Leading Black Think Tank Launches Media and Technology Institute: The leading U.S. think tank on African-American affairs is launching an institute to study the impact of media and new communication technologies on minority and socially disadvantaged communities. Along with notable communications and media leaders, officials from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies announced Thursday that the Washington-based think tank has established the Joint Center Media and Technology Institute.
Officials say the Media and Technology Institute is a “center for research on how minority Americans use media, how existing communications policies affect them and how emerging interactive forms of media can expand opportunity for them and their communities.” Michael K. Powell, a former Federal Communications Commission chairman and the son of retired General Colin Powell, will chair the institute’s national advisory committee.
“For many young people living in underserved communities, the stakes are enormously high. This Institute will examine these new trends and build the evidentiary record for the development of relevant policies, programs and initiatives,” says Ralph Everett, president and CEO of the Joint Center. “New communications technologies are having an enormous and immediate impact on the way we live, the way we work, the way we learn and the way we participate in the political process.”
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Election spurs 'hundreds' of race threats, crimes - USATODAY.com
Election spurs 'hundreds' of race threats, crimes - USATODAY.com: Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting 'Assassinate Obama.' Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars.
Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the postelection glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America.
From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders.
There have been 'hundreds' of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes.
One was in Snellville, Ga., where Denene Millner said a boy on the school bus told her 9-year-old daughter the day after the election: 'I hope Obama gets assassinated.' That night, someone trashed her sister-in-law's front lawn, mangled the Obama lawn signs, and left two pizza boxes filled with human feces outside the front door, Millner said.
Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the postelection glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America.
From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders.
There have been 'hundreds' of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes.
One was in Snellville, Ga., where Denene Millner said a boy on the school bus told her 9-year-old daughter the day after the election: 'I hope Obama gets assassinated.' That night, someone trashed her sister-in-law's front lawn, mangled the Obama lawn signs, and left two pizza boxes filled with human feces outside the front door, Millner said.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Gettting to Know You: Diversity in Friendships Reduces Stress, UCB Study Finds
Making friends outside your own ethnic group or race in academic settings can reduce stress, researchers at University of California at Berkeley have found.
Researchers there who paired White and Latino students prone to bias in an accelerated “friendship” process found that members of both groups benefitted from getting to know one another.
According to the study published in the November issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that as the paired “cross-group” students in the study got to know one another better, their cortisol levels dropped significantly. Cortical is a hormone triggered by stress and anxiety.
In another set of US Berkeley findings published in an earlier issue of the journal Psychological Science, Latinos at that school and African Americans at Columbia University in New York who were concerned about being the targets of discrimination reported feeling a greater sense of belonging and satisfaction on campus after making a friend of another race or ethnicity.
'Regardless of students' majority or minority status, the friendship helped,' said Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, a UC Berkeley psychologist and co-author of the study, whose research examined the relationship between the acceptance of minorities at White-majority campuses and students' sense of well-being at college.
Researchers there who paired White and Latino students prone to bias in an accelerated “friendship” process found that members of both groups benefitted from getting to know one another.
According to the study published in the November issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that as the paired “cross-group” students in the study got to know one another better, their cortisol levels dropped significantly. Cortical is a hormone triggered by stress and anxiety.
In another set of US Berkeley findings published in an earlier issue of the journal Psychological Science, Latinos at that school and African Americans at Columbia University in New York who were concerned about being the targets of discrimination reported feeling a greater sense of belonging and satisfaction on campus after making a friend of another race or ethnicity.
'Regardless of students' majority or minority status, the friendship helped,' said Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, a UC Berkeley psychologist and co-author of the study, whose research examined the relationship between the acceptance of minorities at White-majority campuses and students' sense of well-being at college.
Online Bookseller Targets Spanish-Only Market
Its new consumer web site, http://www.librerialectorum.com/ will be the largest U.S. online bookstore operating exclusively in Spanish, Lectorum Publications announced.
Lectorum, a Scholastic subsidiary and the largest and oldest distributor of Spanish-language books in the United States, will celebrate the grand opening on Monday, November 17.
