Obama Administration Officials Deliver Commencement Speeches at HBCU, HSI Graduations

Obama Administration Officials Deliver Commencement Speeches at HBCU, HSI Graduations: ...the president’s scheduled address at Hampton University, a historically Black institution, this Sunday should help bring a spotlight to minority-serving institutions.

The president will have help in that task because on Saturday first lady Michelle Obama will send off the students at the University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff, a historically Black public university. Also on Saturday, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will speak to graduating students at Xavier University of Louisiana and Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez will deliver the commencement address at Northeastern Illinois University.

In all, 11 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and at least 13 Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) will host senior level administration officials as commencement speakers.

“The number of Obama administration people speaking at HBCU and HSI commencements is unprecedented,” Dr. John Silvanus Wilson, executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, said at a recent Education Sector policy forum on educational successes at minority-serving institutions.

La Raza organizes boycott of Arizona to protest immigration law

La Raza organizes boycott of Arizona to protest immigration law: The nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group announced Thursday that it has organized a boycott of Arizona in the wake of the state's new law targeting illegal immigrants.

The National Council of La Raza, along with 19 other labor and civil rights groups, will pull money and meetings out of the state and is asking all companies and organizations to move major events and conferences planned there to other venues. Specifically, La Raza wants Major League Baseball to renege on its promise to hold the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix.

'No conferences. No travel,' said Janet Murguia, president of La Raza. 'We are looking at major events with big visibility, and we're asking all people to consider whether any purchase of goods from the state would further this unjust law.'

Neanderthal DNA found in some modern humans, scientists say

Neanderthal DNA found in some modern humans, scientists say: Scientists, with the help of a pinch of fossil bone dust, have discovered that modern human beings interbred with Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago, and that 1 to 4 percent of the genes carried by non-African people are traceable to the much-caricatured, beetle-browed cavemen.

The Neanderthal project, which took four years and involved 57 scientists, is the latest and most astonishing example of the recovery of scientifically useful information from 'ancient DNA.'

The new data answer a few of the many questions about modern human beings' relationship with their last big hominin competitors, who died out about 30,000 years ago. The data also hint at what Homo sapiens had -- but Homo neanderthalensis didn't -- that may have made the difference between survival and extinction.

'The Other Wes Moore' author knows what might have been - USATODAY.com

'The Other Wes Moore' author knows what might have been - USATODAY.com: ...The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (Spiegel & Grau, $25) tells the story of two black men with the same name. Both were born in Maryland. Both grew up with single mothers in fatherless homes. By the time they were 11 years old, both had been handcuffed by cops.

One became a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Johns Hopkins, a Rhodes scholar, a White House Fellow under Condoleezza Rice and an Afghanistan combat veteran who spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The other Wes Moore, 34, is in the Jessup Correctional Institute's maximum-security unit, where he is serving a life sentence without parole. He was sentenced for his part in a botched robbery in 2000 in which his half-brother, Tony Moore, shot to death an off-duty Baltimore police officer who was the father of five.

The Answer Sheet - Accented teachers may be better for English language learners: study

The Answer Sheet - Accented teachers may be better for English language learners: study: Accented teachers may be better for English language learners: study

A new study on how well students learn second languages from teachers with accents suggests that Arizona may be making a mistake by trying to remove heavily accented Hispanic teachers from classrooms filled with Hispanics trying to learn English.

School districts in Arizona are under orders from the state Department of Education to remove teachers who speak English with a very heavy accent (and/or whose speech is ungrammatical) from classrooms with students who are learning to speak English. Officials say they want students who don’t know much English to have teachers who can best model how to speak the language.

I wrote the other day about the difficulties in determining just how deep an accent has to be to be considered a problem, but here’s another side of the issue.

According to a new research study conducted in Israel, students learn a second language better from a teacher who speaks in the same accent as they do.

Iowa State Honors its Past With Current Diversity Measures

Iowa State Honors its Past With Current Diversity Measures: George Washington Carver, the legendary scientist and educator, spent five years at the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, known today as Iowa State University, as a student, graduate student and faculty member in the late 19th century.

Nearly 120 years later, Carver’s presence still looms large on the Iowa State campus.

“World renowned plant scientist George Washington Carver got his college education at Iowa State,” ISU’s website states.

A building on campus that houses the mathematics department and provides space to other departments is named in his honor. The university posthumously awarded Carver, who created many products from peanuts and sweet potatoes, an honorary doctorate in 1990.

In 1998, the school held a yearlong series of lectures and activities aimed at celebrating his life. Each year, the university offers 100 full-tuition scholarships to high-achieving minority students.

