Social Justice Archives     540 articles   3/2/05 Issues of Race Grip Los Angeles Mayoral Contest All the candidates in Los Angeles' hotly contested mayoral race pledge to unify the city's widely diverse ethnic groups -- a promise made and broken before. LOS ANGELES--The hotly contested March 8 mayoral race in Los Angeles has put a spotlight on the contentious issues of urban racial balkanization, white flight, surging Latino voter strength, declining black political power and police abuse. Two of the top challengers in the race, California State Sen. Richard Alarcon and Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa are politically savvy and nationally known Latino candidates. Villaraigosa was a national co-chair of Sen. John Kerry’s presidential campaign. AntiRacismNet.org Hollywood's 25 Worst APA Blunders So how does one come up with and rank the top 25 Hollywood blunders on this list? In the past, I’ve presented lists of the most influential Asian Pacific Americans in Hollywood and the best APA film moments. Coming up with those lists of the “best” was difficult. Compared with that, making a list of the “worst” was much easier. Why? Partly, I think it’s human nature to be able to more readily see the bad things in life. We may not appreciate all the good things we have, but we seem to have no problem bringing up the bad. Before compiling my previous lists, I sought opinions from friends and colleagues about what I should or shouldn’t include, but this time, no such consultations were necessary. I sat down and just started a list of all the awful or embarrassing things Hollywood has done when it comes to APAs. AsianWeek, Commentary/ncmonline.com E-Store Stops Selling Underwear with Religious Symbols It took almost three weeks to do it, but the American Hindus Against Defamation finally prevailed and forced CafePress.com's vendors to stop selling thongs and boxer shorts that carried images of Hindu deities and symbols. "Everything's gone, not a single offensive product is online now," AHAD convenor Ajay Shah told India-West at press time. Shah began an online campaign against the electronic clearinghouse earlier this month, which provides space for some one million stores and six million products. About half a dozen of those stores carried thongs and boxer shorts with images of Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva and the Om symbol. India West , News Report/ncmonline.com Skinheads Beat Unmercifully American Diplomat in Kiev The diplomat of the USA, afro-american Robert Simmons, was brutally beaten in Kiev. American was attacked by a group of Skinheads. Simmons said that his white friends had not been attacked. According to the diplomat, police appeared only when offenders had hidden. Embassy of the USA in Kiev requires that Ukrainian authorities find guilty of attack. Simmons is the employee of USAID organization (U.S. Agency for International Development) in Uzbekistan. AntiRacismNet.org Glover's Film Company has Serious Mission Today's Top Life Stories • Leno wants exception to Jackson gag order - 12:41 AM • Fired Jackson aide felt boy was abducted - 10:38 PM • Lohan bares it like she sees it  - 9:47 PM • Lance Armstrong honored - 12:35 AM • Prosecutor: Blake's acting skills failed - 9:28 PM • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds  What's this? Buy and sell tickets to premium and sold out events Search by events or regions: Location  Genre  Ticket holders: Looking to sell tickets quick?  Register now. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Danny Glover has a serious mission for his new movie production company: Louverture Films will develop and produce movies of historical relevance, social purpose, commercial value and artistic integrity. Glover will direct Louverture Films' first project, a movie about the Haitian Revolution. USA Today Aborigines Charge Australia With Racial Vilification and Genocide at UN MEDIA RELEASE 1 MARCH 2005 In a statement issued from Geneva, Aboriginal political activist, Michael Anderson, said today: NGO submissions to the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD) told of racial vilification and genocidal practices against its Indigenous Peoples in Australia. Aborigines charge Australia with racial vilification and genocide at UN In a statement issued from Geneva, Aboriginal political activist, Michael Anderson, said today: NGO submissions to the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD) told of racial vilification and genocidal practices against its Indigenous Peoples in Australia. The CERD commenced its session with open discussion addressing concerns for the lack of early warning indicators and early intervention measures that will enable the UN to take effective steps to intercede. An Inuit observer from Alaska commented that he felt that it was not pure co-incidence that this session on the prevention of genocide preceded the report of Australia. Independent Media Center Myers "Not Fit" for Judgeship, Say Native Americans The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the National Wildlife Federation joined forces Monday to voice their opposition to controversial judicial nominee William G. Myers III. Myers is one of several candidates previously rejected by the Senate but re-nominated by the Bush administration. A former solicitor for the Department of the Interior who has been nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Myers is the first presidential nominee to the federal bench that either organization has ever opposed. civilrights.org Still on the March 40 Years After 'Bloody Sunday' Email To A Friend John Lewis will never forget March 7, 1965, which would later become known as "Bloody Sunday. It was the first leg of the 54-mile Selma-to- Montgomery, Ala. march organized to help win passage of a national voting rights law. As chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis was in front of the line as it formed at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, snaked through downtown Selma, and proceeded along U.S. 80 en route to the Alabama state capital. "We were walking in an orderly, peaceful fashion with no one saying a word," says Lewis. "It was like military discipline, more than 600 of us walking in twos. We came to the highest point on the [Edmund Pettus] bridge, crossing the Alabama River. Down below, we saw a sea of blue - Alabama state troopers. And we continued to walk. And we came within hand distance of the state troopers. And a man identified himself and said, 'I am Major John Cloud of the Alabama State Troopers. This is an unlawful march. It will not be allowed to continue. I give you three minutes to disperse to your church.'" civilrights.org Professor: Racism May be Hidden, But it's Not Gone Political science assistant professor D'Andra Orey started his lecture with a photo of a fraternity party with the familiar images associated with traditional, overt racism - students wearing Ku Klux Klan robes and carrying rifles standing front of a Confederate flag. But according to Orey, their party was an example of what he calls the new racism, a more covert form of discrimination based on perceptions about a group's values, rather than a belief in biological racial inferiority. "The new racism," Orey said, "is a combination of individualist values with an anti-black affect -the notion that blacks do not ascribe to the Protestant work ethic." civilrights.org Professor: Racism May be Hidden, But it's Not Gone Political science assistant professor D'Andra Orey started his lecture with a photo of a fraternity party with the familiar images associated with traditional, overt racism - students wearing Ku Klux Klan robes and carrying rifles standing front of a Confederate flag. But according to Orey, their party was an example of what he calls the new racism, a more covert form of discrimination based on perceptions about a group's values, rather than a belief in biological racial inferiority. "The new racism," Orey said, "is a combination of individualist values with an anti-black affect -the notion that blacks do not ascribe to the Protestant work ethic." civilrights.org     2/28/05 California School Districts Shortchange Students of Color Oakland – A new report released Tuesday by the Education Trust-West identifies for the first time huge per-pupil spending gaps in California public schools currently masked by the state’s accounting methods. The report finds that money spent on teacher salaries, which make up the lion’s share of education dollars, varies widely from school to school within districts. According to the report, “California’s Hidden Teacher Spending Gap: How State and District Budgeting Practices Shortchange Poor and Minority Students and Their Schools,” the hidden funding gaps are primarily driven by significant discrepancies in teachers’ salaries between schools within the same district that serve a high percentage of poor and minority students and those serving higher-income and white students. San Francisco Bay View/ncmonline.com Issue of Illegals Roiling Arizona New Law Denies Public Services to Such Immigrants Printable Version Email This Article Phoenix -- Ten years after Proposition 187 bitterly divided California over illegal immigration, Arizona has become the new battleground, closely watched by other states where immigration from Mexico is on the rise. Since November, when Arizona voters approved a measure that would deny public services to undocumented residents, many immigrants here live in fear of being deported and believe the policy is mean-spirited and divisive. Immigrants' advocates are trying to blunt the law. SFGate.com Inland Empire Sees Rise in Hate Crimes, Bucking Trend in State: The Tally Stands Out in Regions Where Violations have Declined. Authorities Say the Stimulus is an Influx of Racial Minorities. When a teen lifted his baggy shorts and flashed a swastika and German army tattoos at Kenny Turner outside his high school last June, the popular black Lake Elsinore senior just kept walking. "It was the second-to-last day of the school year," recalled Turner, now 19. "I didn't want to be in trouble with one day left." But Turner and two witnesses said the young man, armed with an ice pick, ran after him and stabbed him while screaming a racial slur. It's an incident that, although rare, is emblematic of a growing problem in the Inland Empire, authorities say. latimes.com Do Asian Americans Count in L.A.? When people talk about the L.A. mayoral race, four voter blocs are almost always discussed: African Americans, Latinos, Jews, and Republicans. Yet one of the largest groups in the city is rarely mentioned: Asian Americans. The 2000 census revealed that Asian Americans represent about 10% of the city's population. When it takes as little as 25% of the vote for a mayoral candidate to make a runoff, 10% matters. Additionally, Asian American voters in California are increasingly showing a partisan orientation, moving into the Democratic column. From the late 1990s to the present, national and statewide Democratic candidates have been beating Republicans among Asian Americans by a 2-to-1 margin. Even in nonpartisan L.A. mayoral races, Asian Americans picked favorites, supporting Mike Woo in 1993 and James K. Hahn in 2001. civilrights.org An Academy Awards Program Worth Watching Like Usher, I have a confession. I don’t usually watch the Academy Awards, I don’t think much of the garbage that usually emanates from Hollywood. And I almost gag every time someone tries to hold up entertainers and athletes as role models for African-Americans. But I tuned in Sunday night for one reason and only for one reason – to see if Jamie Foxx would get a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles. And when he won, I yelled. BlackPressUSA.com     2/24/05 Blacks Must Step Up to Fund King Center, Monument Editor's Note: The deteriorating King Center in Atlanta could be fixed in no time if wealthy blacks would pitch in. LOS ANGELES--A recent report detailed the physical deterioration of the King Center in Atlanta and the faltering drive to fund construction of a King National Monument in Washington, D.C. These financial crises are inexcusable. The mountainous wealth and income of many blacks should quickly repair the center and build a monument to the man who did so much for so many of them. ncmonline.com Law Students to Give Free Help on Immigration JERSEY CITY, NJ --- The Asian American Legal Project (AALP) has announced that it will launch the first in a series of clinics to assist Filipino-Americans with their immigration needs. Initiated by law students at Rutgers School of Law-Newark, AALP is an effort of the United Community Development Corporation of New Jersey (United CDC-NJ) to address the unmet legal needs of Asian Americans in New Jersey. Filipino Express, News Report/ncmonline.com     2/22/05 Ban on Illegals in College Rejected RICHMOND -- A Virginia Senate panel yesterday defeated a measure that would have banned illegal aliens from attending state colleges and universities. The Senate Education and Health Committee rejected the bill 12-3. The House had passed the measure 67-28 earlier this month.      Supporters said illegals should not be granted the "privilege" of higher education and not be allowed to take spots at top colleges away from students who are here legally. Opponents compared the proposal to when blacks were forbidden from attending Virginia schools.      "We were denied the possibility of going to our state universities, and I don't want to see you all make the same mistake again," said committee member Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III, Richmond Democrat who is black. "My dad and mom had jobs and paid taxes, and I could not go to the University of Virginia, I could not go to Virginia Tech, I could not go to William and Mary and I have never forgotten it." washingtontimes.com Threat of Draft Will Tame Warlike U.S. Populace The debate on the draft, to the extent it exists, focuses too heavily on the U.S. military crisis in Iraq and far too little on American domestic arrangements that enabled the Bush Pirates to launch their War Against All, in which Iraq was supposed to be only the first, triumphal episode. Although it is unquestionably true that Iraqi resistance has strained U.S. forces to the breaking point – compelling the Bush men to torture their own soldiers with extended tours of duty and to prepare a selective draft of citizens possessing special skills – it does not follow that a draft will rescue the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld Grand Plan. The Black Commentator     2/20/05 Native American College Shuts Down-D-Q University, which Opened in 1971, Lost its Accreditation and $1million in Federal Funding. Some Students Have Refused to Leave. DAVIS, Calif. — The state's only college run for and by Native Americans has been forced to close after it lost its accreditation and $1 million in federal funding less than a month into this spring's semester. Officials at D-Q University shut down the community college, laid off more than two dozen faculty members and staff and sent 200 students home. And while a defiant group of students refused to leave, the beleaguered board of trustees split into two rival factions — with one firing the school's president.     "We're in mass chaos," said Cindy La Marr, chairwoman of one of the factions and executive director of Capitol Area Indian Resources Inc. in Sacramento. "I believe the founders of the school have lost their vision of what the school was for. They're dwelling on the past." The school's accreditation was revoked by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges because D-Q officials failed to correct six problems. latimes.com     2/17/05 Chinese Immigrants Appeal to Get Daughter Back: The Girl, 6, Remains with Foster Parents After Her Mother and Father lost Custody in a Ruling That Some Say Was Colored by Cultural Bias. ACKSON, Tenn. — Lawyers for a Chinese immigrant couple on Wednesday appealed a judge's ruling that last year stripped them of parental rights to their daughter, Anna Mae. Jack and Casey He had put the girl, now 6, into the care of foster parents when she was 3 weeks old because, they said, they could not support her. Jerry and Louise Baker, a white couple from suburban Memphis, had sought to adopt Anna Mae, after the Hes went to court to get her back. In his May 12 ruling, Circuit Judge Robert Childers sided firmly with the Bakers; he found that the Hes had legally abandoned Anna Mae by not visiting her or paying child support for four months. latimes.com Alleged Racial Incidents Shatter Security of Santa Clarita Valley: Some Parents who Moved from Los Angeles for a Better Family Environment Say Their Children are Now Under Threat or Attack. The hills surrounding Valencia High School are alive with the sounds of buzz saws, jackhammers and bulldozers.Across the street, a new red-tile-roof subdivision is rising along the banks of San Francisquito Creek, complete with meandering walkways, landscaped greenbelts and a "village recreation center." Workers are also putting the finishing touches on upscale hilltop homes that offer commanding views of the Santa Clarita Valley. Families have long flocked to this master-planned community 35 miles north of downtown Los Angeles because of the pristine parks and high-performing schools in the fervent belief it is a good place to raise children. latimes.com     2/15/05 Catastrophe In Asia India's Self-Reliance Shows its Limits Caste Prejudice, Red Tape, Access to Villages are Hampering Government's Relief Efforts "These people are so exploited and innocent that they didn't even know they were a tribe" -- and therefore entitled to affirmative action programs from the government -- "until we got here in 1999," Karunagaran said. Though the influence of the Hindu caste system has faded since it was outlawed in 1950, bias still exists in many regions. Along India's southeastern coast, where the tsunami struck, tribals and the untouchables who call themselves Dalits, or "broken people" in Sanskrit, have been forced to live in inland villages, while upper-caste fishermen occupied prime seafront property. Traditionally, the upper-caste fishermen would bring in the catch, and the untouchables would sell it. As a result, while the untouchables suffered less loss of life and homes, their loss of income and livelihood was just as severe. SFgate.com Reds, Blues, And the Color of Ray The Democrats may be taking a risk by making Howard Dean the head of the party, but their options were limited. The only sure-fire choice was, sadly, unavailable: the late Ray Charles. What else could anyone conclude after watching the Grammy awards Sunday night? Three all-star tributes, eight posthumous Grammys to go with the 12 he won in life, and tears and standing ovations without end: As measured by the music industry, with its hair-trigger sensitivity to the marketplace, the nation's affection for Charles didn't just transcend the red vs. blue divide -- it blew the whole concept to smithereens. washingtonpost.com Remembering Ossie Davis 1917-2005: Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Bill Clinton Pay Tribute to the Famed Actor & Civil Rights Activist On Saturday thousands of mourners filled Riverside Church in Harlem for the funeral of Ossie Davis. Davis died Feb. 4 while on location for a film in Florida. He was 87 years old. For five decades, Ossie Davis led a distinguished career as an actor, playwright and director. Along with his wife, Ruby Dee, he was a renowned civil rights activist and an unforgettable figure in the African American struggle for equality. Speakers at Saturday's funeral described the event as a state funeral for black America. Democracynow.org Army Rights Wrong to 19th Century African-American Chaplain WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 10, 2005) -- More than 100 years after the court-martial of Chaplain Capt. Henry Vinton Plummer, the Army redressed a wrong and issued an honorable discharge to the one of the first African-Americans to be commissioned a chaplain in the Army. Maj. Gen. David H. Hicks, U.S. Army chief of chaplains, said it was time the Army corrected its error. “I am personally gratified that the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records, after 114 years, has restored Chaplain Capt. Henry Plummer to his rightful and deserved place in the history of the United States Army Chap US Army     2/14/05 A Filipino-American Effort to Harbor Jews Is Honored CINCINNATI, Feb. 12 - It was a time when Jews were frantic to get out of Germany, risking voyages to places they were not sure would accept them and finding doors closed almost everywhere. In Manila, though, a vigorous expatriate cigar manufacturer from Cincinnati had been playing poker and bridge with the likes of Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower; Paul V. McNutt, the American high commissioner; and Manuel L. Quezon, the first Philippines president. When the manufacturer, Alex Frieder, saw refugees straggling to the port pleading for entry, he cajoled his poker cronies to let the Philippines become a haven for thousands more. New York Times Immigrant Cleaners Win Labor Suit NEW YORK, January 28, 2005 --- Twenty-five part-time building cleaners, including at least three Filipinos, are among the workers who won a pay hike lawsuit after a federal judge here found their cleaning employer in violation of federal labor law. Judge Margaret Kern ruled on Jan. 7 that North Hills Office Services of Woodbury, Long Island, refused to live up to its agreement to provide part-time cleaners in New Jersey with a pay raise. Filipino Express/ncmonline.com Liberals, Conservatives Oppose New 'Anti-Immigrant' Bill Editor's Note: House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner's (R-WI) "national security" bill severely restricts the granting of political asylum and issuance of driver's licenses to immigrants. SAN FRANCISCO--A controversial bill passed today by the House of Representatives has spurred a unique coalition between liberal and conservative groups who oppose the measure. Religious and immigrant rights groups, conservatives and conservationists are joining forces against the REAL ID Act, a bill introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). Pacific News Service, News Feature     2/9/05 HOT 97: Why Asian Americans Are Pissed & What We Should We have so little room in American society for intelligent discussions about racism, difference, and what a better world could look like. Sometimes you get so angry at the way things are that a catalytic moment comes along and allows you to pour it all out. Half-formed discussions are forced to the surface, with caustic intensity. The tsunami song was moronically, even horrifically bad. But I think even more rankling to many Asian Americans was an exchange that followed the airing of the song one morning two weeks ago when morning show personality Minya "Miss Info" Oh voiced an objection. The host Miss Jones retorted: "You feel superior, probably because you're Asian." Co-host Todd Lynn added that he would start shooting Asians. Asian Americans first have to recognize that some African Americans see some truth in Miss Jones' comeback. The station has received many calls of support for Miss Jones. And often we maintain what UC Irvine Professor Jared Sexton calls "racial innocence", a disinterest in recognizing and addressing the fact that real and material differences do exist between African Americans and Asian Americans. daveyd.com     2/6/05 Black Unionist Warn "Don't Restructure Us Out" The push to “streamline” and consolidate the structures of the AFL-CIO threatens to diminish the influence of Blacks in the labor movement. “They want bigger unions,” said Bill Lucy, head of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), referring to leaders of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Teamsters, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and others. “They want power players, big unions in charge. The end result is diminution of community power.” The Black Commentator     2/5/05 A Lifelong Lesson in Justice: Gathering Will Pay Tribute to the Mostly White Teachers Who Followed their Japanese Students Into WWII Internment Camps. For more than 60 years, the students have not forgotten their teachers. How could they? When their country locked them up in remote internment camps during World War II, these Japanese American students say one group of people in particular gave them hope: the teachers, most of them white, who volunteered to join them.     When their world seemed upside down, the teachers tried to bring them the normalcy of school dances and football teams. In classrooms that initially lacked desks, textbooks and school supplies, the teachers somehow ignited the young minds and inspired students to pursue careers in science, medicine, education. latimes.com Ossie Davis, Actor, Writer and Eloquent Champion of Racial Justice, Dies at 87 Ossie Davis, the imposing, deep-voiced actor who with his wife and acting partner, Ruby Dee, helped widen horizons for blacks on stage and screen while fighting zealously for civil rights from Washington to Hollywood, died yesterday in Miami. He was 87. His son, Guy, said Mr. Davis was found dead at a hotel. He said that the cause had not been determined, but that his father had a history of heart problems and had recently recovered from pneumonia. New York Times     2/3/05 Commentary: Confronting Slavery's Legacy Chicago, IL, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- It took nearly a year for financial powerhouse JP Morgan Chase & Co. to track down 19th-century records showing two predecessor banks in Louisiana owned slaves who were used as collateral for loans. JP Morgan Chase, which merged with Bank One last July, apologized Thursday in a letter to 120,000 employees written by the company's top executives that acknowledged ties to slavery before the U.S. Civil War, and the bank announced a $5 million college scholarship fund for Louisiana students. washingtontimes.com Apology to American Indians They’re really getting close to finally saying the two words we American Indians have long wanted to hear. The important two words: “We’re sorry.” So, let me make my own gesture first. I’m bowing forward in a gesture of grace and acceptance. And what is more important: I’m bowing to let the damned chip slide off my shoulder. It’s time to get over it – all of it. Native American Village, Commentary/ncmonline.com Hollywood Stars Shine for Immigrant Licenses While some wonder whether art imitates life or life imitates art, a handful of Hollywood artists flexed their influence over California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week to help in the daily struggles of undocumented immigrants. More than 30 actors, singers and writers, including Diane Keaton and Carlos Santana, signed an advertisement that appeared Jan. 24 in the trade magazine, Variety, supporting the estimated 2.4 million undocumented immigrants who drive in California everyday without a license. In the announcement, a Latina woman poses with two young children, under the headline “Nominated: Best nanny in a supporting role,” parodying the recent Oscar nominations. El Mensajero , News Report/ncmonline.com     1/31/05 Racial Issues Lose Urgency, Study UCLA freshman Karina Hernandez doesn't recall ever encountering discrimination as a Latina, and says she isn't especially concerned with the issue of race and ethnic relations. "For me, the racial boundaries are not there," said Hernandez, an 18-year-old from Ontario planning to major in aerospace engineering.     Hernandez provides one explanation for a key conclusion drawn from a new survey of the nation's college freshmen: They are less preoccupied with race and ethnicity. The survey, being released today by UCLA researchers, found that a record high 22.7% of freshmen said racial discrimination was no longer a major problem in America. latimes.com     1/30/05 Nomination of Gonzales Divides Hispanic Groups E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles RSS feeds WASHINGTON — Many Hispanic groups are celebrating the likely ascension of Alberto Gonzales to be attorney general as a landmark event: the first Hispanic to hold one of the most powerful Cabinet positions. But as the Senate prepares to debate his nomination this week, nagging questions about Gonzales' role in the Bush administration's policies on torture have emboldened Democratic opponents and created dissent within the Hispanic community. Seattle Times African Americans Score in Oscar Nominations LOS ANGELES — Ever since the Academy Award nominations were unveiled this week, a record five nods for actors of African descent have been cause for celebration in black Hollywood circles, especially among those who have long struggled to prod the film industry into increased recognition for performers of color, and to place more non-whites in front of and behind the camera. Wave Newspapers/ncmonline.com Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking in Vietnam Gains Momentum, Supporters A recent report on human trafficking by the U.S. State Department, which identified Vietnam as a country where the problem is serious, has mobilized hundreds of local, state and national organizations to work together to raise awareness and eliminate the problem, which some people have equated with modern-day slavery. The "Trafficking in Persons Report" conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was released in June. Among the national, nonprofit organizations that have quickly moved to action is the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, based in Washington, D.C. Viet Weekly, News Report/ncmonline.com     1/26/05 Bush Shifts Focus to Race in Debate on Social Security WASHINGTON — Race became a significant factor in the debate over Social Security on Tuesday as President Bush told African American leaders that the government retirement program shortchanged blacks, whose relatively shorter lifespan meant that they paid more in payroll taxes than they eventually received in benefits. Bush's comments came during a private White House meeting with 22 black religious and business leaders who backed his reelection last year — marking a new line of argument in his attempts to win support for adding worker-owned investment accounts to Social Security. latimes.com NY Radio Station Suspends Morning Crew Over Tsunami `Parody' The host of a New York morning radio show and the rest of her on-air crew were suspended indefinitely Wednesday for airing a tasteless song parody that mocked victims of the catastrophic south Asia tsunami. "What happened is morally and socially indefensible," said Rick Cummings, president of Emmis Radio, in announcing the disciplinary action. "All involved, myself included, are ashamed and deeply sorry. I know the members of the morning team are contrite. They know their actions here are inexcusable." SFGate.com     1/23/05 If Iraq Can Get Its Country Back, Why Can't American Indians? Forgive me for daydreaming aloud. But hey, could this Iraq thing be the best thing that ever happened to American Indians? Imagine how surprised I was when I heard that the United States and Coalition forces had held a small, private meeting and handed over a document giving Iraq back its status as a semi unfettered sovereign nation early Monday morning. Native American Village/ncmonline.com Self-respect and Changing Attitudes Boost Australia's Aborigine Population THE aboriginal population is booming as more Australians identify themselves as indigenous. