QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Employers are hiding discrimination more effectively now than they have in the past. And unless it’s overt, the courts are less willing to look to see if it’s there.”
discrimination cases in the Rochester Daily Record, 9-25-08 (See story below.)
SHARP DECLINE IN EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CASES IN FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM: A study by researchers at Cornell University finds that the number of employment discrimination cases filed in federal court has dropped by 41 percent over the past five years. In 2001 employment discrimination cases made up 10 percent of all cases in the federal courts. In 2006 only 6 percent of all cases involved employment discrimination.
— One reason for the decline is that plaintiffs win only about 15 percent of these cases, and therefore attorneys are reluctant to take on employment discrimination claims.
RACIAL DIVERSITY IN THE BIG APPLE: For the first time in more than a half-century, the percentage of whites in the New York City population has increased. The number and percentage of whites in the New York City population had decreased since at least 1940. But since 2000, the white population of the city has grown by 100,000 residents.
— Non-Hispanic whites now make up 35 percent of the city’s population. The Hispanic population now stands at 27 percent. Blacks make up 23.5 percent of the city’s population.
BLACK WOMEN’S LOW COUNTS OF WHITE BLOOD CELLS MAY EXPLAIN RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SOME CANCER OUTCOMES: Researchers at Columbia University in New York City have found that healthy African-American women and black women in Caribbean nations are more likely than white women to have low counts of white blood cells. The researchers found as many as 40 percent of otherwise healthy African-American women may have low white blood counts. The authors of the study hypothesize that the low white blood cell count may account for racial disparities in outcomes for certain types of cancers.
RACIAL DISPARITIES IN VIEWS ON REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY AND RACE-BASED AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: A new poll conducted by USA Today, ABC News, and Columbia University found that 24 percent of African Americans believe the next president should make reparations for slavery a priority in his administration. Only 8 percent of whites think that reparations for slavery are an important issue for the next president.
— The same poll found that 76 percent of black Americans support race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions. Only 33 percent of whites support race-based affirmative action.
RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN ABORTION RATES: A study by the Guttmacher Institute has found that abortion rates are at the lowest level since 1974. The most recent data shows that in 2004 there were 20 abortions per every 1,000 American women. A quarter-century ago, there were 29 abortions per every 1,000 women.
— Although the abortion rate has dropped for all racial and ethnic groups, large disparities remain. Black women are five times more likely to have an abortion than white women. Black women now account for 37 percent of all abortions in the United States compared to 34 percent for white women. A decade ago, white women accounted for 45 percent of all abortions compared to 35 percent for black women.
SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA: In a survey of landlords, Fair Housing of Marin County in San Rafael, California, found widespread housing discrimination against African Americans. The fair housing group called 25 landlords inquiring about rental properties. The callers had distinctly white or black voices. The survey found that eight of the 25 landlords responded less favorably to prospective black tenants compared to prospective white tenants. (Marin Independent Journal, 9-23-08)
TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA: An interracial couple in Terre Haute,
Indiana, found a swastika painted on a shed outside their home. The
couple have filed three other reports of harassment with the police
over the past 14 months. (Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 9-25-08)
DONALSONVILLE, GEORGIA: The Georgia Knight Riders of the Ku Klux Klan have been given permission to hold a rally on the steps of the Seminole County Courthouse in Donalsonville, Georgia. The rally is scheduled for 2 p.m. on October 18. (Dothan Eagle, 9-26-08)
GARFIELD, IDAHO: A woman in Garfield, Idaho, erected an 8-foot-by-4-foot sign in her front yard supporting the candidacy of Barack Obama. Vandals unsuccessfully tried to burn the sign. Two days later it was defaced with racial slurs on both sides. (Lewiston Morning Tribune, 9-26-08)
WINDER, GEORGIA: The housing authority in Winder, Georgia, agreed to settle a fair housing complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The complaint charged that the housing authority segregated black and white tenants. The complaint also alleged that African-American tenants were assigned higher rents than white tenants. (Atlanta Business Chronicle, 9-26-08)
FRANKLIN, KENTUCKY: An African-American man claims he was denied entrance to an American Legion post in Franklin, Kentucky. The man was called to the post to repair a television. But upon arrival he was denied entrance. A white coworker of the black repairman said that a member of the American Legion post told him that the post had a “whites only” policy. (Bowling Green Daily News, 9-26-08)
LITTLE CHUTE, WISCONSIN: A white man was charged with a hate crime
for an attack on a black man in a bar in Little Chute, Wisconsin.
Witnesses reported that the black man was standing at a juke box when
the white man came up to him and punched him. The white man had
tattoos of a swastika and an image of Adolph Hitler. (Appleton
Post-Crescent, 9-27-08)
ABINGDON, VIRGINIA: A hand-made sign supporting the candidacy of Barack Obama was vandalized in Abingdon, Virginia. The sign originally read “Vote Obama.” Vandals crossed out the word “vote” and painted the word “Kill.” Also, the letters “KKK” were painted on the sign twice. (Bristol Herald Courier, 9-27-08)
DAYTON, OHIO: The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint against the city of Dayton, Ohio. The city is accused of racial discrimination in the hiring of entry-level firefighters and police officers. (Associated Press, 9-27-08)
TUCSON, ARIZONA: A confrontation between black and Latino students occurred at a high school in Tucson, Arizona. Text messages circulated that students were bringing guns to school. (Arizona Daily Star, 9-27-08)
CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE: A racial slur was painted on a stop sign in Clarksville, Tennessee. The county sign department replaced the sign on the same day that the slur was discovered. (Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, 9-28-08)
LOWNDES, ALABAMA: First Lowndes Bank in Alabama has settled a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The complaint alleged that the bank charged black customers higher interest rates and fees than white customers with similar assets and credit histories.
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: A black car salesman in Anchorage, Alaska, claims he was denied a promotion based on his race. The black employee claims that a manager told him that he and another black salesman would not be promoted because they were black. (Anchorage Daily News, 9-30-08)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: A black professor has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Darlene Goring is the only African American on the non-visiting faculty at the law school. Goring contends she was denied a promotion because of her race. She claims that the dean of the law school stated, “Minority candidates are less qualified than their white counterparts and should be held to a different standard.” (The Advocate, 10-1-08)
WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN: Seven African-American workers have filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against Waukesha Engine Co. in Wisconsin. The plaintiffs claim they were denied jobs or promotions because of their race. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10-1-08)
WESTCHASE, FLORIDA: A black woman entered an elementary school in Westchase, Florida, and attacked a white woman who was having lunch at the school with her 8-year-old child. The white woman was punched in the face and had to be taken to the hospital. Police report that the black woman was intoxicated. The black woman claimed that the white woman had yelled a racial slur at her son. (St. Petersburg Times, 10-1-08)
TRACKING HATE CRIMES: For week September 28-October 4, the term
“hate crime” appeared in the nation’s major newspapers and magazines
314 times. This is more than the 297 mentions of the term in the
prior week.
— For the month of September, there were 1,024 mentions of hate
crimes. This is up slightly from the 1,017 mentions in August of this
year. In September 2007, hate crimes were mentioned 1,857 times in
the nation’s press outlets.
— So far in 2008, hate crimes were mentioned 11,100 times in the
national press. In the January 1 to October 4, 2007 period, hate
crimes were mentioned 12,620 times in the national media.
Reprinted in the WORD with permission from Race Relations Reporter © copyright.