JBHE: Race Relations Reporter




	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 Weekly Bulletin June 21, 2006 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "My father was a good man. I believe he supported segregation because it was what the voters wanted. He had to go for the white vote. Blacks couldn't vote." — Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the biracial daughter of the late Senator Strom Thurmond, speaking at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, May 27, 2006 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NEWS OF THE WEEK ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG BLACK AND WHITE ADOLESCENTS: A study in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics finds that black girls in grades 7 to 12 are less physically active than white girls whereas black males are as physically active as white males in grades 7 to 12. However, the study found that differences in physical activity among black girls depends on the school they attend. Generally, students from families with low incomes reported less physical activity than students from middle- or upper-income households. Researchers found no differences in physical activity levels between black and white girls at the same school. __________________________________________________________________ * MUSEUM OF SLAVERY FACES AMBITIOUS FUNDRAISING GOAL: Former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder is leading the fundraising effort to build the United States National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The proposed design features a 290,000-square-foot facility on a 38-acre plot off of Interstate 95. The centerpiece of the museum will be a life-size replica of a slave ship. Wilder is seeking to raise $200 million for the project, but he is only about one quarter of the way toward reaching his goal. Wilder is making appeals to corporations, holding fundraising galas with top-name entertainment, and has established a Web site to raise funds online at http://www.USNSM.org. __________________________________________________________________ * YOUNG BLACKS ARE VICTIMS OF DROWNING AT A RATE MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT OF YOUNG WHITES: About nine people drown in the United States each day. Despite the fact that blacks and other minorities have less access to water, blacks between the ages of 5 and 19 are 2.6 times as likely to die from drowning as white children of that age. The American Red Cross says that racial differences in drowning rates are because African Americans are less likely to have received instruction on how to swim or on water safety. __________________________________________________________________ * THE WHITENING OF NEW ORLEANS: Before Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, about 1.2 million people lived in the New Orleans metropolitan area. Blacks made up about 37 percent of the population of the city and surrounding suburbs. Today, the Census Bureau reports that the New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of about 724,000, down about 40 percent from a year ago. Blacks now make up 22 percent of the population in New Orleans and its suburbs. Within the city limits, blacks were 70 percent of the population before the hurricane. Today blacks make up 55 percent of the city's population. __________________________________________________________________ * STATISTICS SUGGEST THAT RACIAL PROFILING MAY BE A PROBLEM ON MISSOURI HIGHWAYS: A report from the office of the Missouri attorney general found that in 2005 black motorists were stopped on the state's highways 42 percent more than the percentage of blacks in the driving age population. The study also found that the percentage of blacks who were stopped increased significantly from 2004. The survey also showed that of the drivers who were stopped, African Americans were 78 percent more likely than whites to have had their cars searched. The survey covered more than 1.5 million vehicle stops conducted by 624 police departments statewide. __________________________________________________________________ * STUDY FINDS THAT YOUR NAME CAN LEAD TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING: A study by researchers at Oregon State University published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology finds that an ethnic-sounding name can have an adverse impact on whether a prospective tenant is able to rent an apartment. The researchers sent more than 1,000 e-mails to landlords in the Los Angeles area inquiring about advertised vacancies. The researchers used three different names with ethnic connotations in their inquiries: Patrick McDougall, Tyrell Jackson, and Said Al-Rahman. The results showed that Patrick McDougall, presumably a white man, received positive responses from 89 percent of the landlords. Said Al-Rahman received responses encouraging him to apply to rent from 66 percent of the landlords. But when the name Tyrell Jackson was used, positive responses were received from only 56 percent of the landlords. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ RECENT RACIAL INCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Two former umpires have filed a race discrimination lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association. One umpire, who formerly was one of only 30 gold badge umpires in the world, had never been assigned to work the men's singles semifinals or finals at the U.S. Open. After he brought this fact to the attention of the association, he was stripped of his certification to umpire any matches sanctioned by the sport's governing bodies. (The Washington Post, 6-10-06) __________________________________________________________________ * RIDGEFIELD, WASHINGTON: The police chief in Ridgefield, Washington, admitted that white officers in the department had created a hostile work environment for a black policeman. The black officer was subjected to slurs and other racially offensive language while on the job. He was fired after complaining of the hostile treatment he received from fellow officers. (The Columbian, 6-9-06) __________________________________________________________________ * RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: A former executive for the department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue is suing the retailer for racial discrimination. The executive, who managed a store in Raleigh, North Carolina, claims that he was subjected to racial abuse by his superior. According to the suit, when the black executive complained to upper-level management, no action was taken and he was subsequently fired. (Raleigh News & Observer, 6-10-06) __________________________________________________________________ * MESA, ARIZONA: The city of Mesa, Arizona, conducted a probe into the Internet use by its employees. During the investigation the city found dozens of instances of the police officers' sending racially offensive materials through the e-mail system. The e-mails included jokes, photographs, and cartoons which were demeaning to blacks and other minorities. (Arizona Republic, 6-10-06) __________________________________________________________________ * FREMONT, CALIFORNIA: A white man was arrested in Fremont, California, for yelling racial slurs and threatening two black high school students with a knife. The man has the word "Racist" tattooed across his forehead. He also has several other white supremacist symbols tattooed on his body as well as slogans denigrating blacks. (Alameda Daily Review, 6-13-06) __________________________________________________________________ * ELLICOTT CITY, MARYLAND: Vandals used a chemical agent to burn swastikas and racial slogans onto several lawns in Ellicott City, Maryland. Some lawns were left with the words "White Power." Other lawns simply had the initials, "WP." Only one of the homeowners victimized by the vandalism is black. (Baltimore Sun, 6-14-06) __________________________________________________________________ * GERMANTOWN, TENNESSEE: The city of Germantown, Tennessee, agreed to pay a black man $88,500 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit. The man, who worked as a code enforcement officer, claims he was racially harassed on the job and fired after a long dispute with a white worker. (Memphis Commercial Appeal, 6-14-06) __________________________________________________________________ * HERCULES, CALIFORNIA: Vandals painted swastikas, gang symbols, and racial slurs on the outside walls of an elementary school in Hercules, California. The racial slurs were directed against both Jews and African Americans. The graffiti was left on the schools for several days before city officials took steps to remove it. (Contra Costa Times, 6-15-06) __________________________________________________________________ * TRACKING HATE CRIMES: For week of June 11-17, 2006, the term "hate crime" appeared in the nation's major newspapers and magazines 375 times. This is more than the 369 mentions of the term in the prior week. So far this year, there have been 6,526 mentions of hate crime in the press. This is more than the 5,225 mentions of hate crime from January 1 to June 17, 2005. __________________________________________________________________ To contact The Race Relations Reporter, e-mail us at RRR@jbhe.com or call (212) 399-1084. __________________________________________________________________ � 2006 The Race Relations Reporter All rights reserved. Past Race Relations Reporter • March 2006