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2005 snapshot of Australia shows the indigenous population has grown at twice the rate of the overall population since 1996. There are now 458,500 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders living in Australia, making up 2.3% of the 20 million population, up from 283,000 a decade earlier. The 2005 snapshot said indigenous population growth was well above the natural increase, and attributed the rise to social changes and more people identifying themselves as aboriginal. Scotsman.com     1/21/05 U.S. Suspends Funding for Key Farmworker Survey In a move that stunned researchers, policy-makers and nonprofit organizations, the U.S. Department of Labor has suspended funding for the only national survey that collects data on the working and living conditions of the country's difficult-to-track migrant farmworker population. Known as the National Agricultural Workers Survey, the survey collects information that the U.S. Census Bureau has historically been unable to accurately get, since farmworkers frequently do not have a permanent door for a census data collector to knock on. Pacific News Service/ncmonline.com JP Morgan admits predecessors' ties to slavery JP Morgan Chase & Co., the parent company of Bank One, admitted Thursday that two of its predecessor banks in Louisiana allowed 13,000 slaves to be used as collateral on loans and took ownership of 1,250 slaves when the loans defaulted. Chicago Sun-Times     1/20/05 Afro-Latinos: Discovering Identity, Organizing WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - In the minds of most people, Latin America is the exotic land of travel brochures, south of the equator, where racial issues don’t exist. The reality is distinctly different. “The truth is, we wish you heard more about race as a central element in the inequality in Latin America,” Jacqueline Mazza, an expert about African Descendant Issues at the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), told reporters Dec. 16. The Final Call/news report Black and Asian People Still Live in Poverty The number of defendants dealt with by the Crown Prosecution Service in the Westcountry for racially motivated crime rose by 65 per cent last year, new figures have revealed. The figures, released by the CPS in Devon and Cornwall, revealed that the increase in the number of defendants was more than 50 per cent above the national average. They also showed that the conviction rate in the region stood at 95 per cent last year, while the national rate is 86 per cent. Of the 125 cases involving racist or religious crime received between 2003 and 2004, 109 were prosecuted and just 16 were dropped. The majority of offences were racially aggravated public order and racially aggravated assaults. Most of the non-racially aggravated charges were assault and public order offences. Charles Clarke will promise a fresh drive against deprivation among ethnic minorities today following the Government's admission that it has failed to lift many blacks and Asians out of poverty. In his first major speech as Home Secretary, he will concede that many immigrant communities still suffer poorer health and education and higher rates of unemployment than their white counterparts. The Independent Online Clarke Orders Crackdown on race Inequality An extension of ethnic monitoring right across the public services to provide the first official, systematic picture of racial inequality in Britain is to be announced by the home secretary today. Guardian Unlimited     1/13/05 Preying Through the Pulpit Bishop Edwin J. Derensbourg thought the new parishioner with the Rolls-Royce and flashy clothes would bring a measure of prosperity to his modest United Christian Fellowship church in Palmdale. The parishioner, Phoebus Vincent Smith, said he wanted to make African Americans like himself rich through savvy investments. Derensbourg didn't know much about investing, but he reasoned that if "Mr. Vince" could help members of his black church prosper, his collection basket would reap dividends. latimes.com James Forman Dies at 76; Was Pioneer in Civil Rights James Forman, a civil rights pioneer who brought a fiercely revolutionary vision and masterly organizational skills to virtually every major civil rights battleground in the 1960's, died on Monday at a hospice in Washington. He was 76. The cause was colon cancer, his son Chaka Esmond Fanon Forman told The Associated Press. As executive secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1961 to 1966, Mr. Forman was at the barricades of the civil rights movement from Selma to Birmingham to the Mississippi Delta to the March on Washington. Few outside the movement knew the extent to which he choreographed the now-legendary demonstrations and campaigns. New York Times Mexico’s Controversial Migrant Guide Defended In what has become a political tsunami, U.S. senators are demanding that their government denounce a controversial guide book produced by the Mexican government for illegal immigrants, after an American reporter discovered the comic-book style guide published last month by the Mexican Foreign Ministry. Opponents of the "Guide for Migrants" say that its simple language and colorful drawings warning of the dangers associated with undocumented border crossings actually promote them. But, according to the Mexican government, the guide is the least it can do to protect its citizens. El Mensajero/ncmonline.com What the Gonzales Nomination Means for Latinos This week, the Senate began deliberations on the appointment of Alberto R. Gonzales in the first hurdle President George W. Bush’s nominee must overcome in order to become the first Latino attorney general in the history of the United States. La Prensa San Diego/ncmonline.com Gonzales Appointment Latest Step in Browning of Justice Editor's Note: The ascension of Alberto Gonzales to the nation's top law enforcement position embodies the nation's changing demographics, as well as Latinos growing place in the criminal justice system as both prisoners and prison guards, defendants and prosecutors. Pacific News Service/ncmonline.com Aboriginal TV Channel to help Correct Stereotypes The aboriginal television channel should serve as a means to revise stereotyped images of Aborigines often portrayed on Taiwan's mainstream televisions, aboriginal advocates said yesterday. "The aboriginal television channel can be viewed as a train engine to advance the distinctive cultures, languages and customs of the 12 aboriginal peoples in Taiwan," said the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP's) Ethnic Affairs Department chief Yang Chang-cheng (<sum>®™¯¬Ì). Yang made the remarks at a forum organized by the DPP's Ethnic Affairs Department. The forum was held to discuss the representation of Aborigines after the nation's first aboriginal television channel began trial broadcasts on Jan. 1. Taipei Times     1/9/05 Affirmative Action Ban on Way to Ballot The long-running debate over the use of race and gender in Michigan government hiring and university admissions got a 22-month extension Thursday with the submission of petition signatures aimed at putting the issue before voters in November 2006. WHAT IT SAYS The proposal submitted to Michigan elections officials Thursday would amend the state constitution to prohibit public agencies, including state universities, "from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting." Backers of a ban on race and gender preferences submitted what they said were 508,202 signatures to force a vote on an amendment to the state constitution. They need 317,700 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Detroit Free Press     1/6/05 Reputed Klansman Arrested in 1964 Neshoba County Cvil Rights Slayings PHILADELPHIA, Miss. - Reputed Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was arrested late Thursday on murder charges in the 1964 slaying of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, officials said. Neshoba County Sheriff Larry Myers told The Associated Press that Killen, a 79-year-old preacher, was arrested at home without incident. Associated Press     1/5/05 Racist Discrimination against Aboriginal people in Darwin Aboriginal woman, waiting with dog outside Woolworths, gets "shooed" away by security guard - Another installment for the dossier on acts of racist discrimination and the many unwarranted "Special Attentions" directed, every day, at Aboriginal people in Darwin. Independent Media Center Shooting Ignites Hmong Racial Tensions FRESNO, CA — The morning of November 21 didn’t start off well for Chai Vang, a deer hunter in Sawyer County, Wisconsin. Vang purportedly got lost in the forest. When the owner of the property saw him, he asked Vang to leave. According to Vang, who is a Hmong resident of Saint Paul, Minnesota, the owner and his friend made racist jokes about his Asian origin as he was walking away. There was a clash with weapons. Before dying, the property owner was able to call other hunters on his walkie-talkie. Voice of the Valley, Pacific News Service, News Report Frist Seeks Speedy Approval of a Bush Judicial Appointment "Setting the stage for an early showdown in the new Congress, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist intends to seek quick approval for one of President Bush's judicial appointees, threatening a rules change if Democrats try to block action. 'Cooperation does not require support for the nominees,' the Tennessee Republican said as lawmakers elected on Nov. 2 convened for the first time. 'Cooperation simply means voting judicial nominees brought to the floor up or down.' Frist said he would seek approval in February for an unnamed appointee. 'Self-restraint on the use of the filibuster for nominations - the same self-restraint that Senate minorities exercised for more than two centuries - will alleviate the need for any action' to change the rules, he said."  civilrights.org Group Seeking Affirmative Action Ban Plans to Submit Petitions Thursday "A group seeking to ban affirmative action in Michigan plans to submit petitions to state elections officials on Thursday. "The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative must turn in at least 317,757 valid signatures of registered voters to qualify its proposed constitutional amendment for the November 2006 ballot."  civilrights.org     1/3/05 California Debates Sending Foreign-Born Inmates Back Home With foreign-born prisoners costing cash strapped California more than $700 million a year, State Senator Gloria Romero chaired a meeting last week to study the possibility of boosting the number of these inmates sent to their home countries to finish out their prison terms. Eastern Group Publications/ncmonline.com Chisholm, 'Unbossed' Pioneer in Congress, Dies Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to serve in Congress and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, died on Saturday night at her home in Ormond Beach, Fla. She was 80. She had suffered several strokes recently, according to a former staff member, William Howard. New York Times Robert Matsui, Shirley Chisolm, Die Email To A Friend Printer Friendly Why You Should Care We Need Your Help You Can Make A Difference In Advancing Civil Rights Enforcement By civilrights.org staff  civilrights.org January 3, 2005 Civil rights advocates mourned the deaths over the weekend of two influential leaders and politicians. Robert Matsui, a prisoner in an internment camp during World War II who later became one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans in U.S. House of Representatives history, died January 1. He was 63. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and a 1972 presidential candidate, died January 1 at the age of 80. civilrights.org     12/29/04 Bush's Hispanic Vote Dissected Political analysts are still scratching their heads over what share of the crucial Hispanic vote President Bush won last month. The National Annenberg Election Survey does not claim to have solved the mystery, but it is pretty sure about this much: Bush did significantly better with this bloc in 2004 than he did in 2000, and men are the reason. washingtonpost.com     12/27/04 Why Some Politicians Need Their Prisons to Stay Full ...An eye-opening analysis by Prison Policy Initiative's Peter Wagner found seven upstate New York Senate districts that meet minimal population requirements only because prison inmates are included in the count. New York is not alone. The group's researchers have found 21 counties nationally where at least 21 percent of the "residents' were inmates. The New York Republican Party uses its majority in the State Senate to maintain political power through fat years and lean. The Senate Republicans, in turn, rely on their large upstate delegation to keep that majority. Whether those legislators have consciously made the connection or not, it's hard to escape the fact that bulging prisons are good for their districts. The advantages extend beyond jobs and political gerrymandering. By counting unemployed inmates as residents, the prison counties lower their per capita incomes - and increase the portion they get of federal funds for the poor. This results in a transfer of federal cash from places that can't afford to lose it to places that don't deserve it. civilrights.org     12/22/04 Report: Bush Made Gains With Hispanic Men WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush made increasing his support among Hispanic voters a leading goal in 2004 and he apparently achieved that aim largely because of gains among Hispanic men, a tracking poll suggests. Hispanics are the nation's fastest growing minority group, though they made up only 8 percent of the overall vote nationally. They are a key voter group in swing states like Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Florida and Nevada. Guardian Unlimited     12/21/04 Monday Gas Boycotts Attempt to Shake Governor LOS ANGELES –– One year after a boycott to protest California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's failure to sign into law a measure allowing undocumented immigrants under certain circumstances to receive a driver's license, a group of local activists have launched another boycott to demonstrate the positive impact undocumented workers have on the state's economy. Eastern Group Publications/ncmonline.com NAACP Seeks to Reopen Fla. Bombing Probe MELBOURNE, Fla.  - The NAACP plans to ask Florida officials to reopen an investigation into the deaths of two civil rights activists who were killed by an explosion beneath their home on Christmas Day 1951. Harry and Harriette Moore registered black voters, opposed school segregation and sought higher salaries for teachers. No one was ever charged in their deaths. blackamericaweb.com Australian Prime Minister Accused of Blocking Aborigine Vote A Labour MP has accused the Australian Prime Minister and his Government of intending to prevent remote Aborigines from registering their vote in elections according to the Australian Network. Black Britain     12/19/04 The True Figures About Aborigines In 2000, John Howard signalled that the symbolic reconciliation of Australian black with Australian white was dead, that he was burying it, and that practical reconciliation was to become the order of the day. This was a decision born of necessity. Unwilling to adopt the symbolic trappings of the Keating government - and unconvinced of their usefulness - Howard determined to shift the ground. Arrayed against apologies and gestures and incense were "practical and effective measures", which were to address the disadvantage of indigenous peoples. In this new climate, aspirations were to be made more moderate; according to the Prime Minister, we were not to "make demands on each other which cannot be realised". The Age Racism, European Style An article ran in the New York Times last week titled “A Letter from Europe,” remarking upon some profoundly anti-immigrant statements made by Helmut Schmidt, a former Chancellor of Germany, and briefly discussing the wider discourse on immigration in Europe rawstory.com Racism, European Style An article ran in the New York Times last week titled “A Letter from Europe,” remarking upon some profoundly anti-immigrant statements made by Helmut Schmidt, a former Chancellor of Germany, and briefly discussing the wider discourse on immigration in Europe rawstory.com Rev. Jesse Jackson Calls AIDS Drug Probe CHICAGO (AP) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson called for a congressional investigation into reports that U.S. health officials withheld research from the White House that showed an AIDS drug distributed to hundreds of thousands of Africans posed serious risks. He also said the U.S. government should immediately halt the drug's distribution in Africa. Guardian Unlimited An Opportunity? Why Arafat's Death and Bush's Second Term Won't Help In the past month, following the U.S. election and the death of Yasser Arafat, several leading U.S. policy makers and analysts have written opinion pieces, each beginning with a variation on a single theme. Despite repetition, their mantra, "with Arafat's death and Bush's reelection a unique opportunity now exists to achieve Middle East peace" is not only insulting-it is wrong and dangerous. Zmag.org Another Water Revolt Begins in Bolivia Editor's Note: Five years after water privatization raised water rates and sparked deadly riots in Cochabamba, Bolivia, another water war is brewing in a city to the north. Stuck between cash-strapped public water companies and multinationals that charge market prices for water, how will the poor pay the bills? Pacific News Service, Commentary     12/18/04 Rights Groups Reassess Strategies: Black, Hispanic Organizations to Undergo Leadership Changes At year's end, the leaders of the nation's largest African American and Hispanic civil rights organizations will step down on the same day -- a first. But despite the common timing, the transitions highlight differences in the two organizations' outlooks and agendas. The National Council of La Raza has already chosen Janet Murguia, a former University of Kansas administrator, to replace departing president Raul Yzaguirre. The NAACP, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, is searching for a successor to Kweisi Mfume, who announced his resignation Nov. 30. washingtonpost.com     12/17/04 Poll: Nearly Half of all Americans Support Restricting Rights of Muslim Americans Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll. The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious. SFGate.com     12/14/04 R.I.P. Gary Webb -- Unembedded Reporter Gary Webb, a courageous investigative journalist who was the target of one of the most ferocious media attacks on any reporter in recent history, was found dead Friday after an apparent suicide. In August 1996, Webb wrote one