Arkansas School Choice Law That Uses Race To Determine Transfer Eligibility Rejected By Judge

Arkansas School Choice Law That Uses Race To Determine Transfer Eligibility Rejected By Judge: LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal judge on Friday struck down an Arkansas school choice law, saying race couldn't be the only factor considered in deciding whether students could transfer between districts.

U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson said a provision of the law dealing with race violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. He said that part couldn't be separated from the rest of the law, so he declared the whole thing unconstitutional.

"The State must employ a more nuanced, individualized evaluation of school and student needs, which, while they may include race as one component, may not base enrollment or transfer options solely on race," Dawson wrote.

The state had argued that the provision in the Arkansas Public School Choice Act of 1989 was needed to preserve desegregation efforts.

Civil Rights Commission To Examine ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws For Racial Bias | TPMMuckraker

Civil Rights Commission To Examine ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws For Racial Bias | TPMMuckraker: In the wake of the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted 5-3 on Friday to examine whether “stand your ground” laws across the country have a racial bias.

Commissioner Michael Yaki, a former aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, proposed the special investigation, saying it could answer timely questions about stand your ground legislation, which allows individuals to use force without retreating when there is a reasonable belief they are threatened. All four commissioners appointed by Democrats as well as Abigail Thernstrom, a George W. Bush appointee, voted in support of the investigation.

Staffers of the small federal agency, created through the Civil Rights Act of 1957, will look into how racial bias “may affect the operation of these laws — in the perceptions and motivations of perpetrators, in law enforcement investigation, in prosecution decisions, and in judicial outcomes.”

“Ultimately we need to know whether or not, all other factors being equal, the race of the victim or the perpetrator plays a role in determining the application of these laws,” Yaki said.

Kathleen Pyles, Connecticut Middle School Teacher, Allegedly Made Racist Comment, Called Student 'Black Boy'

Kathleen Pyles, Connecticut Middle School Teacher, Allegedly Made Racist Comment, Called Student 'Black Boy': Kathleen Pyles, a math teacher at North End Middle School in Waterbury, Conn., is on paid leave while school officials investigate allegations that she addressed a black student with a racist remark.

Parents and the NAACP spoke out during a Board of Education meting Thursday, accusing Pyles of inappropriately calling a student "black boy" when she couldn't remember his name, WFSB reports.

Officials told the Waterbury Republican-American that Pyles called the boy by the wrong name, and when the student pointed out the mistake, Pyles responded, "How about black boy? Go sit down, black boy."

The incident allegedly occurred in May, and surfaced when another child reported it to his mother, who then took the issue to the school, according to NECN.

Virginia 13-year-old suspended after he ‘touched the flag’ | The Raw Story

Virginia 13-year-old suspended after he ‘touched the flag’ | The Raw Story: The parents of a 13-year-old boy in Virginia Beach who was suspended for touching the American flag say that their son was unfairly treated because he is black.

Virginia Beach Public Schools Spokesperson Eileen Cox claimed the suspension was ordered after a teacher at Plaza Middle School observed Moses Hinton returning from the bathroom and wiping his hands on the flag because there were no paper towels in the bathroom on May 21, 2012.

Family attorney Wayne Scriven told WAVY that he asked the boy if he had washed his hands before returning from the bathroom.

Racism rears its head on eve of Euro Cup 2012 | The Raw Story

Racism rears its head on eve of Euro Cup 2012 | The Raw Story: Fears over Euro 2012 being overshadowed by racism returned on Friday, after UEFA confirmed that there was racist chanting at the Netherlands’ public training session this week in the Polish city of Krakow.

European football’s governing body, though, stopped short of launching a formal investigation, saying it had not received a formal complaint from the Dutch football federation (KNVB).

The revelations, which follow comments published on Friday from team captain Mark van Bommel in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, could not have come at a worse time for Euro 2012 organisers, with the tournament due to kick off on Friday evening.

New York Daily News Uses Cuban Flag On Puerto Rican Day Parade Ad

New York Daily News Uses Cuban Flag On Puerto Rican Day Parade Ad: When boricuas gather in the streets of New York City and sing "Que Bonita Bandera" (Translation: What a Beautiful Flag) at the Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday, they probably won't be singing about the Cuban flag. It seems, however, that the New York Daily News needs some reminding.

On Thursday, the New York publication prominently featured the Cuban flag on a Puerto Rican Day Parade advertisement, behind the image of New York Giants wide receiver, Victor Cruz.

The actual Puerto Rican flag has red and white stripes and a white star inside of a dark blue triangle. The mistake has elicited outrage and a few laughs from the online Latino community.

Meditation Lowers Heart Disease Risk In Teens, Study Shows

Meditation Lowers Heart Disease Risk In Teens, Study Shows: In the wake of controversial new research on adolescents and obesity, a group of researchers from Georgia Health Sciences University is shifting the focus from weight to another critical issue among black teens -- heart health.

The research diverges from the typical conversation on the role of diet and exercise in curbing high rates of heart disease among African Americans early on, and focuses instead on the role of meditation.

In a study of 62 black teens with high blood pressure, those who meditated twice a day for 15 minutes had lower left ventricular mass, an indicator of future cardiovascular disease, than a control group, according to a news release.

Study finds residential segregation is far from fading away - baltimoresun.com

Study finds residential segregation is far from fading away - baltimoresun.com: Legally enforced segregation might have ended decades ago, but a new study finds that white families tend to move to white neighborhoods and black families tend to move to black neighborhoods, even as the country's racial diversity keeps expanding.

The finding is part of a study for the American Sociological Review, the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association, called “Neighborhood Diversity, Metropolitan Constraints, and Household Migration.” Researchers tracked data on where 44,808 black families and 57,415 white families moved between 1977 and 2005.

It's a trend the Baltimore area knows well. This study using 2010 Census data shows that the Baltimore region had the 16th highest amount of black-white residential segregation among metro areas with large black populations. And this 2001 paper bemoans similar patterns locally.

Racial Gap in Life Expectancy at All-Time Low - NYTimes.com

Racial Gap in Life Expectancy at All-Time Low - NYTimes.com: The gap in life expectancy between whites and blacks in America has narrowed, reaching the lowest point ever recorded, a new study shows.

