(NNPA)—Three Blacks sit atop the new government unveiled this month by newly elected President Francois Hollande, making the French Republic the European leader in political diversity with a government loaded with people of color.

EUROPEAN LEADER IN DIVERSITY—French President Francois Hollande addresses reporters during a joint press conference with Benin and African Union President Thomas Boni Yayi, left, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 29. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

All three are from the Caribbean region and one is a veteran Parisian lawmaker. A prominent member of the new cabinet is Christiane Taubira from French Guiana.

Taubira was named justice minister—making her the highest ranking woman in the new cabinet. A lawmaker since 1993, she authored a French law in 2001 making slavery a crime against humanity.

by Bradley Brooks

SAO PAULO (AP)—Brazil’s top court has backed sweeping affirmative action programs used in more than 1,000 universities across this nation, which has more Blacks than any country outside Africa yet where a severe gap in education equality between races persists.

STUDENTS TALK—In This photo taken May 2, students talk at Sao Paulo University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The country’s top court has backed sweeping affirmative action programs used in more than 1,000 universities across the nation, which has more Blacks than nearly any other country, yet where a severe gap in education equality between races persists. The Supreme Court voted 7-1 late last Thursday to uphold a federal program that has provided scholarships to hundreds of thousands of Black and mixed-race students for university studies. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The Supreme Court voted 7-1, May 3, to uphold a federal program that has provided scholarships to hundreds of thousands of Black and mixed-race students for university studies since 2005.

The court ruled in a separate case that it was constitutional for universities to use racial quotas in determining who is admitted.

by J.M. Hirsh

What do you feed a man who spent decades eating prison food in the name of freedom and reconciliation?

PERSONAL CHEF—In this undated handout image from the book, “Home Cooking: Tastes from Nelson Mandela’s Kitchen,” Nelson Mandela, left, and his personal chef, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, are seen. (AP Photos/Coyne Public Relations, Debbie Yazbek)

It was an intimidating question Xoliswa Ndoyiya wasn’t sure she knew how to answer. It was about 20 years ago and at the time she was just a young cook working at a Jewish retirement home in Johannesburg, South Africa. But a friend had urged her to apply for the job as Nelson Mandela’s personal chef.

So she did. And when he met her, he immediately put her at ease.

by Diaa Hadid

DIMONA, Israel (AP)—For years, Israel’s array of African communities had little interaction, divided by religious, linguistic and cultural differences. That is changing.

They are facing a common situation in Israel—relegated to bottom rungs, partly because of discrimination over their skin color. That has brought some members of a wide range of communities together, including Jewish Ethiopians, nomadic Muslim Arabs and migrants from Eritrea and Sudan.

COMING TOGETHER—In this photo taken March 6, from right to left, Sheik Ayed al-Abed, Mohammed al-Masri and Khazrail Ben-Yehuda talk in a meeting room in the southern Israeli city of Dimona. (AP Photo/Diaa Hadid)

“What is said against me is said against my brother,” said Sheik Ayed al-Abed, referring to the derogatory names that he and other members of a newly formed advocacy group have been called.