of the first pieces of journalism that reached a massive audience thanks to the Internet: an explosive 20,000 word, three-part series documenting links between cocaine traffickers, the crack epidemic of the 1980s and the CIA-organized right-wing Nicaraguan Contra army of that era. The series sparked major interest in the social justice and African-American communities, leading to street protests, constant discussion on black-oriented talk radio and demands by Congressional Black Caucus members for a federal investigation. But weeks later, Webb suffered a furious backlash at the hands of national media unaccustomed to seeing their role as gatekeepers diminished by the emerging medium known as the WorldWideWeb. Common Dreams News Center R.I.P. Gary Webb -- Unembedded Reporter Gary Webb, a courageous investigative journalist who was the target of one of the most ferocious media attacks on any reporter in recent history, was found dead Friday after an apparent suicide. In August 1996, Webb wrote one of the first pieces of journalism that reached a massive audience thanks to the Internet: an explosive 20,000 word, three-part series documenting links between cocaine traffickers, the crack epidemic of the 1980s and the CIA-organized right-wing Nicaraguan Contra army of that era. The series sparked major interest in the social justice and African-American communities, leading to street protests, constant discussion on black-oriented talk radio and demands by Congressional Black Caucus members for a federal investigation. But weeks later, Webb suffered a furious backlash at the hands of national media unaccustomed to seeing their role as gatekeepers diminished by the emerging medium known as the WorldWideWeb. Common Dreams News Center Southern White Counties a Desert for the Democrats WASHINGTON — The generation-long political retreat of Democrats across the South is disintegrating into a rout. President Bush dominated the South so completely in last month's presidential election that he carried nearly 85% of all the counties across the region — and more than 90% of counties where whites are a majority of the population, a Times analysis of the election results and census data show. latimes.com     12/12/04 Man Uses Judgment Money to Fight Discrimination SEATTLE –– Zhang Wei, a victim of racial discrimination in the work place, donated $500,000 as a trust fund for establishing an advocacy organization to provide legal assistance and consultation to Asian employees suffering racial discrimination. The World Journal/ncmonline.com Chinese Mull Losses in San Francisco Elections SAN FRANCISCO -- Some 28 days after the election, San Francisco's Department of Elections officially announced election results. Six Chinese American candidates who vied for seats on the city's Board of Supervisors were defeated. Chinese community leaders began to regroup and analyze what went wrong and why the city continues to fail to have adequate Chinese representation despite that Chinese make almost a quarter of the its population. Sing Tao Daily, World Journal/ncmonline.com     12/9/04 A Wartime Story of a Brave American An unassuming Chicago woman has become the center of a small, bright spot of attention this fall as Chicago's Japanese-American community marks the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the end of one of the most rueful episodes in American history. * The Chicago chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League recently honored 84-year-old Mitsuye Endo for initiating and pursuing -- at no small personal cost -- the habeas corpus petition that led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Dec. 18, 1944, that the internment of loyal, law-abiding citizens of Japanese ancestry could not be maintained. Chicago Sun Times New Voting Method in San Francisco Hurts New Candidates San Francisco voters adopted the ranked-choice system of voting for the first time in the past November election. Officials from the city’s Department of Elections claim that the system worked pretty well. But a Chinese voters’ organization complains that this new voting system is not at all voter-friendly to the Chinese. Judging by the results of the November election, it is obvious that this new system is a barricade to new candidates. Sing Tao Daily/ncmonline.com Play on Armenian Genocide to Debut on Broadway NEW YORK--Art has once again come to the aid of the Armenian cause, this time in the form of a play called Beast on the Moon. The beautiful and gripping story by Richard Kalinoski about two survivors who settle in the United States and seek to start a family in the wake of the genocide of their past, powerfully discloses the true nature of the events of 1915. Asbarez Armenian Daily/ncmonline.com Controversial Study Underscores Need for Affirmative Action, Say Critics Researchers and educators from around the country are criticizing a controversial study claiming that the number of African American law students would increase without affirmative action programs, and that because of such policies, African Americans attend law schools where they cannot compete and as a result, either drop out or fail to pass the bar. Critics say the study, "A Systemic Analysis of Affirmative Action" by UCLA Law Professor Richard Sander, in fact, reaffirms the need for affirmative action. Sander's study will be published in the Stanford Law Review Journal next year. civilrights.org UK No Longer Welcomes Immigrants NEW DELHI: If you were thinking of migrating to England, here is something you should consider. The British it would seem are no longer warming up to the idea of immigrants. As a matter of fact, attitudes have hardened over the last decade. In 1995, two-thirds (65%) of people thought the number of immigrants to Britain should be reduced. The Economic Times     12/7/04 Aborigines' Dark Island Home Aboriginal residents of Palm Island in northern Australia are preparing for another depressing chapter in the story of their isolated home. BBC.COM Civil Rights Chairman Resists Ouster by Bush President Bush moved yesterday to replace Mary Frances Berry, the outspoken chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission who has argued with every president since Jimmy Carter appointed her to the panel a quarter-century ago. washingtonpost.com     12/3/04 Indigenous Hunger Strike at United Nations GENEVA - Representing the indigenous of the world, Dene, Yaqui, French Guyana, Oglala Tetuwan, Seminole and Zapoteca carried out a hunger strike at the United Nations as they pressed for a declaration of indigenous rights that would truly safeguard the Earth and future generations of indigenous peoples. ''Indigenous people are fasting with us all over the world. We've received over 700 messages of solidarity,'' said Andrea Carmen, Yaqui, executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council, in Geneva. IndianCountry.com Are Black Ministers Wimping Out? Before Rev. Jesse Jackson preached at an African American church, the pastor made a disclaimer, separating himself from the views of the Democratic cheerleader. “The pastor was shaking like a leaf,” Jackson recalled to an audience at the Howard University School of Divinity shortly after the election. NNP Commentary/ncmonline.com The Gonzales Debate: Identity Politics Meets the Right Wing Right-wing identity politics has been an effective tool used by some Republicans to move this country to the right, and as a method, it is about to accomplish a tremendous victory in the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General and the support for Gonzales by mainstream Latino organizations. Sadly, the confirmation of the first Latino to hold such a high office will not be a triumph, but a major defeat for people of color in this country and throughout the world. Zmag.org Civil Rights and Human Rights Groups Urge Senators to Closely Scrutinize Gonzales Nomination Civil rights and human rights advocacy groups have called for close examination of the nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales to the position of Attorney General of the United States. President Bush named Gonzales as his first choice to replace Attorney General John Ashcroft, who announced his resignation earlier in November. civilrights.org Op-Ed: Killing Kids Since 2000, only five countries have reportedly executed juvenile offenders: Congo, Iran, Pakistan, China and the United States. However, at present, all of these countries except the United States have now renounced the practice. Numerous international treaties prohibit the juvenile death penalty, the most notable being the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which only two countries-Somalia and, embarrassingly, the United States-refused to ratify. In fact, the prohibition is so well established that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled in Domingues v. Nevada that executing those who committed crimes while under the age of 18 is a violation of a "jus cogens "-a sort of universal human rights standard-making it akin to genocide, slavery and apartheid. civilrights.org Latino Groups Poised to Challenge Anti-Immigrant Proposition 200 Passage of Arizona's Proposition 200 has raised concerns in the state's immigrant community, particularly its large Latino population. The controversial measure would require individuals to produce citizenship documents when voting or receiving government social services. Arizona officials certified election results on November 22, clearing the way for Proposition 200 to become law. Civil rights advocates have said they are prepared to challenge the measure. civilrights.org Charter School Diversity Producing Diverse Results "The American high school is arguably the least changed public institution in American society," says Larry Rosenstock, principal and CEO of the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High charter school in San Diego. The sentiment reflects an underlying concern driving the rapid spread of charter schools throughout the nation. The exact definition of a charter school varies from state to state, but all share some basic characteristics. Typically, the schools are released from many of the regulatory requirements imposed on public schools. civilrights.org Aboriginal Boy Dragged with Rope Around Neck Sydney: With relations between black and white Australia edging towards a flashpoint, Australian police charged two men yesterday over reports that an aboriginal boy was dragged along the ground with a noose around his neck. The incident during a farm break-in in Queensland followed a riot six days ago on a remote Queensland island sparked by the death of an aboriginal man in a police cell. Two men and two boys are suspected of breaking into a farmhouse near Goondiwindi on Tuesday. Police said the four were confronted by farmworkers. Cape Times Bush's Gain with Hispanics Revised WASHINGTON - Exit polls that suggested President Bush dramatically raised his share of the Hispanic vote by up to 10 percentage points Nov. 2 were exaggerated, polling experts said yesterday. Instant analysis of exit polls after the election suggested that Bush boosted his performance among Hispanics from 35 percent in 2000 to 44 or 45 percent this year. Political strategists seized on the figure as evidence of a political earthquake among the fastest-growing U.S. community. Philly.com Race Hate Crimes 'On Increase' Greater Manchester Police's Race and Diversity Monitoring report says there were nearly 4,000 hate crimes in 2003, 80% of which were racially motivated. There was a drop in stop and search incidents overall, but an increase in searches amongst the black community. BBC.COM Black Dems Must Clean Up Own House “The early concession betrayed the trust of the voters,” said Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., whose Rainbow PUSH Coalition has joined the Green and Libertarian parties and others demanding a vote recount in Ohio. “We have a moral obligation and a legal obligation to see that every vote counts and whether Kerry gets the most votes or not, we must break a precedent of fraudulent elections.” The Black Commentator     11/26/04 Racists Target Black SoccerPlayers LONDON - Incidents in which black players have been targeted for abuse have stirred outrage and again raised the specter of racism, never far beneath the surface, in the world of European soccer.     On Nov. 17 in Madrid, Spanish fans jeered and taunted three black players with monkey-like "Ooh, ooh" grunts and arm gestures during a match between Spain and England.     "If you are not a [expletive] black, jump up and down," large groups of fans at Bernabeu stadium chanted. washingtontimes.com     11/23/04 Community Mourns Death of Chinese American Author SEATTLE - Historians, activists and Asian communities nationwide were shocked and saddened to learn that on Tuesday, Nov. 9, acclaimed author and journalist Iris Chang, 36, had been found dead in her 1999 Oldsmobile sedan on the side of the road in an apparent suicide. Her body was discovered by a commuter at about nine a.m. on a rural road south of Los Gatos, Calif. International Examiner/ncmonline.com New FBI Data Reports Increase in Hate Crimes for 2003 New FBI data shows that the number of hate crimes reported in 2003 increased slightly, from 7,462 in 2002 to 7,489 in 2003. The 7,489 hate crime incidents reported to the FBI in 2003 involved 8,715 separate offenses, 9,100 victims, and 6,934 known offenders. Since 1996, the Bureau has included a separate section summarizing hate crime data, collected under the 1990 Hate Crime Statistics Act, as part of its annual report on "Crime in the United States." (This year, Section II is at pages 65-68 of the report. civilrights.org UC Regents Reject Ward Connerly's 'Multiracial' Checkbox University of California regents voted 12 to 1 yesterday to reject a proposal from affirmative action opponent and UC Regent Ward Connerly to add a "multiracial" category to the university system's admissions application. Wednesday's decision came after the Board of Regents' Committee on Educational Policy heard testimony from students, multiracial advocacy organizations, and community members, many of whom argued that the proposal would hamper the UC system's efforts to promote diversity and enforce civil rights protections. civilrights.org     11/18/04 UC Berkeley Research Team Sounds 'Smoke Alarm' for Florida E-Vote Count: Research Team Calls for Investigation. Today the University of California's Berkeley Quantitative Methods Research Team released a statistical study - the sole method available to monitor the accuracy of e- voting - reporting irregularities associated with electronic voting machines may have awarded 130,000-260,000 or more excess votes to President George W. Bush in Florida in the 2004 presidential election. The study shows an unexplained discrepancy between votes for President Bush in counties where electronic voting machines were used versus counties using traditional voting methods - what the team says can be deemed a "smoke alarm." Discrepancies this large or larger rarely arise by chance - the probability is less than 0.1 percent. The research team formally disclosed results of the study at a press conference today at the UC Berkeley Survey Research Center, where they called on Florida voting officials to investigate. U.C. Berkeley     11/16/04 Endowment Tied to Sudan Harvard has invested millions of dollars in a Chinese oil company whose financial dealings with the Sudanese government, human rights activists say, have funded that regime’s ongoing slaughter of its own people. Filings by the Harvard Management Company indicate the University owned 72,000 shares of that oil stock, PetroChina, as of June 30 of this year. Jack Meyer, the management company president, would not say on Friday whether Harvard still owned the stock. If Harvard has held those shares, its stake in the company would be worth $3.87 million today. Harvard Crimson Online Edition Almost Ten Percent of Young Black Men Behind Bars While violent crime and property crime declined last year, there was an alarming increase in the nation’s prison population, according to a newly released report. At the end of last year, there were 1,470,045 men and women in state and federal prisons in the United States. Including the inmates in city and county jails and incarcerated juvenile offenders, the total number of Americans behind bars was 2,212,475 on Dec. 31, 2003, said Allen Beck, chief of corrections statistics for the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics and an author of the report. Amsterdam News/ncmonline.com Homeless Voter -- Losing at the Polls But Finding a Way Back In Editor's Note: Bret McLeod, 37, is a native of Texas who came to California to remake his life after serving five years in Texas prisons. After seven months without shelter