LibreriaLectorum.com, will offer thousands of adult and children's titles directly to the public, in addition to Lectorum’s sales of Spanish-language and bilingual books through libraries, schools, universities and retailers, the company said.
'Now Hispanics in every town, large and small, from coast to coast, will have access to quality books and can be part of a vibrant book-loving community,' said Teresa Mlawer, president of Lectorum Publications. 'It is truly a neighborhood bookstore online. As we add features every day, visitors will hear from Latino authors, get book and gift suggestions from staff, and join in the conversation about books and reading.
Lectorum, a Scholastic subsidiary and the largest and oldest distributor of Spanish-language books in the United States, will celebrate the grand opening on Monday, November 17.
LibreriaLectorum.com, will offer thousands of adult and children's titles directly to the public, in addition to Lectorum’s sales of Spanish-language and bilingual books through libraries, schools, universities and retailers, the company said.
'Now Hispanics in every town, large and small, from coast to coast, will have access to quality books and can be part of a vibrant book-loving community,' said Teresa Mlawer, president of Lectorum Publications. 'It is truly a neighborhood bookstore online. As we add features every day, visitors will hear from Latino authors, get book and gift suggestions from staff, and join in the conversation about books and reading.
Dr. Alvin Poussaint on The Obama Effect
Dr. Alvin Poussaint on The Obama Effect: The psychological boost on African-Americans generated by the election of the nation’s first Black president may be tempered by hard economic times ahead, says Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, director of the Media Center of the Judge Baker Children’s Center and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
... Do you see Black children looking to Obama children Sasha and Malia and looking up to President-elect Obama?
It will fill them with pride. There’s an enormous psychological effect. If you wake up in the morning, you’re a two-year-old kid, the president is on TV and the president is a Black man, it begins to shape their image of the world and the image inside of what they think they can accomplish, and increases there own feelings of worth. ‘I am somebody. The president, this man, is running the country. I can run something. I can be in charge. I can get good grades.’ That will be an ingredient of their psyche.
I think what is important, too, is how Obama’s presidency shapes the attitude of Whites and others. In other words, maybe we’ll be treated better, maybe there will be less racial profiling, less overt racial discrimination and even more empathy with the plight Blacks find themselves in. For instance, if Obama’s being elected president changes the expectations of White teachers for Black students, they’ll see this Black student, [whom] before they thought could be a convict, [and think] maybe he can be the president of the United States. We know the expectations teachers have of Black students count a lot, in term of their success. In so far he may reshape racial attitude, it will benefit Blacks indirectly and directly.
... Do you see Black children looking to Obama children Sasha and Malia and looking up to President-elect Obama?
It will fill them with pride. There’s an enormous psychological effect. If you wake up in the morning, you’re a two-year-old kid, the president is on TV and the president is a Black man, it begins to shape their image of the world and the image inside of what they think they can accomplish, and increases there own feelings of worth. ‘I am somebody. The president, this man, is running the country. I can run something. I can be in charge. I can get good grades.’ That will be an ingredient of their psyche.
I think what is important, too, is how Obama’s presidency shapes the attitude of Whites and others. In other words, maybe we’ll be treated better, maybe there will be less racial profiling, less overt racial discrimination and even more empathy with the plight Blacks find themselves in. For instance, if Obama’s being elected president changes the expectations of White teachers for Black students, they’ll see this Black student, [whom] before they thought could be a convict, [and think] maybe he can be the president of the United States. We know the expectations teachers have of Black students count a lot, in term of their success. In so far he may reshape racial attitude, it will benefit Blacks indirectly and directly.
Group Hires Lawyer To Address Dearth of Black College Football Coaches
Group Hires Lawyer To Address Dearth of Black College Football Coaches: The number of Black college football coaches is going in the wrong direction, according to the latest hiring report card issued Wednesday by the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA).
Hiring committees are more diverse and coaches of color are being interviewed for football head coaching positions, but the number of hires is still dismal, the report card shows.