White men and women born in the United States can still expect to outlive black men and women by about three to five years. But the new report shows that from 2003 to 2008, the gap declined by roughly a year for both men and women.

The chasm in life expectancy between blacks and whites, though historically a large one, has steadily decreased over the last two decades. Much of the narrowing has come from faster declines in mortality rates among blacks for things like heart disease, homicide and H.I.V. infection. But the new study also reveals a less encouraging reason for the tightening of the gap: a spike in the rate of drug-related deaths among whites.

Seeking a Climate Change in College Athletics

Seeking a Climate Change in College Athletics: Perhaps because keeping score is an intrinsic part of competitive sports, the NCAA has tracked diversity by the numbers, counting how many minorities and women work as coaches and athletic directors, particularly at schools in big-time Division I.

With the organization taking that singular approach, member colleges and universities overall have moved the ball on diversity more by inches than entire playing fields. In Division I, 7 percent of athletic directors are Black and about 10 percent are women. On men’s basketball teams, 61 percent of players are Black, while 23 percent of head coaches are.

How Dorothy Parker Came To Rest In Baltimore : NPR

How Dorothy Parker Came To Rest In Baltimore : NPR: The writer, poet and critic Dorothy Parker was technically not a native New Yorker; she was born at her family's beach cottage in New Jersey. But she always considered New York City to be her beloved hometown. It's where she grew up, where she struggled during her early days as a writer, where she became famous, and where she died of a heart attack at the age of 73.

Today, her ashes can be found not in New York, but in Baltimore at the headquarters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which is located on the outskirts of the city and surrounded by a corporate office park.

The story of how this New Yorker ended up in Baltimore starts with Parker's unusual last will and testament, explains James Murray, the librarian and archivist at the NAACP.

"In her will, she stated that Martin Luther King should be the one to have her estate," he says.

Naval Academy's first African-American graduate remembered at ceremony - baltimoresun.com

Naval Academy's first African-American graduate remembered at ceremony - baltimoresun.com: When Lt. Cmdr. Wesley A. Brown was a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, he was ostracized, his classmates once trashing his room ahead of an inspection. But the Navy embraced him as a trailblazer in Wednesday funeral services, part of which were held in a field house that bears his name.

More than 250 gathered in Annapolis to remember Brown, the sixth black midshipman and the first to graduate. Mourners included top Navy and military officials, the first black female graduate of the academy and the oldest living black graduate of any U.S. military service academy.

"For many, this could be a somber day; I think it's an opportunity to reflect on a great man," said Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations. "He showed us that one person can make a difference."

Brown, a Baltimore native, died of cancer May 22 at age 85.

Academics and Athletics: The Necessary Tension in Higher Education

Academics and Athletics: The Necessary Tension in Higher Education: In the same month that the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall was officially dedicated, the NCAA board of directors passed measures that set higher academic standards and increased financial support for student-athletes. I am reminded that Dr. King wrote that “education must enable a man [and woman] to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life.” I commend the NCAA board of directors for its efforts to improve the educational experience of student-athletes.

Since the passing of the Student Right-to-Know Act, the relationship between academic performance and athletic participation in intercollegiate athletics has been under intense scrutiny. In an effort to keep college athletics grounded in the mission and values of higher education, the NCAA has demonstrated its interest in improving retention and graduation rates of Division I student-athletes by enacting, in 2003, the most comprehensive academic reform effort in years.

Not Afraid to Talk About Race - NYTimes.com

Not Afraid to Talk About Race - NYTimes.com: Hey, I heard that: “Oh no, the black columnist is writing about race, again.”

Yes, I am. Deal with it. The moment we allow ourselves to be browbeaten out of having important discussions about issues that persist, we cease to command the requisite conviction to wield the pen — or to peck on a keyboard, but you get my drift.

Varying political views among racial and ethnic groups are real.

They have always informed our politics, and no doubt they will continue to do so. The idea, naively held by many, that the election of the first black president would nullify racial grievances, bridge racial differences and erase racial animosities has quickly faded. We find ourselves once again trying to wrestle with the meaning and importance of race in our politics.

In fact, one could argue that examinations of racial attitudes in politics have become more fraught as racial motives, political objectives, and accusations and denials of racism and reverse-racism serve as a kind of subterfuge hiding resentments and prejudices.

Study: Single Moms Suffer From Poor Health Later in Life

Study: Single Moms Suffer From Poor Health Later in Life: As if being a single mom wasn't tough enough, a recent study suggests that it can actually be bad for your health. Researchers at Ohio State University studied nearly 4,000 mothers over a 30-year span (1979-2008) and found that the women who had children when they were single reported being less healthy when they reached their 40s, compared with women who raised their children with the children's father.

The study also found that getting married after having children out of wedlock did not help a woman's health unless she married the biological father, remained married to him and was white or Hispanic. Black women had no improvement in health when they married after having a child out of wedlock.

Congressional Hearings Sought on Abuse of Native Women - NYTimes.com

Congressional Hearings Sought on Abuse of Native Women - NYTimes.com: House Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee have called on the committee’s Republican leadership to hold oversight hearings based on reporting in The New York Times in May that found the rate of sexual assault of Native American women is more than twice the national average and even greater in rural Alaskan villages. In a letter, Representatives Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Dan Boren of Oklahoma said that they were “extremely concerned that accountability for violent crimes in Indian Country may be decreasing as Native women continue to be victims of sexual assault at alarming rates.” They called on Representative Doc Hastings, Republican of Washington, and chairman of the committee, to “bring this issue to the national spotlight” by convening oversight hearings. Spencer Pederson, a spokesman for the committee, said that Mr. Hastings was reviewing the request. “He certainly shares the goals of ensuring safety on reservations and tribal lands,” Mr. Pederson said.

Is Winning Everything?

Is Winning Everything?: A student’s performance on the basketball court undeniably brings money into the coffers of many schools. At the same time, too many of the athletes, particularly Black student-athletes, are underperforming academically and are at risk of losing their NCAA eligibility and, more important, failing in college overall.

When the University of Kentucky Wildcats won the NCCA Division I Basketball Championship this spring, the victory did more than put another big trophy in the showcase of the venerable intercollegiate sports powerhouse. It helped ensure the financial outlook for what has become a phenomenal, and oft-times controversial, money-making machine for all involved.