in San Francisco, he recently acquired an address which allowed him to vote in the November 2004 elections. Pacific News Service, Commentary Homeless Immigrants Suffer Vanishing Dreams LOS ANGELES –– Griselda Ramos, 33, came to the United States from Mexico with the dream of sending money home to Mexico to care for her son. Instead she has been homeless for five years. There are 80 thousand homeless people in Los Angeles County alone. Thirty percent of them are Hispanics, and, according to a report by the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA), that figure is growing rapidly. Eastern Group Publications/ncmonline.com Australian Aborigines Become First Target for “Welfare Reform” Leaked cabinet documents reveal that the Howard government intends to make Australia’s indigenous people a test case for a sweeping assault on the welfare system. The new regime involves intensive monitoring and control of the unemployed, disabled and other welfare recipients in Aboriginal communities, designed to force them off benefits and into low-wage jobs or small businesses. World Socialist Survey Finds Racism is Still Rife in Churches Racial segregation and the unfair treatment of black ministers are still causing deep concern in South African churches. This is the main conclusion drawn from research outlined in a booklet, Transcending Racism in Church and Community, that was recently launched in Johannesburg. Dr Molefe Tsele, general secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), said at the launch of the publication that churches were "lagging far behind local government and other areas of society in dealing with racism". Pretoria News Aboriginal Protesters Scuffle with Police Around one thousand indigenous people gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan and violently protested yesterday afternoon, as they threatened to barge into the Executive Yuan's premises if the government did not quickly heed their request to have roads damaged by the typhoons repaired immediately. Independent Legislator Kao Chi Su-mei led the delegation of aboriginal people, coming mostly from Taitung, Hualien and I-lan. TaiwanNews.com     11/14/04 Development Fellowship Honors Carol Pitchersky Carol Pitchersky, fundraising pioneer for the civil rights and human rights community, is being remembered through the "Carol Pitchersky Development Fellowship" established by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF). Pitchersky died on October 19. She was 57. civilrights.org Activists Want Divestment from Sudan WASHINGTON  - Black activists and religious groups are pressing public pension funds to divest a purported $91 billion in holdings of companies operating in oil-rich Sudan. The United States and some human rights groups have claimed that Sudan's government and Arab militia known as the Janjaweed are guilty of genocide for their actions in the Darfur region. blackamericaweb.com Spanish-Language Media Soothe Concerns, Express Ire Over New 'Anti-Immigrant' Law in Arizona After the recent passage of Proposition 200 in Arizona that would deny undocumented immigrants state and local public benefits, Spanish-language publications found themselves in the position of assuaging fears and concerns in immigrant communities over the impact of the new law. La Estrella de Tucson, La Opinion, La Voz, La Jornada, El Universal, News Report,/ncmonline.com Does Affirmative Action Hurt Black Law Students? Affirmative action hurts black law students more than it helps them by bumping applicants up into law schools where they are more likely to earn poor grades, drop out, and fail their states' bar exams, according to a forthcoming study by a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. The author, Richard H. Sander, argues that ending racial preferences in law-school admissions would increase the number of black lawyers because it would help ensure that students attend law schools where they are more likely to succeed. Chronicle of Higher Education/FrontPage.com No Real Peace Without Justice The following is an edited extract from the 2004 Sydney Peace Prize lecture delivered by Arundhati Roy at the Seymour Centre, Sydney, Australia, November 3. The full text is available at the Sydney Morning Herald. Sometimes there's truth in old clichés. There can be no real peace without justice. And without resistance there will be no justice. Today, it is not merely justice itself, but the idea of justice that is under attack. The Black Commentator     11/13/04 Using Courts in Brazil to Strengthen an Indian Identity BOA VISTA, Brazil On all her official papers, she is known as Joênia Batista de Carvalho. But that is not the real name of the first Indian woman to become a lawyer in Brazil, just a name a clerk randomly selected when her parents were first brought from their Amazon village to have their births registered. Whether her preoccupation with issues of cultural identity and autonomy stems from that incident, Ms. Batista is not sure. Still, when she went to the United States earlier this year to receive a Reebok Prize for her human rights work, she chose to accept the award as Joênia Wapixana, using the name of the tribe to which she belongs. New York Times     11/10/04 Arizona Initiative Inspires Others The passage of an Arizona immigration initiative requiring verifiable identification to vote or receive public benefits has spurred similar efforts in other states and created panic among some Hispanics, who are questioning whether it is safe to go to work, shop or send their children to school. washingtontimes.com     11/7/04 Army Recruiters: No Latino Left Behind PAJARO, California – For weeks, Amalia Ávila feared for the safety of her oldest son Víctor González, a 19-year-old Marine from Watsonville who was recently sent to Iraq. Her worst fears came true when she was notified that Víctor had been killed in a roadside mortar explosion just five weeks after his arrival in Iraq. Now, three weeks after his Oct. 13 death, Amalia Ávila thinks her son was misled, as much by military recruiters who promised him a bright future as by police officers who mentored him. She says they never dispelled the notion that a few years with the marines would make him a cop someday. El Mensajero, News Feature/ncmonline.com Chinese American Vote in California Reflects Economic Divide Chinese-language newspapers in California touted a marked increase in Chinese American voters during this year's election many of whom were driven to the polls because of concerns about the economy. But how they voted was a different matter. Younger and working class voters worried about jobs prospects tended to vote for John Kerry and more established, older Chinese voted for George W. Bush, according to newspapers. Sing Tao Daily, World Journal, Ming Pao Daily News/ncmonline.com One Nation, Handcuffed Together So the old "Moral Majority" rose up again and swamped the boat this election. With war, global terrorism, unemployment, an elitist health-care system and other serious issues dominating this election, who saw this coming? Who saw this leviathan lurking beneath the surface? The day after the election, vacuuming furiously while tears of despair ran down my face, I began thinking about the war in Iraq. Clearly this is an unjust war. But what is a just war? Common Dreams News Center Thousands March Against Racism, Anti-Semitism in France PARIS, Nov 7 (AFP) - Several thousand demonstrators marched through France on Sunday in a protest at racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination itself overshadowed by divisions over participation by a group with links to Islamic fundamentalists. www.expatica.com NAACP Sues School District Over Discipline SEATTLE (AP) - Security guards in a Seattle-area school district handcuffed black students, twisted their arms and grabbed their hair, the NAACP alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday. Black students, who make up 10 percent of the Kent School District's 26,000 students, were subjected to more corporal punishment than others in violation of state constitutional guarantees of equal protection and a law barring corporal punishment in schools, the lawsuit said. Gaurdian Unlimited     11/4/04 'Vote or die'? -- Not exactly: Activism, Not One Election, Changes the World If I didn't have such deep family roots in this land that I love, I'd seriously consider moving to the Dominican Republic, where the weather is warm and baseball is played all year round. Having said that, one of the unfortunate aspects of American politics is this fetish we have with presidential elections as if the office of the presidency were some omnipotent seat of power. Cape Cod Times Unspoken Fear Among Hispanics The fear of divide-and-conquer is primal, especially when a weak group takes on a powerful foe. That's why Benjamin Franklin said, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." Do most Latinos hang together? Is there a unity, an alliance, among Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexican-Americans and all other Latinos? What about Latinos and African-Americans? Do they hang together? Or is such an alliance more illusion than reality? Maybe the reality is that intractable divisions have been there all along and it's now time to talk about them, especially as some of the gaps widen. DenverPost.com Hispanic Vote Key The USA Today Poll shows Hispanics, who had voted for Al Gore by 65 percent to 35 percent, supported Kerry by only 55 to 43. Since Hispanics accounted for 12 percent of the vote, their 10-point shift meant a net gain for bush of 2.4 percent-which is most of the iprovement in his popular vote share. New York Post Blacks Roll to Polls: Estimated 3 Million New Voters Came Out Black voters came out in significant numbers to cast ballots in Nov. 2 presidential and congressional elections, according to political observers and activists.  “There was an effort to turn out the black vote and the black vote turned out,” David Bositis of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies told BlackAmericaWeb.com. Blacks cast about 11 percent of all votes, said Bositis. Based on estimates that 120 million people cast ballots this election, blacks accounted for an estimated 13.6 million votes, he said. These numbers suggest an additional three million blacks voted, compared to the 2000 election, Bositis said.    blackamericaweb.comnews "Is the Top 10 Plan Unfair?" Last Sunday (October 17) 60 Minutes aired the story "Is the Top 10 Plan Unfair?" regarding the state of affirmative action policies in the state of Texas. Unfortunately 60 Minutes asked the wrong question. The right question is "Why do such great educational disparities exist between two public high schools in Texas?" Instead of shedding light on the serious inequalities in the Texas public education system and the yawning achievement gaps it produces, 60 Minutes instead chose the easy way out - a story about how one low-income Latina student with a lower GPA got into the University of Texas while one higher-income White student with a higher GPA did not. civilrights.org Still Standing, Still Fighting, Still Here I've been working on digesting the results of the election. Mark Moford of the San Francisco Chronicle gave perhaps the best description of how I am feeling: "It simply boggles the mind: we've already had four years of some of the most appalling and abusive foreign and domestic policy in American history, some of the most well-documented atrocities ever wrought on the American populace and it's all combined with the biggest and most violently botched and grossly mismanaged war since Vietnam, and much of the nation still insists in living in a giant vat of utter blind faith, still insists on believing the man in the White House couldn't possibly be treating them like a dog treats a fire hydrant." thruthout.org A Victory for 'Values,' But Whose?     To understand why America skewed red on Election Day, you might talk to Gary Bauer, the conservative activist, former Republican candidate for president and creator of an organization called Americans United to Preserve Marriage.     The group spent a million dollars in Ohio, Michigan and across the country. It warned voters that a nation led by John Kerry might be one in which homosexuals could get married - and not just two at a time.     "Most Americans don't want to sit down and explain to their children why they live in a country where men can marry men, why there's polygamy - because that would naturally follow, we would argue," Bauer said yesterday.     If two men could marry, so could three, four, or more, Bauer said. Moreover, he said, "textbooks could not talk about 'mothers' and 'fathers.' They could only talk about 'parents.' "     Not long ago, this might have been considered a somewhat fringe viewpoint, a trifle alarmist - "polygamy" just isn't something you hear people talking about in Washington political circles - but gay marriage now seems essential to any conversation about the 2004 election. The exit polls pointed to a huge boost for Republicans from voters who said their biggest concern was "moral values." thruthout.org Waking Up to Reality: Strategic Proposals for the Way Ahead Today many of us woke up to find ourselves in a different country than the one we had convinced ourselves we lived in. It is a hard reality we dragged ourselves out of bed to confront; a dreary and terrifying world stares back at us today.     Progressives and even radicals have been acting as if the Bush administration was an historical accident, the result of an illegitimate power grab on the part of a Right Wing minority. But instead of pushing an unpopular and questionably elected president out of power, an unprecedented number of Americans turned out at the polls, and the majority of voters gave Bush's second term what will surely be interpreted as a blank check mandate, plus a more entrenched Republican Congress.   Zmagazine     11/2/04 Sudan Army Surrounds Darfur Refugee Camps KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- The Sudanese army and police surrounded several refugee camps in the war-torn region of Darfur on Tuesday and denied access to humanitarian groups, the United Nations said. The Sudanese government denied its security forces closed off the camps but said angry Arab tribesmen have gathered in the area. washingtontimes.com     10/25/04 Report Traces Injustice in Deportations A San Francisco Bay Area-based group of Filipino American academics will issue a report in November on instances of unjust deportations of Filipinos. The National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (Nafcon), a community-based organization worked in conjunction with the Critical Filipina and Filipino Studies Collective to put out this report. Some of the findings reveal that "the U.S. government has been systematically targeting U.S. Filipinos for removal (i.e. deportation and inadmissibility)" and that U.S. Homeland Security policies "impacted directly and negatively on U.S. Filipinos, giving rise to many unjust removals." Philippine News/ncmonline.com     10/21/04 Accused of Killings, He Still Gets Back Pay A United Nations employee charged by a war crimes investigator with killing some of his colleagues during the Rwanda genocide in 1994 has been awarded 13 months' back pay by a United Nations panel on the ground that he was unfairly dismissed. The award, by the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, was made on Sept. 30 after another United Nations board recommended that the employee, Callixte Mbarushimana, be paid for six months. Dissatisfied with the first judgment, Mr. Mbarushimana appealed to the tribunal for higher compensation, and won. New York Times Brewing Racism in Canada Contrary to popular belief, coffee is not the only beverage that Starbucks—the internationally renowned coffee chain—brews. As Aisha Syed, an ex-employee of the firm would tell you, it also brews a nasty concoction of discrimination, intolerance and racism. Syed, an Indo-Canadian woman in her 20s, had a taste of this nasty brew in 2002. After having worked at the Starbucks outlet in Richmond, British Coloumbia (Canada), since 1999, Syed was arbitrarily removed in 2002 for wearing her nose stud to work. On November 19, 2002, a manager at Starbucks (an American company) told Syed to remove her nose stud as it was against the official 'dress code'. Syed found this discriminatory and refused to comply. Her manager next told her, "We can't control the colour of the skin we're born with but we can control what we put in our noses." On December 2, Syed was fired as she refused to obey the manager's orders. The New Nation Opponents to Sriking Vestiges of Segregation from Alabama Constitution Accused of Racism Civil rights activists say racism is behind opposition to a ballot measure that would strike language requiring segregated schools and poll taxes from the Alabama Constitution. Ousted chief justice Roy Moore and other critics contend the measure is a backdoor attempt to raise taxes for schools. But leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference said Wednesday their claims were a "smoke screen" to hide a racist agenda for political gain. "It's an attempt to divide blacks and whites by race," said Spiver Gordon, an SCLC board member. "In 2004, it's a disgrace we still have vestiges of segregation in our constitution." SFGate.com     10/18/04 Renewed FBI Dragnet Could Scare Off Muslim Vote OAKLAND, Calif.