“Interviewing is not the measure of true success. Interviewing is not hiring. The true measure of progress and success will be when athletic directors stop merely interviewing candidates of color, and when athletic directors actually hire head football coaches of color,” said Charlotte Westerhaus, vice president of diversity and inclusion of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) .
For the 2007-08 season examined in the fifth BCA hiring report card, there were only four head football coaches of color hired to fill 31 job openings. The 2008 season in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Division, began with eight coaches of color, six of whom were African-American.
Hiring committees are more diverse and coaches of color are being interviewed for football head coaching positions, but the number of hires is still dismal, the report card shows.
“Interviewing is not the measure of true success. Interviewing is not hiring. The true measure of progress and success will be when athletic directors stop merely interviewing candidates of color, and when athletic directors actually hire head football coaches of color,” said Charlotte Westerhaus, vice president of diversity and inclusion of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) .
For the 2007-08 season examined in the fifth BCA hiring report card, there were only four head football coaches of color hired to fill 31 job openings. The 2008 season in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Division, began with eight coaches of color, six of whom were African-American.
Presidents of Maryland’s Black Colleges Testify About Disparities
Presidents of Maryland’s Black Colleges Testify About Disparities: No stranger to belt-tightening during tough economic times, presidents from two of Maryland’s historically black colleges attended a public hearing Wednesday to press their case for why the schools need more money.
The hearing came on the heels of a report outlining the financial and technological deficiencies that exist between Maryland's historically Black institutions and the state's predominately White institutions.
The report acknowledged that Maryland’s HBCUs have long been neglected by the state over past years and called for more state funding to bring the schools on par with the state’s traditionally White institutions. But the chair of the Maryland General Assembly’s Affordability Committee cautioned that any new funding for Maryland historically black institutions would be scarce given the state’s current budget woes.
The hearing came on the heels of a report outlining the financial and technological deficiencies that exist between Maryland's historically Black institutions and the state's predominately White institutions.
The report acknowledged that Maryland’s HBCUs have long been neglected by the state over past years and called for more state funding to bring the schools on par with the state’s traditionally White institutions. But the chair of the Maryland General Assembly’s Affordability Committee cautioned that any new funding for Maryland historically black institutions would be scarce given the state’s current budget woes.
Women Gain in Education but Not Power, Study Finds - NYTimes.com
Women Gain in Education but Not Power, Study Finds - NYTimes.com: GENEVA (Reuters) — Women still lag far behind men in top political and decision-making roles, though their access to education and health care is nearly equal, the World Economic Forum said Wednesday.
In its 2008 Global Gender Gap report, the forum, a Swiss research organization, ranked Norway, Finland and Sweden as the countries that have the most equality of the sexes, and Saudi Arabia, Chad and Yemen as having the least.
Using United Nations data, the report found that girls and women around the world had generally reached near-parity with their male peers in literacy, access to education and health and survival. But in terms of economics and politics, including relative access to executive government and corporate posts, the gap between the sexes remains large.
The United States ranked 27th, above Russia (42nd), China (57th), Brazil (73rd) and India (113th). But the United States was ranked below Germany (11th), Britain (13th), France (15th), Lesotho (16th), Trinidad and Tobago (19th), South Africa (22nd), Argentina (24th) and Cuba (25th).
In its 2008 Global Gender Gap report, the forum, a Swiss research organization, ranked Norway, Finland and Sweden as the countries that have the most equality of the sexes, and Saudi Arabia, Chad and Yemen as having the least.
Using United Nations data, the report found that girls and women around the world had generally reached near-parity with their male peers in literacy, access to education and health and survival. But in terms of economics and politics, including relative access to executive government and corporate posts, the gap between the sexes remains large.
The United States ranked 27th, above Russia (42nd), China (57th), Brazil (73rd) and India (113th). But the United States was ranked below Germany (11th), Britain (13th), France (15th), Lesotho (16th), Trinidad and Tobago (19th), South Africa (22nd), Argentina (24th) and Cuba (25th).