James Earl Jones Wins Marian Anderson Award

James Earl Jones Wins Marian Anderson Award: PHILADELPHIA -- James Earl Jones has been named the 2012 recipient of the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity.

The critically acclaimed stage and screen actor will accept the award at a Nov. 19 gala at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

Pamela Browner White, chairwoman of the award's board of directors, says Jones is an actor of intelligence and dignity who inspires others to pursue their dreams.

The Marian Anderson Award is named for the celebrated contralto and Philadelphia native, who in 1955 was the first black soloist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She died in 1993 at age 96.

Life Expectancy Racial Gap Shrinks, Study Shows

Life Expectancy Racial Gap Shrinks, Study Shows: NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters Health) - Whites in the United States have typically lived longer on average than blacks, but a new study released on Tuesday suggests that gap in life expectancy may be shrinking.

The shift appears to be because fewer African Americans are dying of AIDS and heart disease, but also because more whites are dying in early and mid-adulthood from unintentional injuries - mainly poisonings, including prescription drug overdoses, researchers said.

"For the most part, blacks are making small but important gains in terms of life expectancy," said Sam Harper of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, the lead author of the new report, published as a research letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Black adolescent girls benefit less than whites from physical exercise: study - NY Daily News

Black adolescent girls benefit less than whites from physical exercise: study - NY Daily News: When it comes to curbing obesity, exercise doesn’t have the same effect on African-American girls as white girls, a new study suggests.

According to research published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, black girls are less responsive to the benefits of physical activity.

Researchers studied the exercise levels and caloric intake of a group of 1,148 adolescent girls at age 12. Two years later, lower levels of obesity correlated with higher levels of exercise in white girls. Surprisingly, the same wasn’t true for black girls — those who reported frequent physical activity were just as likely to be obese two years later as ones who rarely exercised.

Employment News, Consumer Tips and Job Advice - Life Inc. | TODAY.com Blogs - Gender pay gap persists as women age

Employment News, Consumer Tips and Job Advice - Life Inc. | TODAY.com Blogs - Gender pay gap persists as women age: Time doesn’t help working women when it comes to the gender pay gap.

On average, women with college degrees or higher see their pay stop growing at about age 39, while men continue to see wage increases until they’re 48, according to a new report by PayScale, an online compensation data company.

That means the wage gap between women and men that begins in early in their careers gets bigger as they age. The PayScale data, which are based on compensation information from 1.6 million profiles submitted by users of the firm’s website, found that women make a median yearly salary of $31,900 at age 22, compared to $40,800 for men; and by their late 40s women are bringing in about $60,000 to the $95,000 average yearly wage men get.

Dr. James Hirabayashi, Pioneering Ethnic Studies Scholar, Dies at 85

Dr. James Hirabayashi, Pioneering Ethnic Studies Scholar, Dies at 85: An ethnic studies pioneer whose scholarly family is closely connected to the U.S. internment camps of World War II has died—although not before he had produced yet another book on the subject.

In fact, Dr. James Hirabayashi, a San Francisco State University professor emeritus who died in late May at age 85, collaborated on the book with his son, Dr. Lane Hirabayashi.

Forthcoming by the University of Washington Press, the book contains wartime diaries and letters written by James’ older brother, Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi, a sociologist who became famous for defying the government’s mass incarceration of people of Japanese descent. Lane Hirabayashi holds the George and Sakaye Aratani Professorship in Japanese American Redress, Internment and Community at the University of California, Los Angeles.

NCORE Event Addresses Race, Social Justice, and Higher Education Access

NCORE Event Addresses Race, Social Justice, and Higher Education Access: NEW YORK – Among the vast range of topics expert panelists dissected at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, a group of Tennessee higher education officials tackled what has become the signature issue in the Obama era: college completion.

Dr. Sidney McPhee, president of Middle Tennessee State University, highlighted how his campus has tied its retention efforts to an academic master plan that has promoted academic quality, individual student success and public service. The plan has incorporated principles around targeting underrepresented minority students and those students with great financial need. Such students receive mentoring help from one or more faculty members, which is one of several MTSU population-specific support programs for underrepresented students.

Alleged members of white supremacist group charged in Florida - CNN.com

Alleged members of white supremacist group charged in Florida - CNN.com: More than a dozen alleged members of American Front, a down-on-its-luck white supremacist group, were charged Friday in Florida with participating in paramilitary training, prosecutors said.

The alleged ringleader of the group, Marcus Faella, was also charged with directing the activities of a gang and teaching paramilitary training, they said. Nine members of the group, including Faella and his wife, Patricia Faella, were charged with conspiracy to shoot at, within or into a building.

According to police, Faella was planning to stage provocative disruptions at the Orlando City Hall and at a Melbourne, Florida, anarchist gathering that included members of anti-racist skinhead groups.

Tuesday on the NewsHour: Toni Morrison | Art Beat | PBS NewsHour | PBS

Tuesday on the NewsHour: Toni Morrison | Art Beat | PBS NewsHour | PBS: At a White House ceremony Tuesday, President Obama will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to 13 people, including one of the most celebrated American novelists, Toni Morrison.

She's renowned for works such as "Song of Solomon," "Jazz" and "Beloved," for which she won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988. When she became the first African-American woman to win a Nobel Prize in 1993, Morrison's citation described her as an author "who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import gives life to an essential aspect of American reality."

Jeffrey Brown recently sat down with Morrison in the recently restored historic Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., to discuss her life of writing and her 10th novel, "Home," which puts a spotlight on institutional and casual racism in 1950s America. As she told him: "I was interested in, what was it like before the late '60s and '70s? There was something. And it wasn't what I remember. There was something going on in the country that really became the seeds and the little green shoots that became the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam movement. "

Kristian Ramos: What Arizona's Ban on Ethnic Studies Says about America

Kristian Ramos: What Arizona's Ban on Ethnic Studies Says about America: At a recent Capitol Hill forum on Arizona's ethnic studies ban, a young Latina, Diana Villatoro, all of thirteen years old spoke passionately about how ethnic studies inspire her classmates and teach a powerful sense of belonging in their community and their country, America. After her speech, her peers from the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School and Hill staffers in attendance talked at length about the changing demography of our country, politics and educational empowerment.

