#2601 – “THE ART OF CULTURE”
If every group has a culture, then every group has a body of art that represents its innermost meaning. While on an individual level art has a specific meaning, on a national level it represents the fears and aspirations of millions of people. Tony Brown spotlights two people who have devoted their lives to investigating our frailties and our strengths in art.

#2602 – “HOW A POWER COUPLE WEILDS POWER”
What do you do when you have as much influence and affluence as Jeanette Parker and her husband Clark Parker? They are loaded with degrees, business and academic success and have built new lives on the back of a lifetime of success. Just in case the rest of us get lucky, this power couple can help us understand what to do next.

#2603 – “CAN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY CHANGE ITS AGENDA AND INCLUDE BLACKS?”
On the heels of Republican Sen. Trent Lott’s callous statements lauding the segregationist tradition of the Old South, the question is now: Can Republicans live up to their new promises of racial equality and can the GOP abandon a 40-year-old strategy that depends on dividing and conquering both Blacks and Whites? House Deputy Majority Whip Mark Foley and Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele, two prominent Republicans, answer that question and tell why.

#2604 – “THE GOP FROM AN INSIDER BLACK”
The Trent Lott affair has set off a firestorm of political introspection and soul searching in both major political parties. Robert A. George, a columnist for The New York Post and a Republican, defended the presence of Blacks in the Republican Party by asserting that the deciding factor in political decisions should be based on principles other than the color of one’s skin.
 
#2605 – “CAN ONE BLACK COLLEGE SAVE THEM ALL?”
The glue that holds the successful, professional class in the Black community together is a Black college somewhere in their past. On those campuses the descendants of slaves, often disadvantaged, have been liberated through both knowledge and a new spirit of hope. The result is that a non-privileged group has found a way into the middle class. Some of these schools are now threatened with financial and operational problems and they are on the verge of closing. Once such college, Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee has fought its way back from bankruptcy and oblivion.

#2606 – “THE HISTORY OF BLACK MUSIC: PART I
Historically Black colleges create a unique music history lesson in this special vocal extravaganza. Choirs, groups and soloists from the nation’s Black colleges showcase their talents in riveting stage performances.

#2607 – “THE HISTORY OF BLACK MUSIC: PART II”
The vocal extravaganza continues in part two of this unique music history lesson. Choirs, groups and soloists from the nation’s Black colleges showcase their talents in riveting stage performances.

#2608 – “BLACKS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT”
Are presidential candidates Al Sharpton and Carol Moseley Braun, a former U. S. Senator, the best choices from among the nation’s Black leadership? Will Sharpton emerge as the most powerful Black in the Democratic Party? Would this have a politically and morally corrosive effect on the Democratic Party? Political scientist Ronald Walters and Ron Daniels, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, examine these questions.

#2609 – “THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION’S PLAN FOR BETTER SCHOOLS”
A recent study found that only six percent of Black eighth graders could pass the math section of the SAT test. On this program, Secretary Rod Paige, the first Black secretary of education and the first to hold that office from an urban school system, addresses this dilemma and offers his plan for better schools.

#2610 – “THE BLACK BOARDING SCHOOL TRADITION
At one time, there were as many as 83 Black boarding schools, now there are only four in existence. The largest of these is The Piney Woods School near Jackson, Mississippi, which preaches academic excellence and old-fashioned ethics and morality. Does it work? Dr. Charles Beady, Jr., the president of The Piney Woods School, and actor-director Clifton Davis discuss the Black boarding school tradition.

#2611 – “THE SOUL OF A CONGRESSWOMAN”
She is called the “Warrior on the Hill.” A political pioneer and civil and human rights icon, Eleanor Holmes Norton represents the District of Columbia in Congress. Norton discusses her career and the “fire in her soul.”

#2612 – “BLACK WOMEN WHO STOP AT NOTHING TO BE THE BEST”
The guests on this program represent a group of affluent and influential Americans. Harriett Michel, president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, and Dr. Marilyn French Hubbard, Vice President of Henry Ford Health System, founder of the National Association of Black Women Entrepreneurs and author of Sisters Are Cashing In–share their insights into the socioeconomic dynamics of Black women in America.

#2613 – “THREATS TO BLACK YOUTH”
Dr. John Palmer, executive director of Harlem Hospital Center, comments on why the death rate is 50 percent higher among Black infants in Harlem than other areas of New York City. John Daniel, Vice President of Girls and Boys Town, discusses why Black youth are disproportionately at risk in the areas of education, health and social adjustment.