Katrina victims: Discrimination alleged in suit - USATODAY.com
Katrina victims: Discrimination alleged in suit - USATODAY.com: Two civil rights groups and five New Orleans homeowners sued Louisiana's hurricane rebuilding program Wednesday, saying it discriminates against more than 20,000 African Americans whose houses were damaged by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
The class-action suit, filed in federal court in Washington, alleges the Louisiana Road Home program awards smaller rebuilding grants to black homeowners than white homeowners. It says the state program's formula for calculating the grants — approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — is biased against homes in predominantly black neighborhoods.
'HUD and Louisiana have failed to honor the noble promise of this program,' says civil rights lawyer Joseph Sellers, who represents the homeowners.
The Louisiana Recovery Authority, which administers the $11 billion housing redevelopment program, bases grants on the pre-storm value of the house or the rebuilding cost, whichever is less. The authority had awarded $7.3 billion by Oct. 28, its weekly report says.
The lawsuit says home values in predominately black neighborhoods are lower than those of similar homes in white neighborhoods.
The class-action suit, filed in federal court in Washington, alleges the Louisiana Road Home program awards smaller rebuilding grants to black homeowners than white homeowners. It says the state program's formula for calculating the grants — approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — is biased against homes in predominantly black neighborhoods.
'HUD and Louisiana have failed to honor the noble promise of this program,' says civil rights lawyer Joseph Sellers, who represents the homeowners.
The Louisiana Recovery Authority, which administers the $11 billion housing redevelopment program, bases grants on the pre-storm value of the house or the rebuilding cost, whichever is less. The authority had awarded $7.3 billion by Oct. 28, its weekly report says.
The lawsuit says home values in predominately black neighborhoods are lower than those of similar homes in white neighborhoods.
Slavery of a different sort toils in Toni Morrison's 'A Mercy' - USATODAY.com
Slavery of a different sort toils in Toni Morrison's 'A Mercy'- USATODAY.com: "In both print and her public persona, Toni Morrison is an original thinker. She once famously called Bill Clinton our first black president. Now in the month in which the country elected Barack Obama president, the Nobel laureate has published a new novel, A Mercy, which examines slavery through the prism of power, not race.
Morrison achieves this by setting A Mercy in 1680s America, when slavery was a color-blind, equal-opportunity state of misery, not yet the rigid, peculiar institution it would become. This stands in sharp contrast to Beloved, Morrison's 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a black woman who kills her daughter rather than see her returned to slavery. In Beloved, skin color and slavery are inextricably linked.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Graduating ASAP, if Not on State Timeline - washingtonpost.com
Graduating ASAP, if Not on State Timeline - washingtonpost.com: ... Like Lara, many young Latino immigrants must juggle adult responsibilities with school, and they are creating alternative, stop-and-start paths toward a diploma.
'There are some where we probably failed them and they dropped out' and never finished school, Arlington County Superintendent Robert G. Smith said. But then there are those who come back at 20 or 21, he said. 'They would be counted among our dropouts, but sometimes they are our greatest success stories.'
As educators strive to close racial and ethnic achievement gaps, school systems are examining the educational experience of Latino students. Without knowing how many are succeeding under the radar, they can't know how many are lost altogether.
Sarita Brown of Excelencia in Education, a District-based nonprofit organization, said the number of Latino students who don't fit the four-year model is growing fast.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Poll: Racial divides persist after Obama’s historic win - Blogs from CNN.com
CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Poll: Racial divides persist after Obama’s historic win - Blogs from CNN.com: WASHINGTON (CNN) — A national poll released Tuesday suggests that for most African-Americans, the election of Barack Obama as president was a dream come true that they didn't think they would see in their lifetimes.
That's how 80 percent of African-Americans questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey responded; 20 percent disagreed. Among white Americans, only 28 percent called Obama's victory in the race for the White House a dream come true, with the vast majority, 70 percent, saying it was not.
The poll also suggests a racial divide among people who thought a black candidate would be elected president in their lifetimes, with 59 percent of white respondents saying yes, but only 29 percent of black respondents agreeing.