The conversation underlined a simple fact: the Arizona ethnic studies ban has more to do with the politics of our countries changing demography and political power then they do with educational attainment and what is best for the future of the state. America's demography is changing, a fact that the Arizona state legislature is clearly struggling with. The reality is the ethnic studies ban in Arizona is nothing more then a byproduct of a state legislature which has become adept at manufacturing crises in order to win elections. This time it is at the expense of the education of Arizona's future workforce.

2011 Medal of Freedom Recipient Dolores Huerta | The White House

2011 Medal of Freedom Recipient Dolores Huerta | The White House: 2011 Medal of Freedom recipient Dolores Huerta is a civil rights, workers, and women's advocate. With Cesar Chavez, she co-founded the National Farmworkers Association in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. Huerta has served as a community activist and a political organizer, and was influential in securing the passage of California's Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, and disability insurance for farmworkers in California. In 2002, she founded the Dolores Huerta Foundation, an organization dedicated to developing community organizers and national leaders. In 1998, President Clinton awarded her the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights.

Oxnard School District Bans Racially Charged Word To Combat Bullying Against Mexican Indigenous People

Oxnard School District Bans Racially Charged Word To Combat Bullying Against Mexican Indigenous People: Last week the Oxnard School District, located in Oxnard city in Southern California, banned the use of the term ‘Oaxaquita’, the LA Times reported. ‘Oaxaquita’ is a derogatory term used to refer to indigenous people from Mexico’s Oaxaca state.

Oxnard, located 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is the most populous city in Ventura County and it is home to a large community of Mexican farm workers.

73.5 percent of the population in Oxnard is of Hispanic or Latino origin and estimates suggest 30 percent of all farm workers in California are indigenous Mexicans, according to the LA Times. Many of them are Mixtec--indigenous people from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

When Mom Is Right, And Tells Police They're Wrong : NPR

When Mom Is Right, And Tells Police They're Wrong : NPR: When Robert Holmes' parents moved to Edison, N.J., in 1956, they were one of the first African-American families to integrate the neighborhood.

"After we'd moved to Edison, there was a resentment that we had broken into the community," Holmes says.

Even at the age of 13, Holmes felt the animosity. The neighborhood had a private swim club that opened up to anyone who participated in the Memorial Day parade. Holmes was in the band.

"I arrived at the pool on Memorial Day having marched in the parade with my uniform still on, and they called the police," he says.

The pool managers and the police department told Holmes' mother that her son was not allowed in the pool. She started to ask why, but then she stopped herself. Instead, she told Holmes to crawl under the turnstile and go into the pool.

Oakland Schools Report Shows Black Male Students At High Risk Of Dropping Out

Oakland Schools Report Shows Black Male Students At High Risk Of Dropping Out: High rates of chronic absence, suspension and poor academic performance signal that more than half of African American male students in the Oakland Unified School District are at risk of dropping out, according to new research.

The Urban Strategies Council, an Oakland-based community advocacy organization, found significant disparities between African American boys and their peers: Fifty-five percent of black boys in the 2010-11 school year were falling off course from graduation or were at risk of doing so, compared with 37.5 percent of students overall in the district.

From kindergarten through 12th grade, researchers found that black boys struggled with regular attendance and suspensions and scoring proficiently on standardized tests or maintaining grades above a C average - warning signs that they might drop out.

Supremacist Jailed in Racist Arson Case - Shorewood, IL Patch

Supremacist Jailed in Racist Arson Case - Shorewood, IL Patch: Brian Moudry, who has ties to notorious white supremacist Matt Hale, has been arrested for allegedly torching the home of eight black children in 2007.

A Joliet white supremacist and disciple of incarcerated hate-monger Matt Hale was arrested Wednesday on federal charges he torched the home of eight black children in June 2007.

Brian Moudry, 35, is being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago and will appear in U.S. District Court today.

He was indicted last week on charges of arson, using fire to interfere with housing rights on the basis of race and using fire to commit another felony.

Moudry, who has organized white power demonstrations in and around Joliet over the years, set fire to a house down the street from his own, according to authorities.

Expert Touts Obama College Savings Plan as New Way to ‘American Dream’

Expert Touts Obama College Savings Plan as New Way to ‘American Dream’: WASHINGTON, D.C. – College savings accounts like the ones the Obama administration proposed Thursday represent a “new formula for reaching the American dream,” a leading scholar in the field of children’s savings and college success said.

“The savings accounts “do not teach children to sit at home as some might want to suggest,” said Dr. William Elliott III, assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. “They teach children that effort mixed with societal resources is the new formula for reaching the American dream.”

Through the savings accounts proposed by the Obama administration, 10,000 high school freshmen participating in GEAR UP -– a federal program that helps low-income students prepare for college -- will be given $200 in seed money to start the account, which will be opened by their respective states. The federal government will then match up to $10 per month for four years, enabling the accounts to total $1,160 by the time the students graduate from high school.

Black Sorority, Fraternity Coalition Launches Anti-hazing Campaign

Black Sorority, Fraternity Coalition Launches Anti-hazing Campaign: WASHINGTON – Alarmed by the recent hazing death of a Florida A&M University band student, a coalition of black fraternities and sororities joined with civil rights leader Al Sharpton and others in pledging to work harder to end the practice.

Leaders of the coalition told reporters on Thursday that the type of hazing to which Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion Jr. was subjected before he died has persisted as a rite of passage despite the various actions their individual groups previously have taken to address the problem.

"We no longer can treat it as a series of isolated and unrelated sets of unfortunate incidences," said Jimmy Hammock, president of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., which heads up the coalition.

"It's almost as if someone has tattooed in their brain this is the way to be accepted," said Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who said her anti-hazing efforts earned her the nickname "Haze Buster" when she served as a regional director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which she also is a member.

As College Graduates Cluster, Some Cities Are Left Behind - NYTimes.com

As College Graduates Cluster, Some Cities Are Left Behind - NYTimes.com: DAYTON, Ohio — As cities like this one try to reinvent themselves after losing large swaths of their manufacturing sectors, they are discovering that one of the most critical ingredients for a successful transformation — college graduates — is in perilously short supply.

Just 24 percent of the adult residents of metropolitan Dayton have four-year degrees, well below the average of 32 percent for American metro areas, and about half the rate of Washington, the country’s most educated metro area, according to a Brookings Institution analysis. Like many Rust Belt cities, it is a captive of its rich manufacturing past, when well-paying jobs were plentiful and landing one without a college degree was easy. 

