Here is an RG article on the results of a climate survey done by some of the Diversity and Human Rights Consortium members (see http://www.dhrc.net for more info). Specificallly it points to the survey that was recently completed by LTD.
Check it out here: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/03/13/e1.cr.ltdsider.0313.p1.php?section=cityregion
Sorry for the lack of updates lately...I've been under the weather recently...
The Register-Guard on Tuesday reported that an Oregon Senate panel sent Senate Bill 2 to the floor that would extend legal protection from discrimination to GLBT individuals.
Check it out: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/03/13/printable/e1.cr.discrimination.0313.O8ChjDIt.phtml?section=cityregion
Found this on the Colorlines RaceWire Blog...facinating. For those unfamiliar some Cherokees held blacks as slaves.
Cherokees Cast Out Black Indians
Andre Banks
The Cherokee Nation voted this weekend to expel some 2,800 descendants of freed slaves. In a landslide victory, the decision to revoke citizenship was supported by 76% of voters.
The central question at hand is whether to offer the benefits of tribal citizenship, including medical care, to the descendants of freed Black slaves who gained full tribal memebership in the late-1800s. The tribe is defending itself against charges of racism by claiming it allowed members to simply exercise their democratic right. But pretty much any way you look at it, this seems like plain old-fashioned discrimination.
Read the rest here: http://www.racewire.org/archives/2007/03/cherokees_cast_out_black_india.html
A coworker sent me this link to a very sad piece of Oregon history. Read it here:
http://www.efn.org/~opal/pingyang.htm
This is fascinating. Farmers in Colorado can't find people to work their farms after more anti-immigration legislation...even after offering higher wages...so they turn to the prison-industrial complex. I wonder what percentage of the Colorado prison inmates are disproportionately people of color...read more below.
Update: "Ethnicity of Commitments Fiscal Year 2006" from the Colorado Department of Corrections Statistical Report for 2006 are 48.1% White, 33% Hispanic, 16.2% African American, 1.9% Native American, 0.8% Asian. Over 51% of their prison population are people of color.
Comparatively from U.S. Census 2000 data, Colorado is 75% White, 12.3% Black or African American, .9% American Indian, 3.6% Asian, and 12.5% Hispanic or Latino. That means that only 25% of the population are people of color, which shows that people of color are overrepresented by TWO times in the prision-industrial complex. Most those numbers are Latinos! Ironic, considering Colorado wants to get rid of "illegal aliens" and replacing them with "illegals" from the prision system. Hey, at least they are paying more for labor (migrant vs. prison labor)...although the prisioners who "volunteer" their time will never see a penny of it.
Colorado farmers could be using prison inmates to fill void left by immigration crackdown
Associated Press
DENVER - Colorado is considering letting prison inmates work on private farms after farmers complained that an illegal-immigration crackdown has left them short-handed, officials said.
Two vegetable farmers told prison officials and lawmakers that they need five to 20 workers and will pay up to $9.60 an hour - more than they've paid migrant workers in the past - but can't find anyone to do the work.
Read more here: http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_5332558
Another article from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-inmates1mar01,1,1597348.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromo
Wow. This really underscores the need for basic equal employment opportunity laws that protect everyone. This is from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News...
Friday, March 2, 2007
Sex change operation plan gets 14-year city manager fired
Activists say gender identity nondiscrimination laws needed
A CLOSER LOOK
By Phil Davis THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
People follow the proceedings of a special meeting of the Largo City Council on a television monitor.
LARGO, Fla.— Steve Stanton professed his love for the city and asked the people of Largo to support his decision to undergo a sex change and allow him to keep his $140,000-a-year job as city manager.
To his sorrow, the answer came back no.
Read more here: http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070302/NEWS/703020378/1052
Listen to it on NPR.org: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7648733
There will be a benefit program at the UO Longhouse this Sunday at 2PM for the Winnemem Wintu people who are fighting the Bureau of Reclamation plans to construct the Shasta Dam, since it would flood sacred sites and villages. Admission is a $5 minimum donation.
For more info: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/03/02/14.tk.slowponies.0302.p1.php?section=ticket
Ruth Wren from Lane Community College sent me her article entitled "Everywhere I go, I'm White: Facing the Responsibility of Privilege" orgininally published in the Community College Moment, Spring 2005. It's a very insightful article. Here is a taste:
"The legacy of privilege is one aspect of my identity, but it does not fully define me. Rather than reject my whiteness, I have learned that there are “different ways of being white.” I appreciate the wide variety and beauty of cultures of European ancestry, and I identify with those white people throughout history all over the world who have fought against racism and worked for social justice. I understand that the problem is not my white skin. The problem is a social system based on dominance, racism and ignorance."
Check it out here in PDF format:
http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_221731_0_0_18/Everywhere%20I%20go%20I
Here is a great resource for all those HR recruiting folks who are looking to diversify the workforce. The "Diversity Recruiting Marketing Best Practices Checklist" is a compliation of the "most effective marketing strategies for Diversity recruitment" and not suprisingly, many are quite easy to do. Like I always say, where there's a will there's a way. Check it out: http://www.recruitingnevada.com/downloads/diversity-whitepapers/diversity-best-practices.pdf
