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 March 15, 2006 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "They pick the worst aspects of black life and reward that. There are more important things in our culture that need focus more than the hardships of a pimp." — Juaquin Jessup of Washington, D.C., commenting on the Academy Award given to the song, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from the film Hustle & Flow, in The Washington Post, March 7, 2006 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NEWS OF THE WEEK ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * CITIES WITH THE FASTEST-GROWING BLACK POPULATIONS: A new report from the Brookings Institution analyzed census population data for metropolitan areas in the 2000 to 2004 period. The survey found nine cities where the black population increased by 14 percent or more in the period. Las Vegas saw the largest percentage increase. The black population in the Las Vegas area increased 22.7 percent between 2000 and 2004. Phoenix saw a 19.2 percent increase in its black population. Orlando saw the third-largest increase with a black population gain of 18.4 percent during the period. Other metropolitan areas with large increases in black population were Minneapolis, Minnesota; Raleigh, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Providence, Rhode Island; Riverside, California; and Tampa, Florida. __________________________________________________________________ * COLORADO JURY DECIDES THAT YELLING "NIGGER" DURING AN ASSAULT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A HATE CRIME: Last June a black mechanical engineering student at the University of Colorado in Boulder was accosted by a white man in a van who called him a "nigger." The van then pulled over and a second occupant apologized for his friend's remarks. But the man who yelled the slurs got out of the van and punched the black man twice, breaking his jaw. The black student was knocked unconscious. Friends took him to the hospital where a permanent titanium plate was inserted to replace his broken jaw bone. A white man was convicted on assault charges earlier this month in the case and sentenced to a maximum of 16 years in prison. But the jury decided not to convict the white man of ethnic intimidation, which would have resulted in an additional one to three years in jail. The jury, which had only one black member, concluded that the use of the term "nigger" prior to the attack did not necessarily imply that the attack was motivated by racial hate. After hearing the verdict, the victim in the case told the Rocky Mountain News, "The fact that he broke my face is more important than that he hurt my feelings." __________________________________________________________________ * PEACE CORPS LOOKS TO INCREASE RACIAL DIVERSITY OF ITS RANKS: In a Boston speech commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Peace Corps, director Gaddi H. Vasquez reported that 16 percent of all Peace Corps volunteers are members of minority groups. This is the highest level ever recorded but still well short of the level of minorities in the U.S. population. In order to increase the number of black volunteers, the Peace Corps now recruits students who are about to graduate from the nation's historically black colleges and universities. __________________________________________________________________ * HUGE RACIAL DISPARITY AMONG RECIPIENTS OF HIGH-INTEREST HOME MORTGAGES: A new report issued by the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council finds that blacks in metropolitan Boston are five times as likely as whites to be offered high-interest home mortgages. The report found that 27.2 percent of black home buyers received high-interest loans compared to only 5.8 percent of white home buyers. The differences were even greater for home buyers in high-income brackets. For blacks in high-income brackets, 37.8 percent of home buyers got high-interest loans compared to 5.1 percent of whites at this income level. __________________________________________________________________ * FIVE MEMBERS OF ILLINOIS HATE CRIME COMMISSION RESIGN: Five Jewish members of the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes in Illinois resigned in protest of Governor Rod Blagojevich's appointment of Claudette Marie Muhammad, chief of protocol for Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam. The members resigned when Muhammad failed to repudiate anti-Semitic remarks made by Farrakhan. The Chicago Board of Rabbis urged other Jews not to accept an appointment to the panel if they were nominated by Governor Blagojevich. