story

Ms. Carole Smitherman recently became the new mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. Excerpt: "Carole Smitherman is now the city's mayor following the conviction of Larry Langford. Smitherman, who had served as the City Council president, will meet with city employees Thursday morning. She's already been in contact with Langford Chief of Staff Deborah Vance-Bowie and also plans to talk to Langford. "I have a very heavy heart right now for the city of Birmingham, our employees and the people of the ... Read Full Story

Ms. Elsie McCabe is the President of the Museum for African Art and her husband is currently running to be the next mayor of New York City. Excerpt: "Mrs. Thompson, on the other hand, has remained largely absent from Mr. Thompson’s public life. Their wedding, on Sept. 13, 2008, in Brooklyn, happened almost in secrecy. She has made rare appearances on the campaign trail, but even when she is seen, her presence often goes unacknowledged. Television cameras caught her in the audience in the fir... Read Full Story