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The Race Relations Reporter is a weekly electronic bulletin of news, surveys, and a chronicle of race-related incidents of discrimination, hate crimes, and hate group activity from across the United States. This bulletin is sent to subscribers each week at their personal e-mail account address. Subscriptions are $24 for 52 weekly issues. See sample, below: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Racism and other forms of discrimination are not only human rights violations. They are also major obstacles to economic and social progress.” — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in New York City, commemorating International Human Rights Day ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * COURT RULES A LITTLE DISCRIMINATION IS OK: The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago has ruled that a black employee of a manufacturing firm in Indiana was not subjected to a hostile work environment because the company’s offenses were infrequent. * RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN BODY WEIGHT BY MARITAL STATUS: A study by researchers at Cornell University, published in the journal Obesity, found that married men tend to be heavier than their unmarried counterparts. But the data showed differences by race and ethnicity. Married black men were significantly more likely to be overweight than never-married black men. But married and never-married white men were equally as likely to be overweight. * RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT RAMPANT IN EUROPE: A report from the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union found that racial discrimination is common against minorities in Europe. The survey found that, while looking for work, 22 percent of all sub-Saharan Africans had been discriminated against at least once in the 12 months prior to the survey. In some countries the reported discrimination was much worse. Some 54 percent of sub-Saharan Africans in Ireland reported job discrimination over the one-year period prior to the survey. * SOME PROGRESS IN REDUCING HATE CRIME VIOLENCE IN RUSSIA: * HATE SPEECH AND HATE GRAFFITI IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: A new report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2009, published by the National Center for Educational Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, finds that in 2007, 11.4 percent of black students ages 12-18 said they were targeted by hate speech at school. More than one third of all black students in this age group reported that they had seen hate-related graffiti at their school. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * SANFORD, NORTH CAROLINA: The owner of a grocery store in Sanford, North Carolina, made racial comments and threatened to kill a black couple if they did not leave the store. The proprietor reportedly said, “You niggers are trespassing. Those people only come in a store to steal.” The store owner was arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation. (Sanford Herald, 12-8-09) * NEW YORK, NEW YORK: The founder of BoredAtButler.com has taken the Web site offline after the Web-based bulletin board was flooded with racist postings. The Web site was established for students at Columbia University’s Butler Library to post comments anonymously about life at the university. Companion sites were set up for students at other Ivy League institutions. Offensive postings were found only on the Columbia site. But all the Web sites were taken offline until a time when Web administrators can develop a procedure to eliminate offensive postings. (Inside Higher Ed, 12-11-09) * BEACHWOOD, OHIO: The U.S. Equal Employment Commission announced that the restaurant chain Bahama Breeze agreed to a $1.3 million settlement of a race discrimination lawsuit. The suit charged the company with racial harassment of 37 black workers at its Beachwood, Ohio, location. The suit stated that management addressed black workers as “niggers.” Blacks were also called “Aunt Jemima” or “homeboy” by white managers. Blacks were alleged to be denied breaks that were routinely given to white workers. * WASHINGTON, D.C.: A humor magazine published by students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., showed a picture of Ku Klux Klan members in front of a burning cross. The accompanying story said that editors of the official campus student newspaper held a cross burning on campus where there were “dark, human-shaped pinatas.” The official student newspaper had published an April Fool’s day edition last spring which called for more interracial sex on campus. The chair of the university’s NAACP chapter said, “I’m extremely angry and, as a black person, really offended and physically sick. I’m tired of being attacked for who I am at a white school.” (Associated Press, 12-16-09) * LEBANON, TENNESSEE: A black man claims in a federal lawsuit that the government in Wilson County, Tennessee, discriminates against black job applicants. The man claims his application for a job as an animal control officer was thrown into the trash. When he inquired with county officials, he was told there was no position available despite the fact that a job advertisement had appeared in the local newspaper. (Associated Press, 12-16-09) * AURORA, COLORADO: Albertsons, the supermarket chain, has agreed to a $9 million settlement of a race discrimination lawsuit filed by black employees at a distribution center in Aurora, Colorado. The suit claimed that black employees were subjected to verbal slurs and racist graffiti on the job. The suit also alleged that black workers were given harder work assignments than whites and were disciplined more harshly than whites for violations of work rules. (Denver Post, 12-16-09) * WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS: A biracial woman claims that she was physically assaulted by a white man in a convenience store in Worcester, Massachusetts. The man yelled racial slurs during the attack. The white man then left the store and kicked the woman’s car and threatened her African-American boyfriend. He then returned to the store and threatened to rape and kill the woman. (Worcester Telegram and Gazette, 12-16-09) * LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: A political coordinator working on the Senate campaign of GOP candidate Rand Paul in Kentucky resigned after he was accused of posting racist images on his MySpace.com page. Paul is the son of Congressman Ron Paul. (Associated Press, 12-17-09) * DALLAS, TEXAS: Eleven blacks and two other minority employees of Dallas Water Utilities have filed a race discrimination lawsuit against the city of Dallas. The suit claims that black workers were subjected to racial slurs on the job and that racist drawing were found in the workplace. The black workers also allege that they were illegally passed over for promotions in favor of less qualified white employees. (Dallas Morning News, 12-17-09) * PINEVILLE, LOUISIANA: Twelve people have filed a race discrimination lawsuit against Cleco Corporate Services, which is based in Pineville, Louisiana. The suit alleges that black workers were subjected to racial slurs and other derogatory statements in the workplace. They also claim that they were denied promotions in favor of less qualified whites and were paid less than their white peers. (Shreveport Times, 12-17-09) * HORN LAKE, MISSISSIPPI: Racial graffiti was found on a restroom wall at a school in Horn Lake, Mississippi. The graffiti included a statement, “You are going to meet your God.” Underneath was a list of black students. (Memphis Commercial Appeal, 12-18-09) * NORTHLAKE, ILLINOIS: Seven current or former employees of a beverage warehouse in Northlake, Illinois, have filed a race discrimination lawsuit against the company. The black workers claim they were called “donkey,” “monkey,” and “nigger” by supervisors. Racist graffiti was written on the employee lockers, according to the suit. (Chicago Tribune, 12-18-09) * TRACKING HATE CRIMES: For week December 13-19, the term “hate crime” appeared in the nation’s major newspapers and magazines 425 times. This is more than the 235 mentions of the term in the prior week. So far in 2009, hate crimes were mentioned 20,068 times in the national press. In the January 1 to December 19, 2008 period, hate crimes were mentioned 15,249 times in the national media. To contact The Race Relations Reporter, e-mail us at RRR@jbhe.com or call (212) 399-1084. © 2009 The Race Relations Reporter Past Race Relations Reporter
• February 2009 |
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