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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 Weekly Bulletin May 23, 2007 * QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “You cannot be comfortable even if only one person was singled out solely because of the color of their skin.” — Russell Kennedy, executive director of the Orange County (California) Human Relations Commission, commenting on the low number of hate crimes in the county in 2006 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * NUMBER OF HATE GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES INCREASES BY 5 PERCENT IN 2006: The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that there were 844 active hate groups in the United States in 2006. This was up from 803 active hate groups in 2005, an increase of 5 percent. California had the most hate group chapters of any state with 63. Texas ranked second with 55 hate groups. Rhode Island, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Hawaii had no organized hate groups in 2006. Of the 844 hate groups in the United States, there were 165 chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. There were 65 active Klan Web sites on the Internet, according to the center’s survey. * STUDY SHOWS BLACK CAR BUYERS GET CHARGED MUCH HIGHER AUTO LOAN RATES THAN WHITES: A new report from the Consumer Federation of America finds huge racial disparities in auto loan rates between blacks and whites. The study found that for new cars, the average loan rate for whites in 2004 was 5 percent. For black new car buyers, the average loan rate was 7 percent. For used cars the discrepancies were much greater. Some 27 percent of blacks who bought used cars were given loan rates of 15 percent or higher. Only 9 percent of white used car buyers were given loans with interest rates of 15 percent or higher. * RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN CORRELATION BETWEEN BODY WEIGHT AND OVERALL SELF-ESTEEM: Researchers at the University of North Carolina surveyed more than 1,000 junior high school students on their satisfaction with their bodies and compared this image with the overall self-esteem of these students. Results showed that white girls were seven times as likely to have high self-esteem if they were satisfied with their body’s weight and other characteristics. Black girls were three times as likely to have high self-esteem if they were pleased with their bodies. But for black boys there was no correlation whatsoever between satisfaction with their bodies and self-esteem. Black boys who were overweight or obese did not have correlating low levels of self-esteem. * ACADEMIC STUDY FINDS DIVERSITY TRAINING IS AN INEFFECTIVE TOOL: A study conducted by researchers at Berkeley, Harvard, and the University of Michigan has determined that diversity training is an ineffective tool in increasing racial diversity in a corporate setting. The study found that only those companies that had put in place plans to recruit a diverse work force and to support them once they are hired have been successful in increasing diversity. Companies that solely focus on training events and tolerance programs generally have not been successful in increasing the number of women and minorities in their employee ranks, according to the study. * RACIST COMMENTS ABOUT BARACK OBAMA OVERWHELM CBS NEWS WEB SITE: The online division of CBS News is no longer permitting readers to post comments on stories about Illinois senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama. Editors were overwhelmed with the volume of racist comments that were posted on the site when stories about Obama were featured. Sifting through and deleting the many offensive references to the senator was a time-consuming process. So the editors decided not to allow comments to be posted online about Obama-related content. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ * SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA: Vandals broke into the high school in Scotts Valley, California. Swastikas and racist graffiti targeting African Americans, Mexicans, and Asians was found painted inside the school. Other graffiti identified the culprits as members of the Scotts Valley Aryan Club. Police also found what they thought might be a bomb outside the school, but it turned out that the device was a hoax. (Santa Cruz Sentinel, 5-5-07) * COLUMBUS, OHIO: A black employee of the state treasurer’s office in Columbus, Ohio, resigned after she was accused of calling a black worker a “nappy-headed ho.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5-11-07) * SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: Two members of the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors claim that they were subjected to racial slurs by fans at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Deseret Morning News, 5-12-07) * RAMAPO, NEW JERSEY: Racist graffiti was found on the walls of a boys’ restroom in Ramapo, New Jersey. This was the second time this year that racist graffiti was found at the school. (Bergen Record, 5-12-07) * LANSING, MICHIGAN: The only black woman in the law enforcement division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources claims she has been subjected to a hostile work environment. The woman alleges that she was subjected to racial slurs and sexual comments. A state investigation found that the woman was subjected to an “oppressive culture” of intolerance, bullying, and fear. (Lansing State Journal, 5-13-07) * RAPID CITY, MICHIGAN: A Confederate flag was flown at a businessman’s association cookout in Rapid City, Michigan. The flag included a symbol for the Ku Klux Klan and the slogan “White Power.” (Associated Press, 5-13-07) * CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS: The Black Men’s Forum and the Association of Black Harvard Women held an event on the Quad at Harvard University. White students in the dormitories on the Quad called campus police to complain of the noise. Some of the callers questioned whether the black students were in fact members of the college community. Black leaders claim that white students saw a large group of blacks on college property and assumed that they didn’t belong there. (Harvard Crimson, 5-14-07) * AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS: Three black students on the track team at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, claim that they were the victims of racial discrimination at the hands of the team coach. The students claim that their athletic scholarships were reduced or not renewed because the coach is racist. (Boston Globe, 5-15-07) * EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA: A white man was arrested on assault and hate crime charges after he took a shot at a black man in El Monte, California. The black man was pumping gas at a station when he was approached by the white man and told to leave. During the confrontation, the white man used racial slurs. When the black man got in his car to drive away, the white man fired at least one shot at the car. (San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 5-16-07) * NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: A white school teacher in North Charleston, South Carolina, claimed in a federal lawsuit that she was subjected to a racially hostile work environment. The teacher claims that black students at the school routinely verbally abused her with racial slurs and that the school administration did nothing to stop the abuse. The teacher was subsequently suspended after filing a complaint about the abuse with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Chicago Tribune, 5-16-07) * SOUTH LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A black administrator at a middle school in South Los Angeles, California, claims that he was demoted because he was black. The administrator says that the principal did not want blacks to be given responsibilities of a homeroom teacher because Latino students could not understand them. The black administrator says that Latino employees were treated preferentially and black employees were routinely given poor work evaluations. (City News, 5-16-07) * INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: A former police lieutenant in Inglewood, California, claims he was denied a promotion because he is white. The officer says whites were routinely denied promotions in favor of blacks. The white officer had the highest test score among three candidates on the promotion examination but was denied promotion in favor of a black officer. The white man has a master’s degree and the black candidate had only a bachelor’s degree. The city settled the lawsuit before the case went to trial. (City News, 5-16-07) * FLUSHING, MICHIGAN: A student newspaper at a school in Flushing, Michigan, ran an article that included student comments questioning the intelligence of blacks and expressing disapproval of whites who dated blacks. The teacher responsible for overseeing the student newspaper was suspended. (Flint Journal, 5-16-07) * HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA: A black candidate for county commissioner in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had a guest house on his property burned to the ground by arsonists. Painted on the door to the main house were the words, “Back Pay is a Bitch.” The candidate was the first African American in county history to win a party nomination for commissioner. (Harrisburg Patriot News 5-17-07) * BOULDER, COLORADO: The chair of the College Republicans at the University of Colorado sent an errant e-mail message to the student body president, who is part black. The message, meant for another officer of the College Republicans, referred to the student body president. It read, “You know the more professional he tries to sound, the more it seems like he didn’t graduate from high school. Hooray affirmative action.” (Colorado Daily, 5-17-07) * MIDLOTHIAN, ILLINOIS: A black-owned hair salon in Midlothian, Illinois, was vandalized. The back door of the salon was forced open. Vandals threw paint on the floor and ruined plumbing fixtures. Racial slurs were painted on the walls. (Chicago Tribune, 5-18-07) * TRACKING HATE CRIMES: For week May 13-19, the term “hate crime” appeared in the nation’s major newspapers and magazines 325 times. This is slightly more than the 318 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. © 2007 The Race Relations Reporter Past Race Relations Reporter
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