September 01, 2011
Black Florida Rep. Allen West, the only Republican member of the Congressional Black Caucus, is threatening to quit the CBC over what he calls “racially motivated rhetoric†by fellow caucus members aimed at the tea party.
While speaking at a Black Caucus-sponsored event in Miami, fellow CBC member Congressman Andre Carson of Indiana made the assertion that
September 01, 2011
National civil rights, human rights, civil liberties, Muslim, Jewish, and South Asian groups introduced their statement of shared principles and previewed their activities related to the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
More than 70 diverse organizations have signed on to the statement of shared principles in advance of the anniversary
September 01, 2011
A new report released today by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) shows that Latino children are at a disadvantage when it comes to elementary school.
The report shows that in 2009, only 48 percent of Latino four-year-olds attended preschool, compared to 70 percent of White and 69 percent of Black children of the same age.
The report, “Preschool Education: Delivering on the Promise for Latino Children,†provides recommendations to ensure that young Latino children enter school on track for academic success.
September 01, 2011
- For the fourth consecutive year, President Barak Obama will address Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute members at their annual gala in Washington, on September 14th.
CHCI Chair Rep. Charles Gonzalez also announced today that the President will be joined by First Lady Michelle Obama at the the largest Latino gala in the country.
September 01, 2011
Members of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) are voicing concerns over what is says are efforts lead by the Department of Education that could have negative impact for low income and minority youth.
According to LULAC, the Department of Education’s recent efforts to provide relief to state and local education agencies from key provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has the potential to water down the law’s
September 01, 2011
According to University of Michigan research the ideal of equal housing opportunities is closer to becoming a reality in most major U.S. metro areas,
"While black-white segregation remains high in many places, there are reasons to be optimistic that 'apartheid' no longer aptly describes much of urban America," said Reynolds Farley, an investigator at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) who studies racial segregation in the United States.
September 01, 2011
Opponents of Alabama's law on illegal immigration are holding a rally tonight in Birmingham.
The demonstration was originally timed to coincide with the law taking effect Earlier this week a federal judge temporarily blocked the law from going into effect, saying she needed more time to consider lawsuits filed by critics who believe the law is unconstitutional.
September 01, 2011
King County plans to spend $1.4 million in reserve funds to combat the growing Latino gang problem in South King County, using both law enforcement and community outreach resources.
The Sheriff’s Office believes there are over 10,000 gang members among an estimated 140 street gangs in King County.
Gang related crime has gone up 165 percent since 2005 and has shifted from
September 01, 2011
Blacks and country folk outside the so-called “stroke belt†are at higher risk for stroke death than other populations, a large new study finds.
A stroke occurs every 40 seconds somewhere in the United States, but little has been known about whether stroke mortality disparities exist outside an 11-state region in southeast United States known as the stroke belt.
September 02, 2011
Advocates for LULAC that included former Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez, National LULAC Counsel Luis Roberto Vera, Jr., Maverick County Judge David Saucedo and John Tanner, former Department of Justice Voting Rights Section
September 02, 2011
A study by a group of law and statistics professors found that minorities in the military were twice as likely to be sentenced to death than their white counterparts.
Professor David Baldus of the University of Iowa College of Law and associate professor Catherine Grosso of the Michigan State University College of Law, the study's lead authors,
September 02, 2011
Chicago City Council’s Black and Hispanic Caucuses this week joined the battle between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pat Quinn over a land-based casino and slot machines at O'Hare and Midway airports.
The City Council members said a
September 02, 2011
The Labor Department released the August jobs report today showing that while unemployment figures remained unchanged from July's 9.1 percent. Black unemployment climbed to 16.7 percent. This is the highest its been since 1984.
The unemployment rate for Black males rose a whole percentage point to 18.0 percent and the rate for Black youths aged 16–19 jumped from 39.2 to 46.5 percent.
September 02, 2011
Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is one of the most notorious prisons in the United States. Sometimes called “The Farm†because of its plantation-like set-up, it houses almost 5,300 men, of whom 3,900 are serving life sentences, 968 face terms of 40 years or more, and 83 are on death row.
