by Brian W. Carter

LOS ANGELES (NNPA)—Janet MacLachlan, star of the stage and small screen, passed on October 11, at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles. She had suffered cardiovascular issues recently at her Silver Lake home according to media sources. MacLachlan was 77.

JANET MACLACHLAN

Her life was a successful one filled with roles both on and off the stage. MacLachlan had worked with numerous actors and actresses, including Bill Cosby, Jim Brown, James Earl Jones and Maya Angelou.

MacLachlan’s story began on Aug. 8, 1933 in Harlem, New York. She was born to Iris South (MacLachlan) and James MacLachlan. She attended P.S. 170 and schools in the 1950s and later earned her B.S. degree in psychology from Hunter College in 1955.

(NNPA)—Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated of Charlotte has agreed to pay $495,000 in back wages and interest to 95 African-American and Hispanic job seekers for racial discrimination.

The applicants applied in 2002 for sales support positions at the company’s Black Satchel Road distribution facility in Charlotte. The settlement follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

by Brian Stimson
For New Pittsburgh Courier

(NNPA)—The International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters launched the “No Child Left Alone Fire Safety Campaign” during Fire Prevention Week, in order to educate Black people everywhere about the risk of fire in their communities. Of all children killed in home fires, 38 percent were Black according to a 2008 report by the U.S. Fire Administration. According to the Black Firefighters Association:

•Black Americans face a risk of fire death almost twice that of individuals of another race;

(NNPA)—NAACP president and CEO Ben Jealous received two honors recently as he was named among Time magazine’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars of U.S. Politics” and one of the “Top 50 people of Power and Influence” by The NonProfit Times.

“The NAACP congratulates President Benjamin Todd Jealous on making the Time magazine ‘40 Under 40’ and The NonProfit Times’ ‘Power and Influence Top 50’ lists,” NAACP Board of Directors Chairman Roslyn Brock said in a statement. “In a little over two years, President Jealous has led the association in tackling some of the hardest issues facing the American public, including health care reform, the financial crisis and predatory lending. His hard work and commitment to justice allows the association to continue in the struggle for better jobs, education and equality for all Americans.”

BEN JEALOUS