News (Noticias) Tagged ‘racial bias’

Calling it, “an outrageous and horrifying crime,” Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the beating death of a Long Island man on Saturday night. Marcello Lucero a 37 year-old man from Patchogue, Long Island, was the apparent victim of a hate crime by seven teenagers who were arraigned today for his murder. According to Newsday, Suffolk County police say that the defendants “simply wanted to beat up someone who looked Hispanic.”

“While we are grateful that the authorities have taken swift action,” said Murguía, “it is important for all Americans to understand that this is part of an alarming trend taking place nationwide.” FBI hate crimes statistics show attacks against Latinos are on the rise over the past four years. Similarly, the Southern Poverty Law Center has reported that the number of hate groups targeting Latinos and immigrants has also increased over the same period.

Murguia was particularly upset over the age of the alleged attackers. “That hate has trickled down to a new generation is very disturbing,” she said. Murguia blamed the growing climate of hate surrounding the immigration debate as part of the cause. “Words have consequences,” she said. “And hateful words have hateful consequences. For too long hate groups and hate speech have dominated the national debate on immigrants, mischaracterizing all Latinos and the institutions that serve them in the process. Lives are literally in the balance.”

Over the past year, NCLR that has vigorously sought to expose the growing presence of hate groups and hate speech in the immigration debate, and their relationship to rises in hate crimes; early this year the organization launched www.WeCanStopTheHate.org, as part of its campaign to counter this alarming trend.

Murguia said she and NCLR extend their condolences to Mr. Lucero’s family and community, and call on all Americans to stand up to the presence of hate groups and extremists on the airwaves and in our communities. “

Anyone who’s turned on a TV or read a newspaper lately can’t help but notice that race is currently at the forefront of American politics. But the subtle biases operating in the current debate aren’t always obvious, or even visible on the surface. In one example of how embedded racial biases can play out in life, researchers at Duke, the University of Toronto, and Northwestern business schools found that Americans still overwhelmingly expect business leaders to be white, and rank white leaders as more effective than their minority counterparts.”*

Nearly two dozen minority state troopers have filed a race discrimination lawsuit against the New Jersey State Police.

The plaintiffs, 23 black and Hispanic troopers, accuse the state police of bias in promotions, training, special assignments and discipline. “*

As much as some of us would like to think that this election is all about the issues, there’s no denying that a major issue for a lot of voters boils down to black versus white.

In fact, the issue has become such a hot topic that there are reports that at the London and South African book fairs, a new e-book titled “America the Racist?” gained some unprecedented interest.

It seems the rest of the world wants to know as much as Americans if we can shed our prejudices and actually vote for a person of color.”*

Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, saying he now can speak more openly, is blasting accusations that he spent lavishly on overseas trips and retail purchases as racially motivated.

Núñez, who is termed out of the Assembly in December, lashed out Saturday during an interview on Spanish-language television.

The Los Angeles Democrat said he has no regrets over his spending of campaign funds, despite controversy over tens of thousands of dollars spent on high-priced hotels, wine, gifts and other purchases.”*

A Hispanic woman who won the Miss California USA contest only to have her crown yanked days later sued the pageant Thursday for half a million dollars, alleging rigging and racial bias.

The pageant director rejected the claims, saying winners during his tenure have been some of the pageant’s most racially diverse ever.

Christina Silva, 24, was crowned Miss California USA on Nov. 25. Three days later, the pageant’s executive director, Keith Lewis, told her “there has been a mistake and you are not the winner,” according to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court.”*

*From: http://www.abcnews.go.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

San Francisco Bay Area baseball fans have little to look forward to this season, which makes this the perfect time to relive past successes. Adrian Burgos Jr.’s Playing America’s Game fills this need, as it features a great cover photo of Giants legend Juan Marichal and explains how the Giants scouting system once led the league in finding quality Latino players. But Burgos has done much more than remind us of the rich history of such Latino Giant stalwarts as Marichal, Orlando Cepeda and the Alou brothers. He has written the best book yet on the history of Latinos in American baseball, particularly focusing on how the long overlooked impact of baseball’s color line on Latino players. Burgos shows that the disparate treatment of dark-skinned Latino players did not end when Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1947, but continues to this day; Bay Area sports fans saw this firsthand when KNBR sports talk show host Larry Krueger made racist comments against the Giants Latino players and manager Felipe Alou in 2005. Burgos provides a wealth of critical insights about the social context by which native Spanish-speaking young men play baseball in the United States, and all serious baseball fans should read this book.”*

*From: http://www.beyondchron.org
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

A Latino law enforcement group on Thursday criticized a report by a nonprofit organization that said there was no racial bias in the implementation of the New York Police Department’s “stop-and-frisk” policy.

The National Latino Officers Association of America criticized the report, which was published by the RAND Corp. The associations said the report “is comprised of endless excuses” that if left unchallenged, “is the justification for racial profiling, abuse and discrimination.”"*

“The Association of Mobile Taco Stands is inviting the community to support a fight against new mobile food vendor legislation.

Representatives and taco stand owners are holding a signature campaign to ‘demand justice’ at 5231 Aldine starting at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

In early September, more than 60 taco truck owners filed a lawsuit claiming state legislation setting up stricter rules for mobile food vendors is motivated by racial bias more than food safety. “

“More than 60 Hispanic taco truck owners have filed a lawsuit claiming state legislation setting up stricter rules for mobile food vendors is motivated by racial bias more than food safety.

The two new state laws, which apply to Houston and surrounding Harris County, include daily inspections of mobile food vendors and the display of a property owners’ notarized permission to operate on a site.”

“The suit against FedEx Express was filed on behalf of 23,000 Hispanic and African-American employees in the company’s western region, which covers all or parts of 14 states.”

“Raising questions about racial bias in California’s public schools, state schools superintendent Jack O’Connell on Tuesday said low expectations for black and Hispanic students contribute to their persistent achievement gap with whites and Asians.

O’Connell said teachers and administrators need “a renewed sense of urgency” to close that gap and must evaluate whether they hold all students to the same standards.”