 

Educational attainment lagged as a result, even as it became more critical to success in the national economy. “We were so wealthy for so long that we got complacent,” said Jane L. Dockery, associate director of the Center for Urban and Public Affairs at Wright State University here. “We saw the writing on the wall, but we didn’t act.”

U.S. Child Poverty Second Highest Among Developed Nations: Report

U.S. Child Poverty Second Highest Among Developed Nations: Report: Can government spending lift poor children from poverty?

A new report from UNICEF suggests it's possible. The latest edition of UNICEF's report on child poverty in developed countries found that 30 million children in 35 of the world's richest countries live in poverty. Among those countries, the United States ranks second on the scale of what economists call "relative child poverty" -- above Latvia, Bulgaria, Spain, Greece, and 29 others. Only Romania ranks higher, with 25.5 percent of its children living in poverty, compared with 23.1 percent in the U.S.

The term "relative child poverty" refers to a child living in a household where the disposable income is less than half of the national median income. Many critics argue that relative poverty isn't the same as real hardship, or absolute poverty.

Asian American Group Files Supreme Court Brief Opposing Race-Conscious Affirmative Action

Asian American Group Files Supreme Court Brief Opposing Race-Conscious Affirmative Action: The 80-20 National Asian American Educational Foundation and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights have filed an amicus brief Tuesday with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the plaintiff in the Fisher v. University of Texas affirmative action case. The case is likely to result in a definitive ruling on the legality of race-conscious affirmative action in higher education.

The joint brief, signed by three other Asian American organizations, challenges race-conscious affirmative action, which is alleged to restrict the admission of Asian Americans at higher education institutions. The brief argues that contemporary affirmative action policies are similar to methods that were used to restrict Jewish student enrollment at American universities during the last century.

Commentary: Toward More Meaningful Campus Celebrations of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Commentary: Toward More Meaningful Campus Celebrations of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Here we are at the end of May and most places of higher learning have completed finals and convened their graduation ceremonies.

Earlier this month, people had already started to check out. Not a good time for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on campus. To overcome the logistics issue, some campuses celebrate Asian-Americans as early as October, while other campuses with large numbers of Asian and Asian-American students tend to treat every day as a heritage month day. Few seem to be addressing the real need: to go beyond the simple food festivals and make APA Heritage Month a more meaningful engagement between the campus and America’s diverse Asian cultures. You can always bring in a speaker.

Show a movie. Have a sushi demonstration.

But that’s old school.

Black Italian player vows to walk off field if racially abused | The Raw Story

Black Italian player vows to walk off field if racially abused | The Raw Story: Mario Balotelli, named in Italy’s 23-man squad for the European Football Championships, has threatened to walk off the pitch if he is racially abused by fans.

The 21-year-old Manchester City star said in an interview withFrance Football magazine that he reacted differently when Juventusfans targeted him with racist chants during a match for his former club Inter Milan in 2009.

“I pretended not to see anything,” he was quoted as saying. “I wanted to play. I was young. It was for me to tell (the referee). Racism is unacceptable. I can’t abide it.”

But he added: “If it happens again, I’d leave the pitch straight away and I’d go home. This is 2012. It can’t happen.”

Fears over racism and violence in co-hosts Poland and Ukraine have mounted this week after the BBC aired a documentary showing fans in both countries making Nazi salutes and monkey chants at black players.

Wells Fargo Settles Discriminatory Lending Suit, Pays Tennessee Towns Memphis, Shelby $432 Million

Wells Fargo Settles Discriminatory Lending Suit, Pays Tennessee Towns Memphis, Shelby $432 Million: ...Memphis and Shelby County filed a lawsuit in 2010 against Wells Fargo, accusing the bank of targeting of African-American neighborhoods for predatory loans. The suit alleged the practice, which dated to 2000, resulted in excessive foreclosures in those neighborhoods.

Wells Fargo has denied the allegations, citing its longstanding commitment to fair and responsible lending. The city of Baltimore has filed a similar suit against Wells.

"We agreed that it was in the best interests of everyone involved to work together rather than to continue to be involved in a protracted legal fight," Leigh Collier, Wells Fargo's regional president for the mid-south region said in a statement.

The Memphis agreement comes as Wells Fargo faces potential civil charges from the U.S. Department of Justice under laws that prohibit discrimination against minority homebuyers.

With One Wish, Banishing Memories Of Jim Crow : NPR

With One Wish, Banishing Memories Of Jim Crow : NPR: As the sun beams down, Dorothy Flood, 75, stands on the steps of the Royal Gorge Express train, smiling like a 1940s movie star.

"Right there! Then turn around, right there!" photographers call out, jockeying to snap her picture. "Here we go, count of three — one, two and three!"

And with a tip of his cap, a porter offers Flood his hand, and her "Wish Of A Lifetime" begins.

Many are familiar with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants wishes to terminally ill children. Less familiar is the nonprofit group Jeremy Bloom's Wish Of A Lifetime. The organization grants wishes to adults age 65 and older — and recipients need not be ill or dying to qualify.

Dorothy Flood's wish — to ride in a train dining car — is an easy one to make come true.

Alcorn State University’s Newly-hired Football Coach to be First White to Head SWAC Team

Alcorn State University’s Newly-hired Football Coach to be First White to Head SWAC Team: LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn State has hired former Memphis defensive coordinator Jay Hopson as its head football coach.

The school announced the hiring on Monday and, according to Alcorn State, Hopson will be the first White head football coach in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

"I don't see it as Black or White; we're purple and gold," Hopson said at a news conference on the Lorman campus.

Hopson, 43, replaces Melvin Spears, who was fired in February after going 2-8 in his only season.

Hopson resigned from Memphis' staff in September 2011. He also has coached at Marshall, Delta State, Southern Mississippi and Michigan.

John Roueche Awarded Inaugural Diverse Champions Award

John Roueche Awarded Inaugural Diverse Champions Award: In a speech punctuated with laughter and applause, Dr. John E. Roueche said farewell Tuesday to attendees of the 34th annual National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) conference. NISOD is the outreach arm of the Community College Leadership Program (CCLP) at the University of Texas at Austin.

