Elaine Ayala, Express-News

A growing string of racial and ethnic epithets from celebrities, the latest by radio shock jock Don Imus, is building evidence for the case that Americans not only are losing their ability to participate in civil dialogue but reacting to what one observer calls “diversity fatigue.”On Friday, the popular host called members of Rutgers University’s women’s basketball team, which lost to Tennessee in the NCAA finals, “nappy-headed hos.”

Though Imus has apologized, most recently Monday on the Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio show, the NAACP and the National Association of Black Journalists are calling for his dismissal from the popular MSNBC show “Imus in the Morning.” On Monday, MSNBC announced it was suspending him from his show for two weeks.

The comment ignited a firestorm.

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Package delivery company FedEx said it agreed to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit against its express unit, FedEx Express, for $53.5 million.

The suit alleged that FedEx Express discriminated against its African-American and Hispanic workers by passing them over for promotion, paying them less than white workers and treating them unfairly in evaluation and disciplinary proceedings.

Memphis-based FedEx has denied committing any acts of racial discrimination. “There has been no finding of wrongdoing on the part of FedEx,” said FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz.

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Demonstrating how critical recruitment, promotion and retention of African Americans is to corporate success, the Top 10 Companies for African Americans span seven industries: telecommunications, banking, insurance, hospitality, auto, consumer products and media.

While African Americans often have been the first group focused on when companies start to “get” the business case for diversity, their continuing importance as leaders, innovators, managers, employees and suppliers cannot be underestimated.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Asian American community leaders called a newly leaked White House immigration draft “inhumane” and “un-American” because it calls taking away the right of legal immigrants to sponsor their relatives to join them and breaking up families as a result.

The document containing “a set of principles” for immigration reform drafted by key Republican Congressional representatives was circulated in Washington last week. The plan creates temporary visas for undocumented immigrants and new workers, but it also puts more limits on American citizens’ ability to bring their parents, children over age 21 and siblings to the United States.
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Appeals court reverses ruling in case alleging store clerk uttered racial slur to shoppers.

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a Kansas City couple could pursue its racial discrimination lawsuit against the Dillard’s department store company.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court judge, who had thrown out a lawsuit filed by Rodney and Charlan Green in 2004.

The Greens, who are African-Americans, contended that a Dillard’s employee used a racial slur while they sought to purchase a wristwatch at Metro North Mall in August 2002. That, according to the lawsuit, violated their right “to make and enforce contracts” under federal civil rights laws.

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HillaryClinton.com Attracts Visitors from Higher-Income Households

RESTON, Va. — comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study on visitation to the Web sites of top 2008 Democratic presidential contenders Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL).

The study revealed several interesting differences between the visitor bases to their respective campaign Web sites, giving some insight into which demographic segments are demonstrating early interest in these candidates.

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By Joanne Morrison

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The largest U.S. banks sold expensive subprime loans more frequently to minorities than whites, according to a study released Wednesday by a community activist group.

Fair Finance Watch found that big lenders such as Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and UK-based HSBC extended higher-cost subprime loans to African-Americans and Latinos far more frequently than whites, according to an analysis of 2006 mortgage lending data released this week.

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The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has issued a report analyzing the insurance industry’s use of occupation and education for the underwriting and rating of auto insurance policies. The report finds the use of these practices unintentionally harms minorities and low-income individuals in determining auto insurance premiums and insurance eligibility.

While the practice is legal, the practice creates unintended effects that the government may find unacceptable, said Kevin McCarty, insurance commissioner. In 2003, the Legislature passed a law severely limiting the use of credit scoring in insurance underwriting.

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By ALAN ZIBEL

Civil rights groups called Wednesday for a six-month moratorium on foreclosures resulting from high-risk loans given to people with shaky credit, arguing that lenders should help borrowers refinance their mortgages or face lawsuits.

A coalition of advocacy groups said mortgage lenders should immediately halt foreclosures on so-called subprime mortgage loans made at high interest rates to people with weak credit histories.

The groups, at a news conference in Washington, D.C., said a predicted wave of foreclosures stems from “reckless and unaffordable loans” for which investors bear some responsibility. They also said lenders, real estate agents and investors who bought subprime loans could face lawsuits under a federal law prohibiting housing discrimination.

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WASHINGTON - Government agencies received 10,328 housing discrimination complaints, the highest number ever filed in a single year, according to an annual fair housing report released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  HUD’s Fiscal Year 2006 report, which details HUD’s enforcement efforts during the year, also found that race and disability top the list of reasons why individuals filed complaints.

For the second year in a row, race and disability were virtually tied as the most common bases of housing discrimination reported to HUD and state and local government agencies funded through its Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP).  Of the more than 10,000 complaints filed, 40 percent alleged racial discrimination while nearly the same percentage alleged discrimination against persons with disabilities.  Complainants, according to the report, most often alleged discrimination in the terms and conditions of the sale or rental of housing, or refusal to rent.

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