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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: THE RACE RELATIONS REPORTER * QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “We are now at a place where people can be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. We are making progress. We’re not doing nearly as well on dealing with equal economic opportunity in creating a country with shared opportunity, shared responsibility, and shared prosperity.” — Former president Bill Clinton, speaking in Pembroke, North Carolina, 4-4-08 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * MAGAZINE NAMES NATION’S MOST DIVERSIFIED CORPORATIONS: * ELDER CARE FACILITIES ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY SEGREGATED BY RACE: Traditionally, blacks were more likely than whites to care for elderly members of the family in the home. In fact, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 1970 elderly African Americans were half as likely to be residents in nursing homes as elderly whites. But by 2000 the situation had reversed. Now blacks are nearly twice as likely to spend their last years in nursing homes as whites. * STUDY DOCUMENTS SHORTAGE OF BLACK PHYSICIANS IN CALIFORNIA: A new report prepared by the Center for California Healthcare Workforce Studies at the University of California at San Francisco identified 2,034 black physicians in the state. Blacks, who are 7 percent of the state’s population, are only 3 percent of all medical doctors in California. The report, entitled Physician Diversity in California: New Findings From the California Medical Board Survey, found that 40 percent of black and other minority doctors practice in primary care compared to 30 percent of white doctors in the state. * RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 48 percent of all African-American females between the ages of 14 and 19 have a sexually transmitted disease. The rate for white and Mexican-American females in this age group is 20 percent. * STUDY FINDS MALT LIQUOR MARKETING CONCENTRATED IN LOW-INCOME BLACK COMMUNITIES: A study by researchers at the University of Minnesota and published in the Journal of Substance Use and Misuse, has found that malt liquor, which has a higher alcohol content than beer, is marketed more vigorously in black neighborhoods of major cities. The study of neighborhoods in 10 major cities found that malt liquor was available more often and for cheaper prices than in other city neighborhoods. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * CLEVELAND, OHIO: The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a Cleveland man who they say has been writing racist and threatening letters for 20 years. Most of the threatening letters were sent to black men who were involved with white women. In one 2003 letter, the man threatened to blow up the U.S. Supreme Court. In this letter he threatened to castrate, shoot, or set on fire Justice Clarence Thomas. (Associated Press, 4-10-08) * MORAGA, CALIFORNIA: The Western Association of Schools and Colleges sent a letter to the president of Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California, which stated that the association was concerned about “racism and discrimination” on campus. The accrediting agency threatened to sanction the college if it failed to address “the increasing and sustained lack of civility on campus.” The letter went on to say, “There is evidence that a significant proportion of the Saint Mary’s community does not feel respected and has been subjected to behaviors that are unacceptable.” No specific allegations were mentioned in the letter. * DENVER, COLORADO: A group of black sheriff’s deputies in Denver, Colorado, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that they are subjected to racial taunting by white officers and unfairly disciplined by superiors. The 13 black deputies claim that there is a “culture of racism” in the department. (Associated Press, 4-4-08) * SIMPSONVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA: A white student at a middle school in Simpsonville, South Carolina, was suspended and arrested by police when he came to school wearing a T-shirt that depicted a noose and had references to the Ku Klux Klan. Many students stayed home the next day believing that the student’s arrest would lead to violence between black and white students. (Associated Press, 4-4-08) * NORFOLK, VIRGINIA: Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has settled a race discrimination lawsuit filed by a white campus police officer who was fired from his job. The white officer claimed he was routinely harassed by black officers who make up a majority of the force. The U.S. Equal Employment Commission and a state hearing officer both sided with the white officer and the case was scheduled to go to trial before the settlement was reached. (Virginian-Pilot, 4-5-08) * BROOKSVILLE, FLORIDA: Three white employees of the county utilities department in Brooksville, Florida, were placed on leave after they were accused of racial harassment. In one incident a black employee was wrestled to the ground and had a noose placed around his neck “as a joke.” Another black employee reports that he was told by a white coworker to “take your black ass back to Africa.” (St. Petersburg Times, 4-5-08) * WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA: A racist skinhead group hung a banner from the Market Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The banner read, “Preserve Our Heritage” and contained the group’s Web site address. (Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, 4-7-08) * BOWIE, MARYLAND: A Toyota dealership in Bowie, Maryland, has settled a race discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of two black men. One man claimed to have been denied employment because of his race. The other said that he was fired because he is black. Under the settlement, each man received $101,000 and the dealership must provide diversity training to managers. (Baltimore Daily Record, 4-7-08) *MESA, ARIZONA: Michael Lacey, the co-owner of Village Voice Media, an alternative newspaper company, used the word “nigger” while accepting an award at a local chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists in Mesa, Arizona. In accepting the award he referred to a late black reporter as “my nigger.” (East Valley Tribune, 4-8-08) *WILMINGTON, DELAWARE: Three white men were charged with hate crime violations for beating a 17-year-old black youth in Wilmington, Delaware. The incident began on a city bus. The black youth bumped into a white man and an argument ensued. The white man then moved to the front of the bus and consulted with two white friends. The men started to argue again. When the black youth got off the bus, the three white men followed him. When they got off the bus, the three white men attacked the black teen. One white man stabbed the teen five times in the back. Witnesses heard the white men yell, “You’re going to pay for this, nigger,” and “I’m going to kill you, nigger.” (Wilmington News Journal, 4-9-08) * PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Vandals defaced a mural celebrating diversity at an elementary school in Philadelphia. School officials said that the graffiti contained “swastikas, racial epithets, and very negative, mean-spirited statements referring to race.” School officials said that the mural was so severely damaged that the decision was made to simply paint over the entire wall. The mural had been on the school wall for more than a decade. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 4-10-08) * INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI: Racist graffiti was painted on an outside wall of an elementary school in Independence, Missouri. The graffiti, which faces the school playground, remained on the wall for more than a week. (Kansas City Star, 4-10-08) * TRACKING HATE CRIMES: For week April 6-12, the term “hate crime” appeared in the nation’s major newspapers and magazines 215 times. This is less than the 262 mentions of the term in the prior week. To contact The Race Relations Reporter, e-mail us at RRR@jbhe.com or call (212) 399-1084. © 2008 The Race Relations Reporter Past Race Relations Reporter
• December 2007 |
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