Roueche is retiring after 42 years of service as director of CCLP, widely regarded as the premier training ground for community college presidents in the U.S. — and the most diverse graduate program of its kind. He will become president of the new Roueche Graduate Center at National American University as of July 1.

Howard volunteers bring clean water to Kenya village - College, Inc. - The Washington Post

Howard volunteers bring clean water to Kenya village - College, Inc. - The Washington Post: ...The Howard Chapter of Engineers Without Borders is here for two weeks, working to improve water quality for this rural community.

The nine-member team is building a rainwater-harvesting unit and filtration system as well as installing six biosand filters. The new tank will provide an additional 2,600 gallons of water for an orphanage in Choimim village that is home to nearly two dozen children, many of whom were abandoned in the tea fields, or abused.

The “first flush” filters will trap the initial rush of rainwater, which is filled with impurities that were resting on the roof (e.g. dust and pollen). The biosand filters purify the dirty water and make it safe to drink. They are very useful in rural and urban areas and are often adopted in areas that lack safe piped water.

NISOD Session Highlights Latino Student Success Imperative

NISOD Session Highlights Latino Student Success Imperative: Improving student completion rates at community colleges goes hand in hand with improving educational outcomes for Latinos, Excelencia in Education President Sarita Brown said Monday at the 34th annual convention of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) in Austin, Texas.

“You can’t reach this goal without a tactical plan for Latinos,” said Brown. Founded in 2005, Excelencia is a research-based organization dedicated to improving education for the nation’s fastest-growing population. It emphasizes Latinos as an “asset” and “human capital” the nation can ill afford to ignore.

“We are a major proportion of your student body, our workforce and of this country’s civic leadership. Those are arguments that Excelencia makes every day,” said Brown during a panel titled “Examples of Excelencia: Meeting the Latino College Completion Challenge.”

Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey predicts end is near on debate over evolution - The Washington Post

Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey predicts end is near on debate over evolution - The Washington Post: NEW YORK — Richard Leakey predicts skepticism over evolution will soon be history.

Not that the avowed atheist has any doubts himself.

Sometime in the next 15 to 30 years, the Kenyan-born paleoanthropologist expects scientific discoveries will have accelerated to the point that “even the skeptics can accept it.”

“If you get to the stage where you can persuade people on the evidence, that it’s solid, that we are all African, that color is superficial, that stages of development of culture are all interactive,” Leakey says, “then I think we have a chance of a world that will respond better to global challenges.”

Leakey, a professor at Stony Brook University on Long Island, recently spent several weeks in New York promoting the Turkana Basin Institute in Kenya. The institute, where Leakey spends most of his time, welcomes researchers and scientists from around the world dedicated to unearthing the origins of mankind in an area rich with fossils.

Bottom Line - Black workers filing charges over noose in locker room

Bottom Line - Black workers filing charges over noose in locker room: Three African-American workers at a Siemens Energy facility in New Jersey have filed charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights after they said years of racial harassment recently culminated in their finding a noose hanging in front of their lockers.

"The complainants ... are pursuing these charges and will be filing a federal lawsuit in the hopes of bringing to light and changing the current climate of open racial discrimination at this facility," Brian K. Wiley, the lawyer representing the employees, said via email.

In January, four-year Siemens employee David Solomon said he entered the workers' changing area and found a noose hanging "right next to my locker." He photographed the noose and alerted his co-workers, Eddie Clarke and Barry Murphy. In an April 4 affidavit, all three testified that they had seen the noose and detailed numerous other instances of racial discrimination.

Hal Jackson, black radio pioneer and civil rights activist, dies at 96 - The Washington Post

Hal Jackson, black radio pioneer and civil rights activist, dies at 96 - The Washington Post: Hal Jackson, who broke through the color wall on the radio in Washington in the 1930s, pushed the District’s major clothing retailers to let blacks into their dressing rooms and restrooms in the ’40s and became the first black host on a national broadcast network in the ’50s, died May 23 at a hospital in New York, his family confirmed.

Mr. Jackson was 96, by most accounts, and still hosted a weekly music show on a New York radio station he once owned.

Through most of the second half of the last century, many black New Yorkers grew up knowing Mr. Jackson as the man who introduced them to the latest R&B hits, a radio DJ whose smiling face appeared on billboards across the city. For decades before that, Mr. Jackson’s was a household name in black Washington.

A broadcasting and civil rights pioneer who repeatedly found ways to smash through barriers, Mr. Jackson as a Howard University student was determined to get on the radio, at first as a sportscaster.

HBCUs Could Be Hit Hard by New NCAA Rules

HBCUs Could Be Hit Hard by New NCAA Rules: When NCAA’s Division I bowed to increasing pressure last year to address lagging academic performance among student-athletes, its decision to raise the minimum academic requirements to qualify for intercollegiate competition stirred a backlash among officials at many HBCUs.

“It will kill us,” one HBCU president said in an off-the-record interview, asserting her school would be forced to cut a number of its best football and basketball athletes because they were academic underperformers. The new rules would also lessen the likelihood some rising athletes who finish high school academically underprepared could qualify.

The NCAA decision put the HBCU leaders in a bind.

Openly opposing the higher standards would send a message that HBCUs are putting athletic performance over academic performance. After all, the reason for going to college is ostensibly to earn a college degree that will prepare a person for a lifetime of employability.

First black Naval Academy grad dies - baltimoresun.com

First black Naval Academy grad dies - baltimoresun.com: The first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy has died, according to an announcement from the school Wednesday.

Wesley Brown started at the academy in 1945, after the first five black men to attend failed to complete their first year there. He graduated 370th out of nearly 800 graduates in 1949, gaining national media attention, and went on to have a 20-year career in the Navy.

Brown, who was in his 80s, was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and spent time with the Navy working in various other countries.

He retired in 1969 with the rank of lieutenant commander.

Minority-Serving Schools Targeted by Howard Hughes Medical Institute STEM Grants

Minority-Serving Schools Targeted by Howard Hughes Medical Institute STEM Grants: Ten minority-serving institutions are among 47 small colleges and universities receiving science education grants totaling $50 million-plus from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The four-year grants, which range from $800,000 to $1.5 million, are aimed at providing students with real-world research experiences, creating more engaging science courses and increasing the diversity of students in the sciences.