The prison is located 90 minutes
September 02, 2011
Following President Obama’s call for a “clean extension†of the surface transportation bill and a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), The Leadership Conference Education Fund released a new report, “Getting to Work: Transportation Policy and Access to Job Opportunities,†which highlights how inequities in transportation
September 02, 2011
U.S. Federal District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington is reviewing the $1.25 billion settlement in a class action stemming from allegations the government discriminated against black farmers in loan processing.
Friedman met for about eight hours with the plaintiffs' team, government lawyers and farmers, some of whom traveled
September 02, 2011
The city council in Lexington, Va., just voted to prohibit flying the Confederate flag on city-owned poles.
The decision sparked anger among some Lexington residents, who see the Confederacy as a link to the town's past.
After a 2 1/2-hour public hearing, the Lexington City Council voted 4-1 to allow only U.S., Virginia and city flags to be flown.
September 02, 2011
Five minority fellowship program grants are being awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for a total of up to $12.2 million.
These three year grants will be used to train a new wave of behavioral health care providers.
The program focuses on increasing the number of culturally competent behavioral health
September 06, 2011
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the No. 1 leading cause of unintentional injury death for all Blacks is motor vehicle crashes. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Blacks ages 1 to 14. Of those killed while passengers in a vehicle, 52 percent of Black children were not restrained at the time of the crash.
Though wearing a seat belt is the best way to avoid injury,
September 06, 2011
Texas Republicans will face off against Democrats and minority advocacy groups this week in the first trial related to contested redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year.
The trial will combine several federal lawsuits, The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) will present its case seeking equal representation for Texas Latinos in the congressional and State House redistricting plans.
September 06, 2011
In January 2010, Zachary Beck and two other white supremacists attacked a black man in downtown Vancouver, Wash., yelling, "White Power!" "You're dead!" and racist slurs.
In U.S. District court, Beck was sentenced to 51 months in prison.
According to court documents, Beck and his co-conspirators, Kory Boyd and Lawrence Silk, attacked a Black man in a Vancouver sports bar on Jan. 7, 2010, because of the man’s race.
September 06, 2011
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today blamed illegal handguns and lack of courage by federal officials for the shooting that left three people dead Monday night in Brooklyn. The violence took place a few blocks away from the City's annual West Indian Day Parade.
Bystander Denise Gay was killed while sitting on a stoop with her daughter.
September 06, 2011
A new report by financial aid and college planning author, Mark Kantrowitz, challenges the assumption that college grant money flows disproportionately to members of minority groups.
Kantrowitz, an ABD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University, says his paper presents data concerning the distribution of grants and scholarships by race. It debunks the race myth, which claims that minority students receive more than their fair share of scholarships.
September 06, 2011
According to a new University of Michigan Health System study obesity is a known risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. But it hasn’t been clear whether the “dose†of obesity—how much excess weight a person has, and for how long—affects the risk of diabetes.
The study of about 8,000 adolescents and young adults shows the degree and duration of carrying extra pounds are important risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
September 06, 2011
Tamika Mallory, executive director of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, has some words of warning for Black reporters. In a column for NewsOne.com titled, “Time For Black Journalists To Stop Criticizing Rev. Sharpton,†Mallory addresses her open letter style column “to all the Black journalists out there.â€
"Whenever I hear people question Reverend Sharpton’s new show, ‘Politics Nation’ on MSNBC, I find myself thinking
September 06, 2011
According to a new report by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, a middle-class upbringing does not guarantee the same status as an adult,
The report, Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking Up from the American Dream, considers potential factors that cause a third of Americans who grow up in the middle – defined
September 06, 2011
New Johns Hopkins research shows that medical students -- just like the general American population -- may have unconscious if not overt preferences for white people, but this innate bias does not appear to translate into different or lesser health care of other races.
The research findings, to be published tomorrow in the Journal
September 07, 2011
In a recent study involving 64 African American adolescent girls ages 14 to 17, researchers found that up to 59% of the study’s subjects experienced sexual abuse that included threats, verbal coercion, condom coercion and physical violence. Of the 64 interviewed, unwanted sex made up 30% and 9% respectively of the abuse cases.
September 07, 2011
Montana Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus today introduced legislation to award Montana's Elouise Cobell the Congressional Gold Medal.
Cobell, a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation, is being recognized for ‘her outstanding and enduring contributions to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and the Nation through her tireless pursuit of justice.'