--With less than a month to go until the elections, there is growing concern that a new initiative to thwart terrorism could silence political expression in the Arab and Muslim American communities. Beginning this month, the FBI is accelerating efforts to clamp down on suspected terrorists, calling in Arab and Muslim Americans for "voluntary interviews" and revisiting mosques. The agency's new initiative, which critics call the "October Plan," is aimed at thwarting any terrorist attempts to target the election. Arab and Muslim American advocacy organizations and civil liberties groups are crying foul, saying that the plan amounts to a campaign of intimidation that could stifle free expression on the eve of the presidential elections. Pacific News Service, News Feature Kerry Seeks to Connect to Blacks CLEVELAND — After spending much of the spring and summer courting swing voters, Sen. John F. Kerry is now hurriedly trying to rev up enthusiasm among African Americans, turning his attention to a stalwart Democratic constituency that some community leaders complain he neglected for too long. In the last several weeks, Kerry has tapped the Rev. Jesse Jackson as a senior advisor, held a summit of African American clergy in Philadelphia and visited black churches in Cleveland and Miami, joined by Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, a onetime rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. latimes.com Prince Video Depicts Terror, Sparks Outcry MINNEAPOLIS - The musician Prince is drawing fire for a new video that portrays an Arab-American girl envisioning herself blowing up an airport. The video for the song "Cinnamon Girl" shows the girl, played by 14-year-old Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes of the movie "Whale Rider," facing harassment from schoolmates and witnessing racism in the wake of an attack that mirrors 9/11. blackamericaweb.com Bush: Too little, too late for Native Americans Thirty-nine days before the presidential election in November George W. Bush, facing a hotly-contested race to keep his job, finally got around to inviting a small group of tribal leaders to the oval office: A subtle nod to the fact that the Indian vote can make the critical difference in the outcome of the election in certain key western states. Proudly proclaiming it an historic moment, the President produced a weak and watered down version of former President Clinton's 1993 Executive Memorandum on the government-to-government relationship, so minimal in scope that a picture of a smiling George Bush surrounded by a handful of tribal leaders had to be inserted in order that the document might fill the entire page. Indiancointry.com Imagining America if George Bush Chose the Supreme Court "Abortion might be a crime in most states. Gay people could be thrown in prison for having sex in their homes. States might be free to become mini-theocracies, endorsing Christianity and using tax money to help spread the gospel. The Constitution might no longer protect inmates from being brutalized by prison guards. Family and medical leave and environmental protections could disappear. It hardly sounds like a winning platform, and of course President Bush isn't openly espousing these positions. But he did say in his last campaign that his favorite Supreme Court justices were Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, and the nominations he has made to the lower courts bear that out. Justices Scalia and Thomas are often called 'conservative,' but that does not begin to capture their philosophies.... civilrights.org Lawsuit Over Green Cards A Class Action "Efforts to force the U.S. Homeland Security Department to issue green cards to thousands of legal immigrants surged ahead last week when a federal judge ordered a lawsuit by the Texas Lawyers' Committee certified as a class action." "As a practical matter, it would have been impossible to bring individual claims," said David Armendariz, the Texas Lawyers' Committee staff attorney. "There are thousands and thousands throughout the land and none of them can afford lawyers." "The lawsuit contends the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, or USCIS, part of the Homeland Security Department, has delayed issuing green cards for months and in some cases years." civilrights.org     10/15/04 9/ll Bill’s Anti-Immigrant Amendments Draw Criticism Efforts by House Republicans to add immigration amendments to a bill that enacts recommendations from the Sept. 11 commission have drawn the ire of pro-immigrant organizations. "There are some very troubling provisions in HR 10 which we are labeling an anti-immigration bill," said Judith Golub of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Vida en el Valle, News Report/ncmonline.com Brazilians Battle Indians: 'This Land Is Our Land' UIRUMUTA, Brazil - According to official maps, this remote stretch of the Amazon is an Indian reservation, set aside as the homeland of a half dozen tribes. Theoretically, that makes it off-limits to uninvited visitors. Yet white settlers have ignored the billboards that proclaim this cluster of villages to be "protected land" and have built an airstrip, a fancy technical school, a town hall and stores, all protected by a new military base. New York Times In Latino Communities, Few Are Lukewarm About Chance to Vote MELROSE PARK, Ill. -- Alfredo Guizarnotegui was opening the front door to the apartment building when a car door slammed shut, piercing the late-morning stillness. He pivoted and sized up a dark-haired woman as she hoisted grocery sacks in her arms, concluding from her purposefulness, utilitarian turtleneck and worn loafers that she was all he was searching for: a citizen. SFGate.com Black Voter Registration Breaking Records New voters are swelling the rolls and threatening to upset the assumptions of corporate pundits and polling organizations. Although Republicans are vigorously signing up white voters in the suburbs and exurbs, it appears the GOP is being out-organized by Democrat-led drives in Black and Brown precincts across the nation. www.ncmonline.com/The Back Commentator New Report Finds that U.S. Criminal Justice System is Unjust and Unfair to Latinos, Latinos are Disproportionately Incarcerated and Face Systemic Discriminatory Practices (Washington,DC)   The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights organization in the U.S., released a report today which found that Hispanics are overrepresented in the U.S. criminal justice system, with Hispanic defendants imprisoned three times as often as Whites and detained before trial almost twice as often as Whites, despite being the least likely of all ethnic groups to have a criminal history. According to Lost Opportunities: The Reality of Latinos in the U.S. Criminal Justice System, Hispanics represented 13% of the U.S. population in 2000, but accounted for 31% of those incarcerated in the federal criminal justice system. Latinos in the U.S. have one chance in six of being confined in prison during their lifetimes. civilrights.org     10/10/04 Schwarzenegger Rejects Pro-Immigrant Legislation SACRAMENTO, Calif.-- A handful of people gathered at the north steps of the Capitol for a press conference called by the California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative (CIWC) Oct. 1. The CIWC – a nonprofit umbrella group for immigrant advocacy organizations – held the conference to make its assessment on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s handling of immigrant issues during his first year. Its verdict: a failing grade. Philippine News/ncmonline.com     10/6/04 Indiana Diocese Repents of Racist History The Catholic diocese of Gary, Ind., confronted a century-old history of ethnic divisions in order to create a more multicultural, welcoming church. The effort included some of the 187,000 Catholics in northwest Indiana in a series of listening sessions patterned after South Africa's post-apartheid conversations. Those ended Sunday, Oct. 3, in an "atonement service" at Gary's Holy Angels Cathedral. Church Central The Color of Money GREENSBORO — If money talks, the images on old Confederate bills speak volumes. The drawings of toiling slaves changed the life of South Carolina artist John W. Jones when he first discovered them in 1996. To Jones and others who have researched them, the engraved scenes served as pro-slavery propaganda and illustrated the value of slave labor to the South’s economy. gotriad.com Interpreting 'Dreams': Green Card Bill Has Hidden Dangers Editor's Note: Immigrant advocates across the country are strongly supporting the DREAM Act. But PNS contributor Jorge Mariscal says the bill, while holding up the promise of permanent U.S. residency, pushes the undocumented toward military service. SFGate.com     10/3/04 Too Young To Die Part One: Life's Toll SFGate.com     10/2/04 With Fears of a Repeat, International Poll Watchers Will Be Dispacted Nationwide BET.COM An Attack on the Will to Learn Sudanese villagers recount Arab militia assaults on blacks' schools. They say the aim is to rob children of their education. Robyn Dixon, Times Staff Writer KALMA CAMP, Sudan — The walls of the school at Kailek village were made of straw and sticks, so the bullets went right through them. As the children studied one morning about six months ago, armed Arabs on camels and horses attacked the village in Sudan's Darfur region and surrounded the school. They raised their weapons and fired again and again, gunning down the trapped children and teachers. latimes.com Indian Tribes Complaining About Racial Profiling BEMIDJI, MINN. - In this neck of northern Minnesota, some Indians complain of being stopped for DWI — meaning "Driving While Indian" — a sly way of saying they were pulled over for no good reason. Behind the humor is anger over what they say is racial profiling of Indians by police and sheriff's deputies. Though authorities deny any discrimination, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has opened its first office outside the Twin Cities, solely to gather profiling complaints. Houstan Chronicle     9/27/04 Can Three-Strikes Reformers Finally Win? Editor's Note: A get-tough-on-crime law widely criticized as unjust may soon be changed, writes PNS contributor Earl Ofari Hutchinson. But politicians' -- especially Democratic politicians' -- macho posturing toward convicts may doom reform efforts still. The seemingly endless battle over three strikes reform in California is heating up again. California locks up more three strikes offenders than all the other 23 states with three strikes laws on their books combined. The big reason for that is that California is the only one of the three strikes states where a felony for any offense can trigger a life sentence upon conviction. Pacific News Service, Commentary Blocking the Latino Ballot To an immigrant, Arnold Schwarzenegger told delegates at the Republican convention last month, there is no country "more welcoming than the United States of America." And most of the time, that's true. But it wasn't true last week in Miami Beach, where the Department of Homeland Security attempted to ban a nonpartisan voter registration operation from setting up tables on the sidewalk outside a massive naturalization ceremony at that city's convention center. The DHS complained that Mi Familia Vota would be blocking the doors at the swearing-in. But last Thursday, U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled that the right to register voters was protected by the First Amendment, though he did stipulate how much space the group's tables could take up. The American Prospect Ex-Guantanamo Prisoner Faces Discrimination in Sweden Stockholm -- The furor that greeted the homecoming of a Swedish citizen who was released from the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba, highlights the volatile issue of discrimination in Sweden. Mehdi Ghezali was arrested in Pakistan while fleeing Afghanistan in the company of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters, and was released in July after spending a little over two years at Guantanamo. ncmonline.com Remedy or Racist? Detroit Council Plan Aims to Increase Black Businesses BY MARISOL BELLO FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER No proposal is complete, no financing finalized and no land identified, but there is plenty of emotion over a Detroit City Council plan to create a black business district known as African Town. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration is distancing itself from the plan; council members want to separate the rhetoric behind the plan from what they say is a need for the city to help black entrepreneurs, and Detroiters share mixed -- albeit heated -- feelings. Even the federal government is weighing in. Detroit Free Press Support for Arizona Anti-Immigration Measure Declines The ballot measure, the so-called, "Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act," aims to eliminate the provision of government services to undocumented immigrants other than those programs and services currently mandated by federal law. Supporters claim that the initiative will save taxpayers millions of dollars currently spent to provide services to undocumented immigrants, while opponents argue that the new law would incur huge costs to state and local governments in implementation and enforcement. civilrights.org     9/22/04 Black Rockers Left off Beer Cans WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino and Jimi Hendrix have been credited with creating rock n’ roll, but Miller Brewing Co. has created a controversy by promoting an all-White celebration of rock music. A recent Miller Brewing Co. promotion in partnership with Rolling Stone magazine chose to celebrate the “50th Anniversary of Rock ‘n’ Roll” by featuring Rolling Stone cover shots of Elvis Presley, Blondie, Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Joe Walsh, Eric Clapton and Willie Nelson on Miller beer cans. They did that even though six of the first 10 rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame inductees: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino and Little Richard were Black. NNPA Town Hall racism probe into 'ethnic cleansing' launched black information link Cross Burning Spurs Church to Tackle Racism Issues ARLINGTON - Jeannine Daggett's Minnesota childhood made her intolerant of racism. Daggett, 47, of Everett, admits that her relatives and stepfather were racists. But she didn't fall into that category. When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, she clearly knew as a child that it was wrong. Decades later, Daggett believes that racism still exists, even though people don't always recognize it. HeraldNet.com     9/15/04 Underwater Racism?: ‘Shark Tale’ Accused of Using Stereotypes to Animate Villains. EURWEB The Farm Workers’ Union Dives into Electoral Politics Pacific News Service/Traduccion al espanol For Immigrants Stuck in Backlog, Promise of Citizenship and Voting Go Unfulfilled NYIC, Commentary/ncmonline.com Racism and the Presidential Elections Racism within U.S. institutions, law and culture is deeply imbedded in the history and reality of the United States going back to the 17th century, and we still have a long way to go. We can see that by what is being said and not being said during the current Democratic and Republican Presidential campaigns. Bush, of course, acts as if everything is just fine, and we all love each other in this wonderful land of hope and opportunity united against the evil terrorists. Kerry, on the other hand, does talk about affirmative action, black voter disenfranchisement, the idea of "two Americas" and possibly other racial justice issues, but from the reports I've heard, only before black audiences. Zmagazine     9/12/04 At New National Museum of the American Indian, an Old Question Unresolved Newhouse News Service Powell Says Rapes and Killings in Sudan Are Genocide New York Times     9/7/04 Inouye says fight not over yet on Akaka bill Honoluluadvertiser.com     9/6/04 Racism' s Role in U.S. Elections Worker's World Families of Victims Shot By Cops Forge Activist Bonds Pacific News Service     9/4/04 Corporate Press Parrots Sham Study by Far