EthnicMajority

(American Lawyer) It's the start of Chinese New Year—the Year of the Dragon—but Asian Pacific Americans lawyers might not be in a mood to celebrate. According to The American Lawyer's 2011 midlevel minority associates survey, APAs are not happy campers.

But let's start with a positive: APAs are not griping about their work. Amazingly, they like it! APAs reported the highest score of all groups (including whites, black/African Americans, and Hispanics) for "overall satisfaction with work" and "quality of assignments."

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(The Root)  Wal-Mart made history on Friday when it named a black woman the first female and African American CEO of Sam's Club.

Rosalind Brewer, 49, was the former president of the retailer's U.S. East business unit. She also held a number of executive positions at Kimberly-Clark Corp. She begins her position on Feb. 1.

Wal-Mart's Sam's Club warehouse business accounts for 12 percent of Wal-Mart's annual sales. Revenue rose 5.7 percent at the store in the third quarter of 2011.

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(Planetizen) Foreclosures continue to decimate communities around the nation, with black neighborhoods being the hardest hit. However, it is investors, not homeowners, who account for the adverse impact on the nation's black communities, write John Gilderbloom and Gregory Squires.

Foreclosures continue to decimate communities around the nation, with black neighborhoods being the hardest hit. Some pundits and politicians point to federal policies that encouraged homeownership in low- and moderate-income communities, coupled with reckless behavior on the part of greedy homeowners, as the crux of the problem. As Fox News reporter Neil Cavuto observed "loaning to minorities and risky borrowers is a disaster." But our recent research demonstrates that it is investors, not homeowners, who account for the adverse impact on our nation's black communities.

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(Miami Herald) It’s time to recognize the talent pool we have right here in America, putting an end to minority statistics that may soon be more fairytale than truth. Especially in Florida where the Hispanic population is outperforming other states in college degree attainment levels.

Florida’s business schools, particularly Miami-Dade College, are being recognized nationally for their cutting-edge programs and for graduating among the highest numbers of Hispanics. Not only are these Hispanics brushing up on their business skills, but, according to recent studies by Florida State University’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, they are proving to be digital innovators and significantly expanding their online presence. Compared to other groups, Hispanics were the most likely to own and manage their own online businesses, blogs and websites.

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(News Observer) The Democrats are trying to make their national convention into more than just a four-day coronation of President Barack Obama in Charlotte next September. They want to turn it into a statewide event that will help keep North Carolina blue.

That was evident Wednesday, when the CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee arrived in Durham to drop off $2 million in deposits each with the Mechanics and Farmers Bank and the Latino Community Credit Union.

The money is part of $17 million in public funding the Democrats have received – the Republicans have received a like amount – to help pay for their convention. The Democrats have made it a practice to deposit some of the money in minority-owned financial institutions.

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(QSR Magazine) The franchise business model is an attractive option for Hispanics and other minorities to consider owning, because it is a strong avenue to take for financial success. According to the 2007 Franchised Business Ownership survey conducted by the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Educational Foundation, minorities made up 19.3 percent of all franchisees, and Hispanic-owned franchises were 5.8 percent of the total. And the survey reported that Hispanic franchisees prefer owning quick-serve restaurants.

The quick-service industry should see this as an excellent opportunity to tap into the Hispanic demographic, and minorities in general. The Hispanic population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, makes up 15.1 percent of the population. It is estimated that this figure will double by the year 2050. Statistically, Hispanics are the fastest-growing population in the U.S.

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(Voice of America) Eight years ago, “Mrs. Kim” came to the United States from China “to pursue her American Dream,” but thanks to unscrupulous business practices familiar to many Asian immigrants working in low-wage industries, things went horribly wrong.

Kim, who did not want to use her real name because she is still involved in litigation, began life in the U.S. preparing dumplings and side dishes at a Korean restaurant in Bergen County, New Jersey.

The job went well for a few years. It was hard, but Kim was getting paid for her efforts.

“When I first started working, [the owner] agreed to pay me $600 per week,” she said. “Specific hours were not indicated, but she did indicate I would have to work over 12 hours per day.”

Though she worked as many as 17 hours a day, when the restaurant’s business started to decline, the owner began paying employees late or not paying them at all.

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(Huffington Post) There's no argument that 2011 was a tough year for Latinos but their might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Despite a stubborn unemployment rate for Latinos reaching 11.4 percent last month, Hispanic-owned businesses are growing at more than double the national rate, according to reports by the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to Forbes, this trend has been sustained for at least the last decade and manifests itself both in the growing number and size of Latino-owned businesses. During the latest 5-year period for which information is available from the Census Bureau, revenue from Latino owned businesses jumped by an astonishing 55 percent to nearly $350 billion.

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(Huffington Post) For many immigrants arriving in the U.S., maintaining ties with their countries and cultures is becoming easier. Their countries, it seems, are coming straight to their doorstep.

Increasingly, Hispanics "have access to their cultural heritage and language through product and service offerings that are targeted to the Latino community," according to Hispanic Research Inc.

Take Pizza Patron, a new Mexican-themed pizza joint opening up in Fresno, California. "From the colorful decor to some of the pizza ingredients, which include Mexican-style chorizo sausage, Pizza Patron is committed to serving the Hispanic market," according to an article by The Business Journal.

Since 2007 all Pizza Patron restaurants accept Mexican Pesos (bills only) as payment. The Dallas-based pizzeria seeking to open franchises in predominantly Hispanic communities throughout the nation and hire bilingual managers and sales teams.

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(PRNewswire) The longer Asian Pacific American (APA) employees live in the United States, the less favorably they view their companies, an annual Asia Society survey found.  The 2011 Asian Pacific Americans Corporate Survey indicates that this decline starts after about 10 years and is most apparent amongst APA employees who have lived in the US 20+ years or who are US-born.

The favorability decrease is especially true in the critical area of professional growth.  Among those surveyed:

• 49% of APA employees who have been in the US for 20+ years view their companies favorably in terms of professional growth.
• A bare majority – 53% – of APA employees who have been in the US from 11-20 years view their companies favorably on this dimension.
• While 62% of APA employees, who have been here for 10 years or less, view their companies favorably in terms of professional growth; this group constitutes only 24% of APAs in the US.

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