“It’s time for us to be more in tune with what’s going on elsewhere, rather than just what we’ve always known and done here,” says Dr. Bettye Sue Hennington, professor of biology at Tougaloo College. The historically Black institution in Mississippi, which secured a $1.3 million HHMI award, has about 350 undergraduates majoring in STEM disciplines, comprising about one-third of the student body.

BBC News - Daily torment of racism in the classroom

BBC News - Daily torment of racism in the classroom: School is finished for the day, but as on most evenings, 14-year-old Khadeja Fahat, is catching up on her school work.

Since the year 9 pupil faced racist Islamaphobic abuse every day at her school in Wilmslow, Cheshire, her education has suffered along with her mental health.

"I was tormented nearly every day; I was scared to go to school," said Khadeja.

"I used to go to school thinking: what am I going to face today?

"Is someone going to physically hurt me, or shout something at me or throw something at me?"

She continued: "The other children would shout verbal abuse at me; I was called a terrorist and a Taleban and asked why I was behind 9/11.

"Someone once shouted: look at that girl, she has a bomb in her bag.

BBC News - More than 87,000 racist incidents recorded in schools

BBC News - More than 87,000 racist incidents recorded in schools: Nearly 88,000 racist incidents were recorded in Britain's schools between 2007 and 2011, the BBC has found.

Data from 90 areas shows 87,915 cases of racist bullying, which can include name calling and physical abuse.

Birmingham recorded the highest number of incidents at 5,752, followed by Leeds with 4,690. Carmarthenshire had the lowest number with just 5 cases.

A racist incident is defined as any situation perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.

In response to the local authority figures, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, the Department for Education said racism needed to be "rooted out".

Brown University Names First Director for Slavery Center

Brown University Names First Director for Slavery Center: Dr. Anthony Bogues (bohgz) will serve as the inaugural director of the center. He is a professor of Africana Studies at the Ivy League school and a visiting professor at the Rhode Island School of Design.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Kevin McLaughlin, the dean of the faculty.

The university launched the center after a recommendation from a committee created by outgoing President Ruth Simmons to investigate Brown's historical ties to slavery.

Simmons calls the creation of the center and the naming of its first director "crucially important steps" in the future of academic work in the fields of human rights and justice.

At CUNY’s Top Colleges, Black and Hispanic Freshmen Enrollments Drop - NYTimes.com

At CUNY’s Top Colleges, Black and Hispanic Freshmen Enrollments Drop - NYTimes.com: More than a decade after the City University of New York ended open admissions to its four-year colleges, a marked shift has occurred at its top institutions as freshman classes now enter with far better academic credentials and also a different demographic mix.

The changes began in 2000, with new minimum requirements for test scores for college admission, continued as academic standards were raised in stages over the years and accelerated sharply with the recent recession, as CUNY’s bargain prices beckoned far more applicants. 

At the university’s five most competitive four-year colleges — Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Hunter and Queens — nearly 12 percent of freshmen entering in 2001 had SAT scores of 1,200 or more. In 2007, for the last prerecession class, the figure was up to 16 percent, and by last fall, it had jumped to 26 percent. 

At the same time, black representation among first-time freshmen at those colleges dropped, to 10 percent last fall from 17 percent in 2001. Over the same period, the Hispanic share rose slightly for several years, then fell once the recession began, to 18 percent, while the white portion fell slightly, to 35 percent.

Native Americans Struggle With High Rate of Rape - NYTimes.com

Native Americans Struggle With High Rate of Rape - NYTimes.com: One in three American Indian women have been raped or have experienced an attempted rape, according to the Justice Department. Their rate of sexual assault is more than twice the national average. And no place, women’s advocates say, is more dangerous than Alaska’s isolated villages, where there are no roads in or out, and where people are further cut off by undependable telephone, electrical and Internet service.

The issue of sexual assaults on American Indian women has become one of the major sources of discord in the current debate between the White House and the House of Representatives over the latest reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994.

Xerox CEO: 'If You Don't Transform, You're Stuck' : NPR

Xerox CEO: 'If You Don't Transform, You're Stuck' : NPR: ...Leading Xerox through that transformation is Ursula Burns, a woman who has undergone tremendous change in her own life. Burns, 53, grew up in New York City's Lower East Side, an area she's described as a tough, drug-infested ghetto.

Burns began her career at Xerox in 1980 as an intern, after completing her Master's degree in mechanical engineering. She rose through the ranks to become the company's CEO — and the first African-American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company — at a time when less than 20 percent of corporate executives are female.

Best Census count ever but blacks, Hispanics still undercounted – USATODAY.com

Best Census count ever but blacks, Hispanics still undercounted – USATODAY.com:

Reprints & Permissions

The Census continued to miss blacks and Hispanics in 2010 despite achieving what was probably the most accurate count in the nation's history, according to Census analysis out Tuesday.

The Census counted 36,000 too many people — a slim 0.01% net national overcount. In the previous Census in 2000, there was a 0.49% overcount.

The latest Census missed hundreds of thousands of blacks, Hispanics, renters, young kids and middle-aged men of all races.

People who are here illegally or are poor are harder to find and count because they move more often and may avoid government contact.

The largest undercount of any racial and ethnic group — 4.88% — was of American Indians on reservations.

Offsetting that, the Census overcounted non-Hispanic whites, middle-aged and older women and homeowners. Americans who have two residences, such as college students and snowbirds, are more likely to be counted twice.

White supremacist sentenced to 40 years in Ariz. bombing that injured black city official - The Washington Post

White supremacist sentenced to 40 years in Ariz. bombing that injured black city official - The Washington Post: PHOENIX — A white supremacist likely will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a federal judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison Tuesday for a 2004 bombing that wounded a black city official in suburban Phoenix.

Jurors in February convicted Dennis Mahon, 61, of three federal charges stemming from a package bomb that injured Don Logan — Scottsdale’s diversity director at the time — and a secretary.

They stopped short of finding him guilty of a hate crime after a six-week trial that included dramatic testimony from Logan and a female government informant dubbed a “trailer park Mata Hari” by defense attorneys.

In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge David Campbell said he believed the bombing was premeditated and done to promote an agenda of hate and racism.
He called it an “act of domestic terrorism.”