Right Think Tank Headlines across the country last week touted a recently released study by an anti-immigration group seeking to prove that granting amnesty to the millions of undocumented immigrants in the US would cost the government billions of dollars. The release of the study was perfectly timed as the GOP debated the role of immigration in its platform for the upcoming Republican National Convention. Zmagazine     9/2/04 The Immigrant Vote Packs Real Potential NYIC/ncmonline.com Kerry Speaks Out in First Interview with Asian American Press Asian Week/ncmonline 'Racist' Arsonists Target Family BBC.COM White Police Claim Racism Guardian Unlimited Corporate Press Parrots Sham Study by Far Right Think Tank Headlines across the country last week touted a recently released study by an anti-immigration group seeking to prove that granting amnesty to the millions of undocumented immigrants in the US would cost the government billions of dollars. The release of the study was perfectly timed as the GOP debated the role of immigration in its platform for the upcoming Republican National Convention. Zmag.org Black Media Warns Sequel to 2000 Vote Fiasco Looms in Florida In this country, the idea of fairness in voting has been dismantled by past misdeeds, growing distrust and new scandals. The 2000 elections permanently marred the reputation of the electoral system for many voters, especially blacks. Those elections made it clear that decades after the end of voter discrimination under Jim Crow laws, blacks still face voting systems that are rigged against ncmonline.com     8/29/04 Despite Official Ban, Slavery Lives on in Mauritania: Bondage was Outlawed for 3rd Time in '81 SFGate.com     8/28/04 Campus Racism Rises Victoria Tower Calif. Gov. to Veto Immigrant License Bill latimes.com Venezuela: Divided Country, Biased Media Pacific News Service, Commentary UCLA Study Projects Uncertain Future for African American Progress Despite Past Gains UCLA News Protest Continue at Sudan Embassy washingtontimes.com     8/26/04 More Blacks Going to Prison in 17 Key Election States BlackAmericaWeb.com Asian Leaders Decry Plan to Check Immigration Status in Hospitals Philippine News Push for Aborigines in constitution The Australian Racist attacks spark call for special patrols The Observer     8/19/04 Immigrants Face Loss of Licenses in ID Crackdown New York Times Flaws in U.S. Health System Imperils Immigrants ncmonlne.com Japanese American Activist Remembered as Man of Principle Nichi Bei Times/ncmonline.com BBC Runs Into Trouble With Documentary On Black Men Independent.co.uk 'Controversy is a Good Thing' BBC.COM     8/18/04 Hiram Fong, First Asian-American Senator, Dies at 97 SFGate.com     8/16/04 Asian American Leader Fears Scandal Will Set Back Asian Voter Participation NCM Interview Indian Americans Form Historic Group in Democratic Party India Post/ncmonline.com     8/13/04 The Path to Legalizing Farm Workers Voice of the Valley/Pacific News Service Italy Struggles With Illegal Immigration latimes.com Report Says US Border Agents Mistreat Asylum Seekers Khaleej Times online Mexican Congress Criticizes Use of Rubber Bullets Against Migrants SFGate.com     8/9/04 S.F. Chinese Parents Make the Case for Non-Citizen Voting World Journal and Sing Tao Daily/ncmonline.com Blacks in a Quandary Over L.A. Mayor's Race Wave Newspapers, News Report/ncmonline NAACP: Don't Purge Voters from the Rolls Amsterdam News Former Braceros Still Waiting for Money Vida en el Valle/ncmonline.com Judge Halts San Francisco Affirmative Action Contracting Program; City to Appeal Decision civilrights.org New Report from LCCREF and ABA Says 1996 Immigration Reforms Unfair civilrights.org     8/1/04 Ex-Offenders Battle Economic Obstacles civilrights.org Study Says Blacks Paid More for Honda Loans blackamericaweb.com Latinos Seek More Say at the Podium bostonglobe.com Historic Dialogue between Indigenous Groups Voice of the Valley/Pacific News Service Darfur: US and UN could stop the slaughter San Francisco Bay View The Dirty World Of Military Recruiting The Final Call/Pacific News Service Ethnic Media, Activists Decry Crisis in Sudan Asbarez Armenian Daily, Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, News Report, ncmonline.com     7/25/04 Mr. Powell's Mistake washingtonpost.com Demanding Greater Consideration From Presidential Candidates Only First Step for Asian Americans ncmonline.com/Sing Tao Daily Congress Moves Closer to Saving Family of Hate Crime Victim ncmonline/Pakistani Link Post-9/11 Deportations of Legal Immigrants Continue ncmonline.com/Hispanic Vista     7/24/04 Don't Call It A Comeback Guerilla News Network Namibia Tribe Marks Genocide, Demands Reparations Reauters/AlertNET Mumia: Support from NAACP, But a Movement in Shambles Counterpunch Poll: Hispanics back Kerry over Bush seattlepi.com Taiwan Aborigines Protest Remarks seattlepi.com     7/18/04 Arab Racism is the "Root Cause" Jerusalem Post Stop Racial Profiling Of US Muslims: House Democratic Leader Indolink.com Aborigines Split Over Disaster Relief Issues: Indigenous Groups Hold Protests Over Comments Made by Annette Lu on Taiwan's 'black pygmies' TaiwanNews.com Hispanic voters sue for change to Hanford's voting system SFGate.com Misguided Border Policy Continues With Triple Fence, Activists Say La Prensa/ncmonline.com Why Is the NAACP Silent on Sudan? www.beliefnet.com     7/14/04 In Support of Media Diversity, Court Rules Against FCC civilrights.org Freehold Area Hispanics Get a Primer on Workers' Rights civilrights.org Rangel Arrested in Sudan Protest, Congressman in Demonstration at Sudanese Embassy The Hill Mushmouth Reconsidered villagevoice.com More Cosby Myths alternet.org African-Americans Propose Far-Reaching Immigration Reform Pacific News Service     7/11/04 Kerry Promises Hispanics Quick Immigration Overhaul if He's Elected SFGate.com Fla. Scraps Flawed Felon Voting List Newsday.com Political Face of Florida Latinos Changing: Puerto Rican Influx Gives Democrats Hope of Ending Cuban-GOP Dominance washingtonpost.com Bush Faults NAACP Leaders Philly.com     7/10/04 Senate Confirms Judicial Nominee With Troubling Civil Rights Record civilrights.org Education Lawsuits Succeeding With 'No Child Left Behind' Data civilrights.org Michigan Women's Groups Speak Out in Support of Affirmative Action civilrights.org Need to Renew Your Non-Immigrant Visa? U.S. Says You Need to Go Back Home First ncmonline.com 'Mess in Florida' ncmonline.com/BET.com     7/6/04 Aboriginals: Foreigners in their own land? BBC.COM Rumors of Immigration Raids Disrupt Agriculture Industry Vida en el Valle/ncmonline.com Daschle: Protecting Voting Rights in Indian Country indiancountry.com     7/4/04 Detroit Joins 2 Cities on Slave Disclosures washingontimes.com Kerry ‘Can’t Win Without the Black Vote’ Wave Newspaper Group/ncmonline.com     6/30/04 Lawsuit Seeks to Stop LA Project after remains of 300 Gabrielno Tongva Found Indiancountry.com American Indian Voter Rights Debate Heats Up Indiancountry.com     6/28/04 Tough Times for Translators; S.F. Hospital May Cut Interpreters ncmonline.com Native People Work to Heal Bitter Legacy of Government Boarding Schools ncmonline.com     6/25/04 Beating by LAPD Officer Airs on TV: The Case is Seen as a Test for Bratton as Parallels are Drawn to the Rodney King Incident of 1991. latimes.com The Politics of Self-Criticism: Cosby Gets Cheers, Lerner Gets Threats Berkeley Daily Planet Color Complex In The South Asian Diaspora Indolink.com The New American Apartheid, Part I zmagazine.org The End of Violenced? MotherJones.com Affirmative Action One Year After 'Grutter' civilrights.org Civil Rights Groups Voice Concern Over Proposed Change to EEO-1 Form civilrights.org Rabbis Clash With Schwarzenegger Over His Driver's License Proposal ncmonline.com Filipino Americans Play Key Roles in Kerry and Bush Campaigns Philippine News 'Terminal' Blues: Spielberg Film Misses True Immigrant Story Pacific News Service,Commentary Stateless and Deported zmagazine.org Blame Cosby? zmagazine.com     6/20/04 As Genocide Unfolds washingtonpost.com Juneteenth Not a Celebration for All Newsday.com     6/18/04 Nielsen: We Undercounted People Of Color, Not Blacks, Hispanics, But Asians Media Post Daily News Laotian Immigrants Demand Greater Housing Rights ncmonline.com L.A. Called 'Hunger Capital' of the U.S. ncmonline.com/Eastern Group Publications Immigration Raids in California Test Spanish-Language Media ncmonline.com Indian Vote Could Decide Senate Majority, Presidential Election Indiancountry.com     6/13/04 Diversity Plan Shaped in Texas Is Under Attack www.nyt.com     6/12/04 Some Civil Rights Leaders Have it Wrong dailynews.com U.S. Hispanic Dropout Rate Highlighted washingtontimes.com Reagan's Legacy Among Minority Groups Conflicted, Complex; Hispanics Praise 1986 Amnesty SFGate.com Tutu Urges US to Address Lingering Racial Issues BlackAmericaweb.com Ethnicity or Issues? Indian Americans Debate How to Win Political Office India West/ncmonline.com California Mascot Bill Passes Senate Education Committee indiancountry.com Connerly's Concession in Michigan Contradicts Actions on the Ground civilrights.org Minority Admits Down in UC System; Groups Say Regent Using Asians as 'Pawns' civilrights.org     6/9/04 Schools Will Not Report Illegals washingtontimes.com Bank One Tells City its Units May have had Ties to Slavery suntimes.com Hutchison: The Real Reagan Revolution AlterNet.org Michigan Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Affirmative Action Petition Case Detroit Free Press Activists Plan to Protest UN's 'Inaction' on Sudan Violence CNSNEWS.COM Asian Pacific Islander American Groups Join Forces With Other Immigrant Champions to Help Empower More Than Two Million Immigrant Voters civilrights.org     6/6/04 Rally Protest Proposed Clifornia Health Care Cuts Indiancountry.com Lott, Reagan and Republican Racism Time Online Edition A Tangled Web The Boston Phoenix.com Did White Teacher Spit in Black Students Face BlackPressUSA.com Fla. AG: Motel Discriminated Vs. Blacks BlackAmericaweb.com     6/3/04 CU Tells Students They Can't Start NAACP Chapter, Officials Cite Stand on Abortion, Overlap With Campus Groups washingtonpost.com     6/2/04 Post-Colonial Nostalgia Behind Britain's Brand of Racism Tallahassee.com     6/1/04 High School Athlete Faces Possible Felony Charges, Student Refused To Plead Out To Misdemeanor NBC11.COM     5/31/04 Dangerous Boarder: Militias Round up Illegal Immigrants in Desert Migrant Advocates Say Deceptive Patrols Increase Peril, Seldom Face Legal Scrutiny SFGate.com     5/29/04 Proposal to Adopt a Palestinian City as a 'Sister' Creates a Family Feud for Madison New York Times     5/28/04 Black Soldiers Battled Fascism and Racism www.washingtonpost.com Immigrant Children More Likely to Live Below the Poverty Line Sing Tao Daily/ncmonline.com Anti-Affirmative Action Vote Drive Halted civilrights.org     5/25/04 $50 Million Gift for Education a Good Start, Experts Says BlackAmericaweb.com Brazil Grapples With Moves to Racial Unity washingtontimes.com $50 Million Gift Aims to Further Legacy of Brown Case New York Times     5/24/04 Armenian Americans Battle Bush Over Genocide Recognition Pacific News Service, News Report/ncmonline Prison Torture Begins at Home Pacific News Service, Commentary In a Reverse Migration, Blacks Head to New South latimes.com     5/21/04 New Jersey to Require all police Officers to Learn What is _ and isn't _ Racial Profiling SFGate.com Connecticut-Based Beer Distributor to Pull Ads Some Hispanics Deemed Offensive Newsday.com No Improvement in Black, Hispanic Graduation Rates BlackAmericaweb.com     5/19/04 Report: Blacks, Latinos Steered from Long Island Housing blackamericaweb.com In School, Latinos Find Fewer Resources, Ethnic Isolation boston.comNews California Case Sets Stage For Brown Vs. Board AntiRacismNet.org     5/17/04 Powell Raps Arab Silence washingtontimes.com     5/16/04 Mendez v Westminster civilrights.org Fifty Years after Brown, N.J. Taking Different Approach to Schools Newsday.com Struggle Turns from Integration to Education DenverPost.com Struggle turns from integration to education DenverPost.com Powell Denounces Israel's Destruction of Palestinian Homes washingtonpost.com     5/13/04 New Focus on Tensions Between Asian and African American Students in N.Y. Schools Korea Daily, News Report/ncmonline Alfred and Corntassel: A Decade of Rhetoric for Indigenous Peoples Indian Country Today Idle on Darfur washingtonpost.com     5/9/04 South Wire: Georgia Beatings Reveal Vulnerability of Hispanic Day Laborers jacksonville.com Atlanta's Segregated Schools, in 2004 foxnews.com Free Press slavery history Detroit Free Press Connerly Vows that Michigan Voters Will Get to Vote on Racial Preferences HeraldTribune.com     5/8/04 Hired Guns in Iraq May Have War Crimes Pasts Pacific News Service     5/4/04 Racial Profiling is Confirmed: Police Face New Rules on Stopping Motorists boston.com News Civil Rights Commission Has Hearing to Assess Election Reform civilrights.org Washington University Alters Program for Blacks BlackPressUSA.com South African Blacks to get Land Stolen during Apartheid BlackPressUSA.com     5/2/04 Recognition of Armenian Genocide Increasing Despite White House Opposition Asbarez Armenia Daily     4/30/04 Facing Up to Our Ties to Slavery boston.comNews A Closer Look: Decline in Minority Admissions Linked to Decreasing UC Campus Activism Daily Bruin Some Blacks and Hispanics Criticize Kerry on Outreach New York Times     4/26/04 Hub of hypersegregation boston.comNews Racism Flaring, Northwest Fights Back, The Number of Skinheads in the US has Doubled in the Past Year. AntiRacismNet.org     4/20/04 Ashcroft Pressed To Re-Open Till Investigation: Murder of 14-Year-Old In 1955 Helped Trigger Civil Rights Movement SacObserver.com Univ. of Alabama Votes to Apologize for Slavery blackamerica.web.com S.F. Chinese Community Astir Over School Desegregation Debate Sing Tao Daily and World Journal, News Report, ncmonline.com     4/19/04 Cuba's Desire For Equality Ignores Obvious washingtonpost.com Fair Housing Advocates Call for Stricter Law Enforcement civilrights.org Study Suspects Thousands of False Convictions civilrights.org Crazy, Racist Slant Colors Crime Stats DenverPost.com The Apprentice blackenterprise.com Bad New Days for Voting Rights It has been years since the bad old days when Southern blacks were given "literacy tests," and voting rights activists were beaten and killed. But blacks, Hispanics and Indians are still regularly discouraged from voting, often under the guise of "ballot integrity" programs that are supposed to be aimed at deterring fraud at the polls. Minority vote suppression tears at the fabric of American democracy. It persists, however, for a simple reason: in close elections, when some minority groups are strongly identified with a single party, it can be the difference between winning and losing. In 2002, the Indian vote in South Dakota helped Senator Tim Johnson win by just 528 votes. New York Times     4/16/04 Afro-Colombians: 'Invisible' People Strive to Survive War, Racism StraightWords E-Zine, News Reprt     4/12/04 Mbeki Attack On Opposition Leader Stirs Up Racism Storm Independent.co.uk Forget This Phoney Debate, We Need to Comfront Racism Gaurdian Unlimited Second Shooting of Chinese American in S.F. Draws Ire from Community Word Journal, News Report     4/11/04 What Clinton Knew About Rwanda Genocide The East African Ottawa Prepares to Battle Racism, Federal Program Combats Growing Anti-Semitism, Anti-Arab Crimes Calgary Herald     4/7/04 Was World's Failure to Act Racism? asks Kagame news.telegraph.co.uk Reparations Should Be an Election Issue, Say Activists San Francisco Bay View/ncmonline.com     4/5/04 Racial Profiling Ban Makes Way Through Congress sacobserver.com Australia Unveils Big Plan for Aboriginal Education www.jang.com Kerry Leads in oll of Latin Voters Zogby International Coalition Expands AIDS Drug Plan, Over 100 Nations May Get Discounts washingtonpost.com     4/4/04 Kids Have African-Israeli Identity, but Ethiopian Parents Still Foreigners Global News Service of the Jewish People Hispanics Win Noise Bias Suit in Arkansas latimes.com Survey: Lack of Financial Aid Info Keeping Hispanics from College SFGate.com     4/3/04 Crisis in Darfur washingtonpost.com     3/30/04 A Tribe Caught in Middle latimes.com Disenfranchised Florida Felons Struggle to Regain Their Rights New York Times     3/29/04 UNICEF Nigerian Polio Vaccine Contaminated with Sterilizing Agents Scientist Finds LifeSite.net     3/24/04 Push for Diversity Enriches UGA ww.ajc.com SA Universities: The Racial Balance BBCNEWS Chinese in San Francisco Brace for Storm Over School Assignments World Journal/Sing Tao Daily/ncmonline.com     3/23/04 Tribes, 2007 Planners Talking, Many Still Feel Federal Recognition is Needed Before