#2614 – “GOD IS AHEAD BY 13 PERCENT”
Sales for gospel music have grown by 13 percent while they are down by 24 percent for the Hip Hop genre and other popular music forms. Vicki Mack Lataillade, president of Gospo Centric Records, founded her company with a $6,000 loan. Gospo Centric Records now features big name stars such as Kirk Franklin and Kurt Carr.

#2615C1 – “WHY THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS OPPOSES PRESIDENT BUSH”
The 39-member Congressional Black Caucus calls itself the “Conscience of the Congress.” Representative Elijah Cummings, who represents Maryland’s 7th district, serves as chair of the all-Democratic caucus. When he was invited to the White House to be briefed by President George Bush about his trip to Africa, Rep. Cummings turned down the invitation. On this edition, he explains why.

#2616C1 – “THE BROWN DECISION: A FAMILY’S LEGACY”
She is the daughter of Rev. Oliver Brown, who along with 12 other families, filed suit against a local board of education in Kansas. Their case made its way to the U. S. Supreme Court and on May 17, 1954 became the landmark school desegregation decision known as Brown vs. Board of Education. Cheryl Brown Henderson, president and CEO of the Brown Foundation, gives an insider’s story and a rare history lesson.

#2617 – “BLACK JOURNALISTS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT”
After the Jayson Blair scandal at The New York Times, many Black journalists working in mainstream media feel they are under attack and are on the defensive. Wayne Dawkins, author of Rugged Waters: Black Journalists Swim the Mainstream, and Paul Brock, founding president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists, talk about the professional struggle of Black journalists and the organization that challenged the system.

#2618 – “STOCKPILING BLACK GENES”
Howard University, a historically Black institution in Washington, D.C., plans to create the largest repository of DNA from 25,000 African-Americans in order to reduce or eradicate the many diseases that plague the Black community. Dr. Floyd Malveaux, dean of Howard University’s College of Medicine, discusses this new medical initiative.

#2619 – “RACE MEDICINE”
Blacks have a much higher incidence of heart disease and many other fatal diseases than any other group. A drug trial that divides patients based on ancestry, with the idea of creating the first prescription medicine intended for a specific racial group, has erupted in controversy. Why? The target group is African-Americans. Dr. Roy Flood, Jr., board member of the association of Black Cardiologists, explains the science of “race medicine.”

#2620 – “WILL THE BLACK VOTE HELP THE GOP?”
What is the Republican strategy to win the Black vote in the 2004 presidential election? The Black vote is the Democratic Party’s most reliable voting bloc, but will young Blacks change that reality? Lynette Clemetson, a reporter who is covering this issue for The New York Times, and Alvin Williams, president of Black America’s Political Action Committee (BAMPAC), discuss the Democratic and Republican strategies to win the presidential election.

#2621 – “TOP OF THE CLASS”
In this second “To Be The Best” program, two powerful Black women discuss their personal and professional formulas for success. Guests are Dorothy Leavell, chairperson of Amalgamated Publishers and publisher of the Chicago Crusader and the Gary Crusader, and Denise Rolark Barnes, second vice-chairperson of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and publisher of The Washington Informer.

#2622 – “BUSH AND AIDS IN AFRICA”
U. S. Representative Dave Weldon, a medical doctor and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has visited Uganda investigating possible strategies for combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. He addresses the issue of whether or not President Bush and the Republicans are serious about fighting AIDS in Africa.

#2623 – “THE CHANGING FACE OF BLACK HIGHER EDUCATION”
The changing ethnic composition of traditional Black colleges and universities and the normal issues facing all institutions of higher learning present unique challenges for educators faced with the original mission of educating disadvantaged Blacks. Dr. Calvin Lowe, president of Bowie State University in Maryland, reveals how he beats the odds.

#2624 – “WHO’S ON FIRST IN BUSINESS?”
Twenty years ago, Black businesses were ranked first among ethnic groups in America. Today Latino-owned businesses are in first place; Asians are ranked second, while Blacks are in third place. On this program guests Ronald Langston, national director of the U. S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, and Hector Barreto, administrator of the U. S. Small Business Administration, take a look at the real economic picture for small businesses and how ethnic groups are faring.

#2625 – “MIXING CIVIL RIGHTS AND BUSINESS SUCCESS”
Apparel entrepreneur Don Polk turned a college business into a $100-million-a-year conglomerate. He shares one of his secrets to success, mixing business savvy with civic responsibility.

#2626 – “WHAT DID THE 2003 SUPREME COURT DECISION MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION?
What did Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor really mean in her majority opinion on affirmative action in the University of Michigan ruling? Does it signal the end of affirmative action? Michael Higginbotham, a professor at the University of Baltimore Law School, and Roger Clegg, vice president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity, debate both sides of the issue.