Black Scholar Denied Pa. Law License In 1847 Admitted to State Bar

Black Scholar Denied Pa. Law License In 1847 Admitted to State Bar: PITTSBURGH – As a scholar, poet and abolitionist, George B. Vashon broke barriers in the 1800s: he was the first Black to graduate from Oberlin College, the first Black lawyer in New York state and the first Black professor at Howard University.

But in his home state of Pennsylvania, where Vashon grew up and studied law, he was twice rejected from practicing law because he was Black.

States With ACT Mandate See Minority Performance on the Rise

States With ACT Mandate See Minority Performance on the Rise: ...Using the six states as a base, academics are trying to assess how using the ACT test affects students and schools. Data is incomplete, but trends include improved performance by African-American or Hispanic students who generally score lower than Whites or Asian-Americans. Some believe that more students tend to go to college after taking the ACT, but the program’s critics claim that teachers end up teaching the ACT test and not real content.

The ACT, developed by ACT, Inc. in Iowa City, Iowa, measures competence in English, mathematics, scientific reasoning and reading. It came about to help assess the hordes of veterans who returned from World War II with college aspirations. Popular in the Midwest and parts of the South, the ACT competes with the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which dates to the 1920s and tends to be used for college admission on the East and West coasts.

Tribute: Dorothy Irene Height – 1912-2010

Tribute: Dorothy Irene Height – 1912-2010: The passing of venerable Queen Mother Dorothy Height was a great loss to longtime social advocates of the Civil Rights and Black Women’s Movements. The news of her transition, which was not unexpected, caused many of us to pause and mourn the loss of a national treasure … but only briefly. For if ever there was a life to be celebrated, it was the life that was lived by Dorothy Irene Height.

Dr. Height was born in 1912 in Richmond, VA. She traveled north to take advantage of higher education opportunities that, during her lifetime, were far more restricted in the South. Following her graduation from New York University, she began her career as a caseworker for the New York City Department of Welfare. She would, in the true spirit of the profession, remain committed to the values and principles of social work in all her endeavors. But it was her contribution to the Civil Rights Movement that helped to build her legacy and seal her place in history.

A “Green” Approach to Education Reform

A “Green” Approach to Education Reform: During recent celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I could not help but think about the condition of the American education system as I listened to the alarming message from environmental experts about how “the world is in greater peril than ever” due to concerns about climate policy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. In a similar way that environmental movement has been observing the extinction of wildlife species and other precious resources, we have been observing our status as the world leader in higher education with the highest proportion of students with a postsecondary degree become extinct.

Professor Behind Controversial Arizona Law Also Works Against In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

Professor Behind Controversial Arizona Law Also Works Against In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students: It may be the best known — and most controversial state statute — in years.

The Arizona law that permits local and state police officers to check out the immigration status of individuals they believe might be undocumented has been criticized by President Barack Obama, civil rights groups and immigrants’ advocates from all around the country. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has ordered his employees not to travel to Arizona on business. The Mexican government has warned its citizens to steer clear of Arizona if possible.

Op-Ed: The Census 2010 and the Three-Fifths Compromise

Op-Ed: The Census 2010 and the Three-Fifths Compromise: At the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 a deal was struck, a compromise sponsored by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman now known as the Three-Fifths Compromise. I call to attention here the decision to count slaves as three-fifths of a person to serve as a profound reminder that from the get-go, counting for our nation has always been problematic, hypocritical and “constitutionally compromised.”

Anyone today reading the papers, listening to talk radio, watching television or surfing the Web knows counting remains a complicated issue. And, while there may no longer be any juridical question regarding the “whole versus fractionalized” status of any given individual in our country, this country struggles with the notion of truly counting everyone who should count — everyone, that is, who ought to be counted. “Who counts?” remains at issue.

Challenges in Replicating Charter School Success - NYTimes.com

Challenges in Replicating Charter School Success - NYTimes.com: ...But for all their support and cultural cachet, the majority of the 5,000 or so charter schools nationwide appear to be no better, and in many cases worse, than local public schools when measured by achievement on standardized tests, according to experts citing years of research. Last year one of the most comprehensive studies, by researchers from Stanford University, found that fewer than one-fifth of charter schools nationally offered a better education than comparable local schools, almost half offered an equivalent education and more than a third, 37 percent, were “significantly worse.”

Although “charter schools have become a rallying cry for education reformers,” the report, by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, warned, “this study reveals in unmistakable terms that, in the aggregate, charter students are not faring as well” as students in traditional schools.

Chubby kids get bullied more often - USATODAY.com

Chubby kids get bullied more often - USATODAY.com: The danger of bullying has been making headlines recently, and now a new study shows heavy kids are more likely to be picked on than their normal-weight peers.

The study confirms other research that chubby children are more likely to be the victims of bullying. About one-third of kids in the USA weigh too much.