'Polls show that whites and blacks tend to have different views on the amount of racism in the U.S.' said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. 'So it's not surprising that they would have different views on the likelihood of an African-American president.'
That's how 80 percent of African-Americans questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey responded; 20 percent disagreed. Among white Americans, only 28 percent called Obama's victory in the race for the White House a dream come true, with the vast majority, 70 percent, saying it was not.
The poll also suggests a racial divide among people who thought a black candidate would be elected president in their lifetimes, with 59 percent of white respondents saying yes, but only 29 percent of black respondents agreeing.
'Polls show that whites and blacks tend to have different views on the amount of racism in the U.S.' said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. 'So it's not surprising that they would have different views on the likelihood of an African-American president.'
Rev. Abraham Woods Jr.; MLK-Era Rights Leader - washingtonpost.com
Rev. Abraham Woods Jr.; MLK-Era Rights Leader - washingtonpost.com: The Rev. Abraham Woods Jr., 80, a civil rights leader in Birmingham, Ala., who stood behind the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during his 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial, died of complications from cancer Nov. 7 at Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham.
Rev. Woods, a founder and longtime president of the Birmingham chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, began his civil rights work in the mid-1950s, working with the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth as well as with King and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. After Alabama outlawed the NAACP, Rev. Woods and his brother, the Rev. Calvin Woods, along with Shuttlesworth, founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights.
8,000 blacks die due to blood pressure gap - Health care- msnbc.com
8,000 blacks die due to blood pressure gap - Health care- msnbc.com: ATLANTA - The lives of nearly 8,000 black Americans could be saved each year if doctors could figure out a way to bring their average blood pressure down to the average level of whites, a surprising new study found.
The gap between the races in controlling blood pressure is well-known, but the resulting number of lives lost startled some scientists.
“We expected it to be big, but it was even larger than we anticipated,” said the lead author, Dr. Kevin Fiscella of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
The study, released Monday in the Annals of Family Medicine, is being called the first to calculate the lives lost due to racial disparities in blood pressure control.
Fiscella said he believes steps can be taken to erase that gap. But a second article in the same journal found that racial differences in blood pressure treatment persisted in England despite a national health system that provides equal access to care.
Doctors may not be providing proper care, but some black patients may not be taking prescribed medicines or following medical advice, said Christopher Millett of the Imperial College of London.
However, another researcher said it is unfair to blame the patient.
“’Compliance’ to me is a hateful word. It says, ’I the great doctor and we the great health care service inform you what needs to be done and you don’t do it because you’re stupid, you’re incompetent’... I don’t accept that at all,” said Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, professor emeritus of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
The gap between the races in controlling blood pressure is well-known, but the resulting number of lives lost startled some scientists.
“We expected it to be big, but it was even larger than we anticipated,” said the lead author, Dr. Kevin Fiscella of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
The study, released Monday in the Annals of Family Medicine, is being called the first to calculate the lives lost due to racial disparities in blood pressure control.
Fiscella said he believes steps can be taken to erase that gap. But a second article in the same journal found that racial differences in blood pressure treatment persisted in England despite a national health system that provides equal access to care.
Doctors may not be providing proper care, but some black patients may not be taking prescribed medicines or following medical advice, said Christopher Millett of the Imperial College of London.
However, another researcher said it is unfair to blame the patient.
“’Compliance’ to me is a hateful word. It says, ’I the great doctor and we the great health care service inform you what needs to be done and you don’t do it because you’re stupid, you’re incompetent’... I don’t accept that at all,” said Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, professor emeritus of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Tolerance Over Race Can Spread, Studies Find - NYTimes.com
Tolerance Over Race Can Spread, Studies Find - NYTimes.com: ...In some new studies, psychologists have been able to establish a close relationship between diverse pairs — black and white, Latino and Asian, black and Latino — in a matter of hours. That relationship immediately reduces conscious and unconscious bias in both people, and also significantly reduces prejudice toward the other group in each individual’s close friends.
This extended-contact effect, as it is called, travels like a benign virus through an entire peer group, counteracting subtle or not so subtle mistrust.