They Participate TimesDispatch.com BIA Reorganization Shows Cultural Gap Indiancountry.com Black Ivy League Students Under Attack FinalCall.com Book Callls Hispanic Immigration A Threat MiamiHearlad.com In Sudan, Peace Deal Can't End Cultural Conflict Pacific News Service/ncmonline.com Asian 'American Idol': Stereotype or Star? Asia Commentary/ncmonline.com Colorado Senate to Vote Soon on Whether to End Affirmative Action civilrights.org     3/16/04 Clinging to 'Western' Heritage, US Lawmaker Fights Multiculturalism in Schools yahoonews.com Carving Up Aboriginal Art Market theage.com Calif. Classes Canceled as Colleges Hit by Rash of Hate Incidents AntiRacismNet.org Suppressing the Bad News on NCAA Graduation Rates civilrights.org Activists Want KKK Banned from University of Louisville Campus civilrights.org     3/10/04 Sub-Saharan Migrants in Libya Face Backlash, Gaddafi Ratchets Back Pan-African Policies washingtonpost.com     3/9/04 US-Haiti Znetmagazine.org Losing Our Future:How Minority Youth are Being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University     3/7/04 Everyone Should Back Herero Reparations The Namibian Hispanic Immigrants Threaten US culture, Harvard Professor Says US-National-AFP A Growing Hispanic Vote Still Favors GOP Boston Globe Bush Medicare Ads Blasted for Flaws and Limited Reach Pacific News Service Minorities' Graduation Rates Low, Report Says civilrights.org Brown University Committee Examines Historical Ties to Slavery civilrights.org     3/2/04 GOP Plans Votes to Put Democrats on the Spot washingtonpost.com     3/1/04 Mexican consul, Mormon Church Denounce Anti-Immigration Group SFGate.com Democrats Need Dean's Message to Win Pacific News Service, Commentary/ncmonline.com     2/28/04 Young People Speak Out on California's Troubled Juvenile Justice System Pacific News Service/ncmonline.com Arab World to U.S.: Don't 'Fix' Us, Work With Us Pacific News Service/ncmonline.com Oakland Students Allege Abuse by Police civilrights.org     2/23/04 U.S., Mexico Agree to Deport Migrants Closer to Home SFGate.com Schwarzenegger Backs Amendment to Allow Immigrant Presidents NYTimes.com Chandler Police Reach Out to Hispanic Residents civilrights.org Laughter Lobbies for Better Roads on Reservations civilrights.org     2/16/04 Death of Teen in Australia's Largest City Sparks Riots in Aborigine Neighborhood SFgate.com Student Group Offers Whites-Only Scholarship washingtonpost.com     2/12/04 Fleeing Slavery in Africa washingtontimes.com OutKast Grammy Performance Offends American Indians Indian County Today/ncmonline.com Black SA Youth 'Denied Access to UK' www.iol.co.za Nassau Rental Bias Reported:Group Says Blacks, Latinos Mistreated Newsday.com Sweeping Civil Rights Legislation Reaches Capitol Hill civilrights.org     2/6/04 Koreans Fear Race-based Attacks in L.A. County Jails Korea Times/Korea Daily/ncmonline.com Call to End Educational 'Racism' BBC News World Edition Why Sharpton Doesn't Cut It Pacific News Service/ncmonline.com     1/31/04 Confederate History Month Rises Again washingtontimes.com     1/29/04 At Baghdad Forum, Topic Is Democracy, but Not Elections washingtonpost.com KKK Plans Rally on Same Day Presidential Candidates in Nashville The Florida Times-Union National poll: Hispanics Divided on Bush Immigration Proposal SFGate.com US Citizenship of Nazi Collaborator to be Revoked Jerusalem Post Armenian Americans Question Clark's About Face on Genocide Asbarez Armenian Daily, Commentary/NCMonline.com Indian Nations President Says 'Quiet Crisis' Grows Louder civilrights.org Washington State May Modify Anti-Affirmative Action Law civilrights.org     1/24/04 Tribes Prepare for Schwarzenegger Initiatives Indianz.Com/ncmonline.com Critics Say Schwarzenegger Budget Unfair to Small Cities, Latino Communities Vida en el Valle, News Report/ncmonline.com     1/17/04 Bush Bypasses Senate On Judge: Pickering Named To Appeals Court During Recess washingtonpost.com Supreme Court Hands Texas GOP a Redistricting Victory washingtonpost.com     1/13/04 Thugs Drive Out Blacks in Belfast 'Ethnic Cleansing' telegraph.uk.co Brazil: Settlers Kidnap Missionaries and Attack Indigenous People Amnesty International UK     1/12/04 Ethnic Media Wary of Bush Immigration Proposal Pacific News Service Some Hispanics who Joined Statewide Boycott Lost their Jobs SFGate.com Democratic Front-Runner Dean Criticized on Racial Issues The Miami Herald Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Over Secret Sept. 11 Detentions SFGate.com U.S. to Push Airlines for Passenger Records:Travel Database to Rate Security Risk Factors washingtonpost.com     1/9/04 Affirmative Action Foes Go Hunting for Support www.civilrights.org 50 Years Pass, Yet School Inequality Persists www.civilrights.org     1/8/04 Jobs, Education, Health Top Concerns Of Black Voters SacObserver.com Ethiopians Protest Immigration Delays FORWARD     1/7/04 Sacramento Muslims Reach Out to Wider Community Pakistani Link/NCM     1/1/04 Governor: Don't Gut College Prep For Working Class Californians SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- When everyone else around you doubts your success it is hard to keep focus towards higher education. This is why it is necessary to oppose GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget cuts to the University of California’s Outreach Programs and similar cuts at California State University campuses. These programs provide essential college preparation to approximately 110,000 low-income youngsters throughout the state. La Prensa-San Diego, Commentary/NCM     12/29/03 Police Shooting in San Jose Stirs Vietnamese Into Action SFGate.com Asian Women Golfers Swing Through Attacks KoreAm Journal/NCM     12/24/03 Reports Accuse Indonesia, a U.S. Ally, of Abuses Pacific News Service, Commentary     12/22/03 A&M Seeks Diversity:University Officials Plan to use the Corps of Cadets to Lure Minority Students Austin-American Statesman Ex-Felons Seeking Voting Rights Get Trial The Miami-Herald.com     12/21/03 School Debate Slave-Era Names washingtontimes.com     12/18/03 OCA Commemorates 60th Anniversary Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act civilrights.org Report Calls on Bush Administration to Accept, Enforce Effects of ‘Grutter’ Decision civilrights.org     12/15/03 Schwarzenegger's Cuts Unhealthy for Korean Families Korea Times/NCM Michiganians Likely to Ban Affirmative Action civilrights.org     12/9/03 Retailer's Image Problem: Racism SFGate.com     12/8/03 Supporters, Foes of Affirmative Action Draw Battle Lines mlive.com Attack on Foreign Students in Moscow Alarms Chinese Sing Toa Daily Latino Boycott Part of Strategy in New Push for Drivers' Licenses Voice of the Valley/NCM     12/1/03 Immigrant re-registration Abandoned washingtontimes.com Affirmative Action Backers Push For Connerly's Ouster washingtontimes.com House Will Vote On Alien Reporting washingtontimes.com Young Black Males: Job Untouchables? FinalCall.com EPA Protects Paper Companies From Miane Tribe Supervison IndianCountry.com     11/24/03 Law Banishes Immigrants for Petty Offenses/NCM Asian Week Dueling students rally over Connerly:Some are demanding regent's removal; other want him to stay put Alameda Times-Star Bake Sale at A&M Puts Heat on Affirmative Action Policy HoustonChronicle.com     11/18/03 For More and More Blacks, the South Beckons Sun Reporter/NCM Ramadan Donations Hampered by U.S. Regulations Pakistan Link Immigration Reformers Launch Bid to Sway 2004 Elections El Norte Digest Native Americans Gather for Election Talks CNN.COM City's Racial Gap Detailed in Black and White suntimes.com At Colleges, an Affirmative Reaction washingtonpost.com The Black Seminole Indians Keep Fighting for Equality in the American West civilrights.org     11/12/03 Jeff Jacoby: Won't Democrats Rubuke Sharpton? Boston Globe OAS Works on Set of Rights for Indigenous People VOANEWS.COM     11/10/03 Lack of Spanish-Language Information Endangered Lives During San Diego Fires Enlace, La Prensa-San Diego Going Beyond Black and White, Hispanics Choose 'Other' NYTimes.com     11/5/03 In Scorched Hills, Tribes Feel Bereft and Forgotten New York Times/civilrights.org FBI Report Shows Decrease in Hate Crimes civilrights.org PATRIOT Act Fears Are Stifling Free Speech, ACLU Says in Challenge to Law ACLU     11/4/03 Justice Dept. Denies Obstructing Diversity Criticism AboutRace.com GOP Fails To Break Pickering Filibuster Sacobsever.com Racist Attacks On Migrant Workers Rise IrishExaminer.com Notice of Appeal Filed In Redskins Trademark Case indiancountry.com Initiative Out to Show Black Male’s Plight rrstar.com New US Visa Rules Will Worsen Ties With Arabs Middle East Online     10/29/03 Namibia’s Herero Demand Reparations for Colonial-Era Genocide   DW-WORLD.DE     10/27/03 Education Funding to Favour Black Students allAfrica.com Youth 'Key' To Tackling Racism BBC.COM Hip-Hop Product Portrayals Divide Black Community Christian Science Monitor Koreans and Latinos Rally Behind Drivers License Law NCM, News Digest African American and Immigrant Groups Fight 'Alarming' Rise in Racial Profiling ColorLines RaceWire     10/21/03 Coalition Vows to Fight Nomination civilrights.org Bolivian Unrest Centers On Poverty, Racism miamiherald.com Wilkins: Red, Black, and Bruised Indaincountry.com     10/20/03 Reading Between the Lines: Covering the Cops Africana.com Hispanic Activists Rip New Driver's License Laws SFgate.com Mexican-American Rights Group Files Lawsuit Over GOP's Texas Redistricting SFGate.com The Roots of 'Hispanic' 1975 Committee of Bureaucrats Produced Designation washingtonpost.com The (Finally) Emerging Republican Majority The Weekly Standard     10/14/03 SF State Administration Encourages Anti-Black Hostility sfbayview.com     10/13/03 Racism Overshadows Swiss Elections Deutsche Welle     10/12/03 'Ghettopoly' Incites Protests:Stereotypes Meant as Parody, Creator Says washingtonpost.com     10/6/03 Silicon Valley Immigrants Say: 'Do Not Take Advantage of a Foreigner' arc.org     9/29/03 Peltier Pleads for New Hearing indiancountry.com Filipinos 'Outraged' Over Mass Deportations Phillipine News Asians Split on Initiative Pushed by Affirmative Action Critics Asian Week Army Chaplain's Arrest Puts Chinese Americans on Edge Pacific News Service Cartoon Offends Sikh Community, Artist Apologizes India West South Asians Gather for Forum on Patriot Act, Backlash India West     9/28/03 Hunt for "New" Oil The Washington Times     9/24/03 News from the North: A Digest of First Nations News from Canada indiancountry.com Lawmaker to Start Work on National American Latino Museum SFGate.com     9/22/03 Perdue's Journey in Black and White. Can a Child of the Segregated South Lead a Discussion on Race in 21st Century Georgia? ajc.com     9/19/03 Poll: U.S. Muslims Increase Political Activity Since 9/11 Council on American Islamic Relations Presidential Candidate Receives Tribal Advice indiancountry.com/about.com Bus Mistake Causes Boston to Revisit Racial Rifts About.com Russian Rights Groups to Monitor Racism miamiherald.com     9/15/03 Some Black Voters Feel Overlooked by California Recall Candidates SFGate.com Sharpton Protests Internet Voting SFGate.com Young Activist Leaders Struggle To Be Heard SacObserver.com GOP Dumps Hispanic Caucus washingtontimes.com Pandor or Candor The Barre Montpelier Times In Search of a Master Race USA Today Peruvian Truth Reveals Decades of Terror indiancountry.com     9/9/03 Renewing A Historic Partnership Foward Citizens Launch Drones to Patrol Mexican Boarder: Immigrant Groups Fear Vigilance Will Turn to Violence ajc.com     9/8/03 Rights March Unifies Groups Starbulletin.com     9/6/03 Genetic Breakthroughs Help Solve Some Origin Questions for African Americans SFGate.com NAACP Opposes Proposed Thurmond Memorial SacObserver.com     9/1/03 BLACKS, MUSILIMS HOLD SEPERATE MEETINGS Kansascity.com     8/29/03 U-MICHIGAN REVEALS NEW POLICY, PROVOST SAYS DIVERSITY WILL REMAIN a PRIORITY in ADMISSIONS The Washington Post NAACP Claims Bias in Schools The Miami Herald Racism Cited As 69,000 Die in Peru Rebel War Toronto Star     8/26/03 Black's Lingering Fears Hampering UW Study Seattle Post-Intelligencer     8/25/03 Blacks Still Suffer Financial Inequality If not for Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream, Roderick Powell figures, he'd be a teacher or low-level office worker -- certainly not a stock analyst whose résumé includes a stint as a top executive on a Wall Street trading floor. The Palm Beach Post     8/24/03 Old Dreams and New Issues 40 Years After Rights March   WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 - The atmosphere was completely new to Raul Yzaguirre, a college student manning a first aid station at the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. Raised in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, he had been active in the newly emerging Hispanic rights movement, and the gospel songs filling the air, the messages from the black civil rights leaders booming from the speakers' platform, were all unfamiliar. New York Times     8/21/03 Northern Ireland: Battle Against Racism AntiRacismNet.org     8/19/03 Moment of Decision The Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center illustrates where Kansas City's African-American and Latino communities have been, and where they might be heading. Rodgers has long been a point of pride for black Kansas City. Founded by a black man, for years it has been a black-run organization serving a predominantly black population. KansasCity.com     8/12/03 Homosexuality, Racism, and the Eclipse of the Gospel As the Episcopal Church splinters over the question of homosexual bishops, Episcopalian liberals are telling us that they are the heirs of the civil rights era of 20th century American history. And they are partly right. The gay liberation movement in the mainline churches stands firmly in the tradition of the segregationist churches of the Jim Crow-era South. Black Electorate State GOP Legislators Urge Action on Cuba A group of Florida Republican state representatives has drafted a letter warning President Bush he risks losing their support for the 2004 election if he does not adopt a tougher Cuba policy. The Miami Herald Fairfax Official Laments Magnet's Scant Diversity Virginia's first elected Hispanic official stood among her own yesterday and used two words to describe her biggest frustration. "Thomas Jefferson," said Isis Castro, outgoing chairman of the Fairfax County School Board. The Washington Post Fairfax Official Laments Magnet's Scant Diversity Virginia's first elected Hispanic official stood among her own yesterday and used two words to describe her biggest frustration. "Thomas Jefferson," said Isis Castro, outgoing chairman of the Fairfax County School Board. The Washington Post Bush's Hawkish Nominee To Peace Think Tank On Hold In Senate Few have heard of the U.S. Institute of Peace, and fewer still can remember the last time a presidential nomination to the federally funded think tank prompted a confirmation battle. The Council on American Islamic Relations     8/7/03 ACTION ALERT: Protecting Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Congressman Kendrick Meek has introduced H.R. 2137, the Immigrant Children Protection Act of 2003. This bill would require that once an unaccompanied minor is placed in the custody of the US Department of Homeland Security by border control officers, he or she must be placed within 72 hours into the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the US Department of Health and Human Services. NAACP Muslims Condemn Attack on Sikh Family in New York The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned an attack on a Sikh family in New York that was apparently motivated by religious or ethnic bias. The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group said preventing bias-motivated attacks must be a "top priority" for American political and religious leaders. CAIR Research and Race When she learned about 15 years ago that she had high blood pressure, Gloria Taylor was surprised. She had always been the member of the family with low blood pressure. "I actually didn't believe it. I don't want to believe it now," Mrs. Taylor, 52, said the other day after a doctor's appointment at Harlem Hospital Center in New York. Why her? Maybe her former eating habits, she speculates. Scientists would love to know why black Americans like Mrs. Taylor run elevated rates of high blood pressure. And prostate cancer, obesity, asthma and diabetes. Associated Press     7/3/03 Facts on Proposition 54 Proposition 54 is: Dangerous, Deceptive, Irresponsible From healthcare, to education, to basic civil rights protections, banning demographic information – basic vital statistics – about race and ethnicity is a bad idea. Coalition for an Informed California     1/8/03 Stakes Is High The Nation