Mark Traina, New Orleans School Psychologist, Stirs Up Firestorm With Tweets About 'Black Thugs'

Mark Traina, New Orleans School Psychologist, Stirs Up Firestorm With Tweets About 'Black Thugs': A school psychologist in New Orleans is under fire for posting racially inflammatory comments online amid a debate about the school system's treatment of black and special education students.

The Jefferson Parish school system is investigating Mark Traina after some of his postings -- including “Young Black Thugs who won’t follow the law need to be put down not incarcerated. Put down like the Dogs they are!” -- were highlighted by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Traina's comments - including “Serpas should be warning people to STAY THE HELL OUT OF NEW ORLEANS! These Black Dudes will Kill You!” - were posted on his Twitter feed and on the NOLA.com Website. In an April Tweet, he wrote that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's killer George Zimmerman was "the real victim and held his ground."

Video shows chaos of Tinley Park restaurant attack - chicagotribune.com

Video shows chaos of Tinley Park restaurant attack - chicagotribune.com: ...An unpublished restaurant security video viewed by the Tribune of the bizarre Saturday afternoon melee had no sound — but it screams with images of fear and aggression. It was an attack that spilled from Internet chat rooms to the floor of the small Ashford House restaurant, bringing to the forefront an underground and nationwide battle between violent anti-racism groups and white supremacists.

Authorities announced charges Monday against five Indiana men in the attacks and said they still sought about 13 who escaped arrest.

Those charged include three brothers, Jason W. Sutherlin, 33, Cody L. Sutherlin, 23, and Dylan J. Sutherlin, 20. Also charged were Alex R. Stuck, 22, and John S. Tucker, 26. All five live near Bloomington, Ind.

The men are connected to the Hoosier Anti-Racist Movement, which is part of the Anti-Racist Action Network that formed in Minneapolis in 1987 to address discrimination, according to a leader in the organization, Jacob Domke.

Officials Say More Diversity Among Recruits Would Boost Teach For America

Officials Say More Diversity Among Recruits Would Boost Teach For America: In Teach For America’s quest to become “bigger and better,” leaders of the organization on Monday said they also recognize the need to make the alternative teacher preparation program more diverse.

“When we think about getting bigger and better, there’s no more crucial aspect of our work than becoming more diverse and representative of the communities that we’re serving,” said Wendy Kopp, CEO and founder of Teach For America, an organization that secures two-year commitments from recent college graduates to teach in “high-need” urban and rural public schools.

Kopp—joined by other members of her management team and board member Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund—made her remarks Monday during a conference call with reporters.

Increasingly, Men Seek Success in Jobs Dominated by Women - NYTimes.com

Increasingly, Men Seek Success in Jobs Dominated by Women - NYTimes.com: Wearing brick-red scrubs and chatting in Spanish, Miguel Alquicira settled a tiny girl into an adult-size dental chair and soothed her through a set of X-rays. Then he ushered the dentist, a woman, into the room and stayed on to serve as interpreter.

A male dental assistant, Mr. Alquicira is in the minority. But he is also part of a distinctive, if little noticed, shift in workplace gender patterns. Over the last decade, men have begun flocking to fields long the province of women. 

Mr. Alquicira, 21, graduated from high school in a desolate job market, one in which the traditional opportunities, like construction and manufacturing, for young men without a college degree had dried up. After career counselors told him that medical fields were growing, he borrowed money for an eight-month training course. Since then, he has had no trouble finding jobs that pay $12 or $13 an hour.

He gave little thought to the fact that more than 90 percent of dental assistants and hygienists are women.

Analysis: Meeting the STEM Challenge

Analysis: Meeting the STEM Challenge: The nation’s current economic problems show that it is more important than ever to increase the participation of minority-group members and women in technical fields if the country is to maintain the scientific leadership that has driven prosperity for decades, experts say.

Even in a near-stagnant economy, job opportunities abound for those careers focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, fields collectively known as STEM. Fewer Americans are training for these jobs, which increasingly are going to those who were born in other countries and educated here.

“Diversity” in Action

“Diversity” in Action: Vaughn Williams, a senior executive at Kennesaw State University, has a strong sense of purpose about his campus and his role in trying to make it a great place.

“My job is to emphasize at least three elements of growth among the students I touch at Kennesaw,” he said in a recent interview. “I call them three C’s: Classroom achievement, Community involvement and a Commitment to compete.”

You might hear that charge from the dean of students, but Williams is the athletic director at the huge, public university in north Georgia. His main job is supervising a department with nearly 300 athletes, some 40 coaches and overseeing a budget of more than $8 million. But his perspective is bigger than sports.
“We operate an athletic program, but, foremost, we want to see our students as achievers and as leaders,” said Vaughn.

Integration Worked. Why Have We Rejected It? - NYTimes.com

Integration Worked. Why Have We Rejected It? - NYTimes.com: AMID the ceaseless and cacophonous debates about how to close the achievement gap, we’ve turned away from one tool that has been shown to work: school desegregation. That strategy, ushered in by the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, has been unceremoniously ushered out, an artifact in the museum of failed social experiments. The Supreme Court’s ruling that racially segregated schools were “inherently unequal” shook up the nation like no other decision of the 20th century. Civil rights advocates, who for years had been patiently laying the constitutional groundwork, cheered to the rafters, while segregationists mourned “Black Monday” and vowed “massive resistance.” But as the anniversary was observed this past week on May 17, it was hard not to notice that desegregation is effectively dead. In fact, we have been giving up on desegregation for a long time. In 1974, the Supreme Court rejected a metropolitan integration plan, leaving the increasingly black cities to fend for themselves.

Young illegal immigrants, unwilling to accept life in the shadows, declare themselves publicly - The Washington Post

Young illegal immigrants, unwilling to accept life in the shadows, declare themselves publicly - The Washington Post: ...From California to Georgia to New York, children of families who live here illegally are “coming out” — marching behind banners that say “undocumented and unafraid,” staging sit-ins in federal offices, and getting arrested in the most defiant ways — in front of the Alabama Capitol, outside federal immigration courts and detention centers, in Maricopa County, Ariz., home of the sworn enemy of illegal immigrants, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

In “outing” their families as well as themselves, they know they risk being deported.

But as states pass ever more stringent anti-illegal immigration laws — and critics denounce their parents as criminals — these young people say they have no choice.