“It’s important to remember that implicit biases are out there, absolutely; but I think that that’s only half the story,” said Linda R. Tropp, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts. “With broader changes in the society at large, people can also become more willing to reach across racial boundaries, and that goes for both minorities and whites.”
This extended-contact effect, as it is called, travels like a benign virus through an entire peer group, counteracting subtle or not so subtle mistrust.
“It’s important to remember that implicit biases are out there, absolutely; but I think that that’s only half the story,” said Linda R. Tropp, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts. “With broader changes in the society at large, people can also become more willing to reach across racial boundaries, and that goes for both minorities and whites.”
Friday, November 07, 2008
Among Young Muslims, Mixed Emotions on Obama - NYTimes.com
Among Young Muslims, Mixed Emotions on Obama - NYTimes.com: It was easy for them to love the candidate. With the same passion, and for the same reasons that millions of other young people did, they loved Barack Obama’s call to activism, the promise of change, the sheer newness of the guy.
What was hard was feeling they could not show it because they were Muslims.
“I pretty much kept away, because I didn’t want to appear with an Obama button and have people look at me and say: ‘Oh, a Muslim girl supports him. Aha,’ ” said Sule Akoglu, a 17-year-old New York University freshman, who wears a head scarf.
Like just about all the Muslim students who gathered Wednesday night at the university’s Islamic Center on the day after the election, Miss Akoglu described a mixture of delight and frustration at the successful campaign of the nation’s first black president-elect.
He had run a great race, broken so many barriers, done so much right. Yet the persistent rumor that Mr. Obama was a Muslim had led his campaign to do things that the students found hurtful, they said. The campaign had dismissed a Muslim staff member for seemingly flimsy reasons. A campaign worker had shuttled two young Muslim women wearing head scarves out of the line of sight of TV cameras at a rally.
And the candidate known for his way with words had never said the words they waited for.
No Retreat on Affirmative Action Under Obama, Black Think Tank Predicts
No Retreat on Affirmative Action Under Obama, Black Think Tank Predicts: An administration under President-elect Barack Obama will protect race-based affirmative action in education and employment, political pundits said at a post-election analysis discussion convened Wednesday at the nation’s leading think tank on African-American affairs.
Responding to the idea floated by some observers that a post-racial Obama administration might lend support to class-based affirmative action over race-based affirmative action, a leading analyst on race in American politics said he does not expect the new president to abandon racially conscious affirmative action, which is widely accepted and legally permissible in higher education.
Obama has told news media interviewers over the past year that affirmative action would not be necessary for his two young daughters because of the privileged life he and his wife have provided for them. He has said that class-based affirmative action in higher education is appropriate for economically disadvantaged Whites as well as for non-Whites.
Responding to the idea floated by some observers that a post-racial Obama administration might lend support to class-based affirmative action over race-based affirmative action, a leading analyst on race in American politics said he does not expect the new president to abandon racially conscious affirmative action, which is widely accepted and legally permissible in higher education.
Obama has told news media interviewers over the past year that affirmative action would not be necessary for his two young daughters because of the privileged life he and his wife have provided for them. He has said that class-based affirmative action in higher education is appropriate for economically disadvantaged Whites as well as for non-Whites.
Not Lost in Translation
Language is no longer a barrier to getting informed on the best colleges across the country. The Spanish-language version of the college guide College is Yours in 600 Words or Less debuted this fall and will be distributed for free.
Each part of the book in under 600 words provides information on the college selection process. “The college decision must be all about the student’s interests, and the book helps students keep that goal in mind,” says author Patrick O’Connor.
O’Connor came up with the idea to translate College is Yours when he was considering developing counseling resources in Spanish. However, since he could not translate the book himself, he asked colleagues and professional translation services in Detroit for help. When they agreed to do it for free, O’Connor says, “It was then I realized the goal of the book was simply to get the information out there. No one is going to make any money on the book.”