September 07, 2011
Work on the new $700 million Mississippi River Bridge north of downtown St. Louis could come to a halt next week.
East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks and the Metro-East Black Contractors Organization announced their plans
September 07, 2011
In a new study, black kids were twice as likely as white kids to have an immune response to foods such as peanuts, milk, and eggs, and almost four times as likely to have a "sensitization" to three or more foods.
The research suggests that race and ancestry may play an important role in food allergies.
Dr. Rajesh Kumar,
September 07, 2011
After a decade-long rise in concentrated poverty, one in 11 residents of metropolitan areas now live in communities where at least 30 percent of their neighbors are poor, according to a pair of studies unveiled today by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
The reports, A Lost Decade: Neighborhood Poverty and the Urban Crisi
September 07, 2011
An investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting into the counter-terrorism program at the Mall of America near Minneapolis, found that it often ensnares seemingly innocent people with the FBI and other law enforcement organizations.
Ever since 9/11, the nation’s leaders have warned that government agencies can’t protect
September 07, 2011
Citing Black unemployment, minority rights groups in the Black community are calling on California Senator Alan Lowenthal and all California legislators to stand up for jobs, especially for those hit hardest by the recession.
The protest is co-sponsored
September 07, 2011
Georgia is scheduling the execution later this month of an inmate who has won worldwide support for his claims of innocence in the 1989 slaying of a Savannah police officer, his attorney said Tuesday.
A Chatham County judge signed the death warrant for Troy Davis yesterday, marking the fourth time since 2007
September 07, 2011
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has filed a motion seeking to intervene in a lawsuit on behalf of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and Black voters to prevent the State of Florida from implementing discriminatory voting laws.
In the lawsuit, Florida v. United States, Florida asks a federal court to approve, under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, voting measures that would significantly alter Florida's voting process.
September 08, 2011
The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, created by the president as part of the first lady's "Let's Move" campaign, aims to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation, returning the country to a rate of 5 percent by 2030, which was the rate before childhood obesity first began to rise in the late 1970s.
September 08, 2011
Ahead of President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress tonight, Black California Congresswoman Maxine Water's is putting the pressure on the president to make clear just what it is he plans to do to help the communities suffering the most in this bad economy.
In a statement issued today, Waters challenged the president to, "spend as much energy working to create jobs in the black community as he is campaigning for votes in one of the whitest states in the nation."
September 08, 2011
- Findings from the Blair-Rockefeller Poll challenge long-held assumptions about the impact of the economy on political attitudes and voting behaviors, according to a new report released today by political scientist Todd Shields.
The report, “The Economy Across Race and Region: Unemployment Fails to Dampen Positive Outlook Among African Americans
September 08, 2011
Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings that the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) has engaged in a pattern and practice of misconduct that violates the Constitution and federal law.
The investigation, launched in July 2008, was conducted in accordance with the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
September 08, 2011
California Governor Jerry Brown has vetoed SB 111, a language rights bill authored by San Francisco Congressman Leland Yee.
According to Yee's office, SB 111 was landmark legislation that would have prohibited businesses from denying service to a patron because of the language he or she speaks.
September 08, 2011
The Prostate Health Education Network, Inc. (PHEN) announced today that it will host its "Seventh Annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit" in Washington from September 22- 23, 2011, at the U.S. Capitol and Washington Convention Center.
This year's theme is "Saving Lives: Strategies for Eliminating the African American Prostate Cancer Disparity." The Summit will kick-off on Sept. 22
September 08, 2011
President Barack Obama earned the lowest monthly job approval rating of his presidency to date in August, with 41% of U.S. adults approving of his overall job performance, down from 44% in July. He also received term-low monthly job approval
September 08, 2011
The USDA today released a new report of Food Security in the U.S.. The report showed that food insecurity rates were substantially higher than the national average for households with incomes near or below the current federal poverty line ($22,350 for a family of four), households with children headed by single women
September 08, 2011
A new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission reveals, for the first time, Latinos make up more than half of all federal felony offenders sentenced so far this year.
The report shows that Latinos comprised 50.3 percent of all federal felony offenders sentenced in the first nine months of fiscal year 2011. Felony immigration crimes accounted for most of the increase.
Hispanics outnumber all other ethnic groups