Researchers at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor analyzed the bullying incidents of 821 children ages 8 to 11.

The study, reported today online in Pediatrics, found that obese children were more likely to be bullied than normal-weight peers, regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, school demographic profile, social skills or academic achievement.

'This study speaks to the deep prejudice against children who are obese,' says lead author Julie Lumeng, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan.

Calif. immigrants' rights march ends in vandalism

Calif. immigrants' rights march ends in vandalism: SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Close to 20 businesses were damaged after what started as a peaceful immigrants' rights march in downtown Santa Cruz turned violent, requiring police to call other agencies for help, authorities said.

Police spokesman Zach Friend said an estimated 250 people started marching through the city around 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

It was a harmonious but 'unpermitted and unsanctioned event,' he said, until some in the crowd started breaking windows and spraying paint on retail shops that line the downtown corridor.

Friend said he wasn't sure if the damage was caused by people marching in support of immigrants' rights, or if the group was 'infiltrated by anarchists.'

Anger At Ariz. Immigration Law Galvanizes Protesters : NPR

Anger At Ariz. Immigration Law Galvanizes Protesters : NPR: Angered by a controversial Arizona immigration law, tens of thousands of protesters — including 50,000 alone in Los Angeles — rallied in cities nationwide demanding President Barack Obama tackle immigration reform immediately.

'I want to thank the governor of Arizona because she's awakened a sleeping giant,' said labor organizer John Delgado who attended a rally in New York where authorities estimated 6,500 gathered.

From Los Angeles to Washington D.C., activists, families, students and even politicians marched, practiced civil disobedience and 'came out' about their citizenship status in the name of rights for immigrants, including the estimated 12 million living illegally in the U.S.

Arizona Ethnic Studies Classes Banned, Teachers With Accents Can No Longer Teach English

Arizona Ethnic Studies Classes Banned, Teachers With Accents Can No Longer Teach English: Arizona's new immigration law is just about crime, its supporters say, but given that the state's new education policy equates ethnic studies programs with high treason, they may not be using the commonly accepted definition of 'crime.'

Under the ban, sent to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer by the state legislature Thursday, schools will lose state funding if they offer any courses that 'promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment of a particular race or class of people, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.'

As ThinkProgress notes, the Tucson Unified School District's popular Mexican-American studies department is the target here. The state superintendent charges that the program exhibits 'ethnic chauvinism.'

Meanwhile, in a move that was more covert until the Wall Street Journal uncovered it, the Arizona Department of Education has told schools that teachers with 'heavy' or 'ungrammatical' accents are no longer allowed to teach English classes.

Trail of Dreams students walk 1,500 miles to bring immigration message to Washington

Trail of Dreams students walk 1,500 miles to bring immigration message to Washington: ... The Trail of Dreams walk was their idea, but along the way they've been supported by groups like the Florida Immigrant Coalition. The students will lead a march to Lafayette Park, where they will help preside over a rally of expected thousands in front of the White House to advocate for immigration reform. It's a safe bet all things Arizona will be jeered.

As the national debate grows palpably more bitter and polarized, Pacheco and Matos are the face of the most sympathetic segment of the illegal immigrant population. Theirs is the image that supporters shrewdly promote to advance their movement, and that even some opponents find difficult to categorically condemn. They were brought to this country as children -- Pacheco at 7 from Ecuador, Matos at 14 from Brazil -- and have made the most of American opportunity.

Desmond Tutu: Arizona: The Wrong Answer

Desmond Tutu: Arizona: The Wrong Answer: I am saddened today at the prospect of a young Hispanic immigrant in Arizona going to the grocery store and forgetting to bring her passport and immigration documents with her. I cannot be dispassionate about the fact that the very act of her being in the grocery store will soon be a crime in the state she lives in. Or that, should a policeman hear her accent and form a 'reasonable suspicion' that she is an illegal immigrant, she can -- and will -- be taken into custody until someone sorts it out, while her children are at home waiting for their dinner.

Equally disturbing is what will happen in the mind of the policeman. The police talk today about how they do not wish to, and will not, engage in racial profiling.

Opinion: Arizona - This is What Apartheid Looks Like

Opinion: Arizona - This is What Apartheid Looks Like: Those who think there’s an immigration crisis in Arizona are correct; however, this is but part of the story. The truth is, a civilizational clash is being played out in the same state in which the state legislature questions the birthplace and legitimacy of President Barack Obama and where Sen. John McCain competes with Senate hopeful J.D. Hayworth to see who is the most anti-immigrant.

It is also the same state that several years ago denied a holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. and that today permits virtually anyone—on the basis of trumped-up fear—to carry concealed weapons anywhere.