Grace Printing in Chicago offered to print the book at a discount rate, and O’Connor, a school counselor, asked several Hispanic celebrities to sponsor it, including shipping costs. The writer has waived all royalties for La Universidad Es Tuya, and he is already taking orders via e-mail (collegeisyours@comcast.net) for the book’s next printing.
“High school counselors throughout the world have been notified about La Universidad Es Tuya,” says O’Connor.
Each part of the book in under 600 words provides information on the college selection process. “The college decision must be all about the student’s interests, and the book helps students keep that goal in mind,” says author Patrick O’Connor.
O’Connor came up with the idea to translate College is Yours when he was considering developing counseling resources in Spanish. However, since he could not translate the book himself, he asked colleagues and professional translation services in Detroit for help. When they agreed to do it for free, O’Connor says, “It was then I realized the goal of the book was simply to get the information out there. No one is going to make any money on the book.”
Grace Printing in Chicago offered to print the book at a discount rate, and O’Connor, a school counselor, asked several Hispanic celebrities to sponsor it, including shipping costs. The writer has waived all royalties for La Universidad Es Tuya, and he is already taking orders via e-mail (collegeisyours@comcast.net) for the book’s next printing.
“High school counselors throughout the world have been notified about La Universidad Es Tuya,” says O’Connor.
U.S. accepts Black President, struggles with other social advances
U.S. accepts Black President, struggles with other social advances: Americans made history this week by electing their first Black president while banning affirmative action and gay marriage at the same time.
In some cases, such as in California, Black and Hispanic voters who overwhelmingly supported President-elect Barack Obama, also helped lead the way in revoking laws that allowed gay couples to marry.
So does this mean Americans, including ethnic minorities, can accept a Black president but are still not ready for other progressive initiatives?
While the country is becoming more tolerant, some scholars suggest it is not completely ready to embrace some hot-button cultural policies, especially when it comes to homosexuality and pocket-book issues.
People voted for Obama because they felt he was the better candidate, says Toni-Michelle Travis, a political scientist who specializes in race issues at George Mason University. But when it comes to policies that impact voters financially, such as affirmative action, it is not surprising that many voters are less accepting, she adds.
When voting on economic issues people feel more threatened, Travis says, and they ask themselves, '‘can I get a job, or is the government going to favor ‘those people.’ When you get to issues that affect your family and personal well being, I think race takes on a different tone.'
In some cases, such as in California, Black and Hispanic voters who overwhelmingly supported President-elect Barack Obama, also helped lead the way in revoking laws that allowed gay couples to marry.
So does this mean Americans, including ethnic minorities, can accept a Black president but are still not ready for other progressive initiatives?
While the country is becoming more tolerant, some scholars suggest it is not completely ready to embrace some hot-button cultural policies, especially when it comes to homosexuality and pocket-book issues.
People voted for Obama because they felt he was the better candidate, says Toni-Michelle Travis, a political scientist who specializes in race issues at George Mason University. But when it comes to policies that impact voters financially, such as affirmative action, it is not surprising that many voters are less accepting, she adds.
When voting on economic issues people feel more threatened, Travis says, and they ask themselves, '‘can I get a job, or is the government going to favor ‘those people.’ When you get to issues that affect your family and personal well being, I think race takes on a different tone.'
Poll: Hopes are high for race relations - USATODAY.com
Poll: Hopes are high for race relations - USATODAY.com: WASHINGTON — Barack Obama's election has inspired a wave of optimism about the future of race relations in the United States, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken the day after the first African American won the White House.
Confidence that the nation will resolve its racial problems rose to a historic level. Two-thirds of Americans predict that relations between blacks and whites 'will eventually be worked out' in the United States, by far the highest number since Gallup first asked the question in the midst of the civil rights struggle in 1963.
Optimism jumped most among blacks. Five months ago, half of African Americans predicted the nation eventually would solve its racial problems. Now, two-thirds do.
"Barack didn't elect himself; we Americans elected him," says Roger Wilkins, a civil rights leader and professor of history and American culture at George Mason University in suburban Virginia. "And I think that there are lots and lots of people who say, 'Damn, we're not as racist as we thought we were,' so they're pleased."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)