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ RECENT RACIAL INCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA: Seven current or former employees of Schmick's Seafood Restaurant in Berkeley, California, filed a race discrimination lawsuit against the establishment. The suit charges that white employees were classified by the restaurant managers as "core" workers. Blacks and other minorities were referred to as "quota" employees. Quota employees were assigned to wait on tables in the back of the restaurant, and black patrons were routinely seated at these tables. The suit claims that management believed black customers were "cheap, loud, and complainers." One employee maintains that employment applications were marked with either the letters R, M, or W, depending on the color of the applicant's skin. The letter R, for "rare," was placed on applications from whites. The letter M, denoting "medium rare," was put on applications from Hispanics. The letter W, for "well done," was reserved for black applicants. (Daily Californian, 2-24-06) __________________________________________________________________ * LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA: A black family's home in Loxahatchee, Florida, was defaced with racist graffiti. The letters "KKK" and "WP," along with swastikas, were spray-painted on the garage doors of the home. The day before, a teenager who lives in the home was assaulted by a mob of 10 white students who made racial remarks during the attack. (Palm Beach Post, 3-3-06) __________________________________________________________________ * WARRENSBURG, MISSOURI: A "chicken and beer" party was held at a fraternity house on the campus of Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg. Invitees were told to come to the party dressed as African Americans. Once they arrived they were given beer in 40-ounce bottles and served fried chicken. The party was held to coincide with events surrounding the holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. The university suspended the organization and moved all members out of the fraternity house and into campus dormitories. Blacks make up less than 6 percent of the 8,300-member student body at Central Missouri State University. (Kansas City Star, 3-4-06) __________________________________________________________________ * KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Five black members of the Sheet Metal Workers Union local in Kansas City have filed a federal lawsuit claiming that union leadership discriminates against black workers. The suit alleges that black workers are routinely not referred to jobs using the union's hiring-list procedure. (Kansas City Star, 3-4-06) __________________________________________________________________ * DALLAS, TEXAS: Black employees at Allied Aviation in Dallas, Texas, charged in a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that their supervisors commonly refer to them by using racial slurs. When the workers complained to higher level management, the complaint alleges that little was done to stop the harassment. A "nigger hit list" was written on a bathroom wall at the facility. (Cable News Network, 3-6-06) __________________________________________________________________ * WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS: A black basketball coach for a high school with a predominantly black team was reprimanded by school officials in Worcester, Massachusetts, after he accused two white referees of racism. The coach claimed that the referees did all they could to help a predominantly white team from a local Catholic high school win a game. The coach told a newspaper reporter, "You have the same officials, and they look at all the black players and a black coach, and they make the calls." (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 3-7-06) __________________________________________________________________ * GROTON, CONNECTICUT: Electric Boat, a Navy submarine contractor based in Groton, Connecticut, fired five white workers who were accused of harassing a black man who is a senior nuclear engineer with the company. The harassment occurred at the Navy's submarine base. As a result, the Navy is investigating whether to bring federal charges against the five employees who were fired. (New London Day, 3-7-06) __________________________________________________________________ * SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA: White supremacists rioted after a concert in San Bernardino, California. The violence started when a group of skinheads started yelling "White Power" during the concert. This provoked a fight with other people at the concert. The violence spread to the streets outside the arena and a full-scale riot ensued. Local businesses had their windows smashed, and parked cars were vandalized. Police dispersed the crowd, estimated at around 1,500, with tear gas. (San Bernardino Sun, 3-8-06) __________________________________________________________________ * CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Racist graffiti was found on several buildings on the campus of DePaul University in Chicago. Racial slurs, swastikas, and the phrase "Whites Only" were found written on the walls inside a dormitory. Additional racist graffiti was found written on outside walls of three other buildings on campus. (Chicago Tribune, 3-9-06) __________________________________________________________________ * PURCHASE, NEW YORK: A white student in blackface made racially offensive comments on a student-operated television station at Purchase College in Purchase, New York. The college, a part of the State University of New York system, has about 3,700 students, roughly 7 percent of whom are black. (Westchester Journal News, 3-5-06) __________________________________________________________________ * TRACKING HATE CRIMES: For week of March 5-11 the term "hate crime" appeared in the nation's major newspapers and magazines 341 times. This is more than the 297 mentions of the term in the prior week. So far this year, there have been 2,572 mentions of hate crime in the press. This is more than the 2,134 mentions of hate crime from January 1 to March 11, 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.