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President Bush appoints Condoleezza Rice, his national security adviser, as secretary of state. If confirmed, Rice will be the first African-American woman to lead the State Department. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with commentator Cornel West about the appeals of both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry to woo the vote of the African-American community.

Political strategist Donna Brazile, former campaign manager for the Gore-Lieberman 2000 campaign, comments on the final presidential debate. Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the state's top ranking African-American official, also weighs in.

Republican Marvin Scott is running against a possible candidate for the White House in 2008 and one of the best-known political names in the Midwest. But Scott thinks he just might be able to beat the odds to become Indiana's first African-American U.S. senator. In the second part of a week-long look at interesting regional candidates of color, Scott speaks with NPR's Tavis Smiley about his race against Sen. Evan Bayh.

Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks has a severe mental impairment known as dementia. The news prompts the medical community to shine a brighter light on dementia and the fact that elderly African-Americans suffer from the brain illness more than any other group. Dr. Ian Smith, columnist for Men's Health magazine and The New York Daily News, discusses dementia with NPR's Tavis Smiley.

What Harlem is to New York City, Bronzeville was to Chicago. It was considered a Midwest center of African-American culture in the first part of the 20th Century. On any given day, it was not uncommon to spot notable figures of the "Harlem Renaissance," such as writer Langston Hughes and singer Ella Fitzgerald, in the neighborhood. But over time, the elegant grand boulevard of Bronzeville -- like the community itself -- gave way to decay. Now with an influx of mainly black professionals in the area, Bronzeville is experiencing an economic revival. But that is being greeted with ambivalence by many longtime residents. From Chicago, Monique Caradine reports.

Several key African-American professional organizations begin a nationwide effort to counter what they call America's "misguided drug policies." The National African-American Drug Policy Coalition (NAADPC) says over the next five years, it will push for alternatives to business as usual. NPR's Tavis Smiley speaks with Judge Arthur Louis Burnett and Clyde Bailey Sr., both of the NAADPC.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Nova Southeastern University in Florida has awarded the highest number of doctoral degrees to African Americans and Latinos. In 2003, the university conferred 115 doctoral degrees on black students, 29 more than any other Florida institution and 49 more than historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C. NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with Ron Chenail, assistant to the university president, and with Delores Smiley of the university's School of Education.

A new poll from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, an African-American think tank, finds 18 percent of black Americans say they are willing to vote for President Bush. NPR's Tavis Smiley speaks with Eddie N. Williams, the center's president, and Ron Walters of the University of Maryland.

Soldiers returning from combat often describe themselves as changed, sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse. This Veterans Day, those who have been in battle tell how it altered their lives.