SACRAMENTO – After over 50 organizations joined forces to oppose a discriminatory policy by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the Tour announced today they would back off plans to suspend players who could not efficiently speak English.

“While it is quite unfortunate that in the 21^st century any organization would think such a policy is acceptable, I am pleased that the LPGA heard the millions of American voices who opposed this unfair, unreasonable, and discriminatory mandate,” said Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo).  “While these types of incidents unfortunately still seep into our society, it is refreshing to see the overwhelming number of people who will fight for equality, fairness, and justice.”

Despite there being no relevance to the sport, the LPGA claimed that it was important for players to be able to interact with American media and event sponsors.  No other professional sports league in the United States has such a mandate.  One major sponsor, State Farm, had already announced they would no longer support the LPGA if they do not rescind the policy.

“The LPGA has received valuable feedback from a variety of constituents regarding the recently announced penalties attached to our effective communications policy,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens.  “We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions.  After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every Tour player. In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse Tour players to develop a better alternative. The LPGA will announce a revised approach, absent playing penalties, by the end of 2008.”

(more…)

SACRAMENTO � Representing millions of Americans, several leading civil rights organizations have joined Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) in opposing a recently announced policy by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) to require its athletes to speak English starting in 2009.�

�

Among the groups condemning the LPGA is the California National Organization for Women (NOW), the largest state organization of feminists in the United States, as well as two of the oldest and most respected Asian American civil rights organizations � Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA).�

(more…)

Washington, D.C. � The Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) urges the LPGA sponsors to withdraw support of the Tour until the English proficiency policy is retracted. The LPGA will require all players to be proficient in English starting in 2009 and those who cannot pass an oral evaluation of English skills face suspension from the Tour. There are currently 121 international players from 26 countries on the LPGA Tour.

“This policy is tantamount to national origin discrimination, which is prohibited under Civil Rights Act,” said Vincent A. Eng, deputy director of AAJC. �The policy is an affront to our American principles of diversity and equality. It is even more unconscionable that the LPGA is devolving to past divisive and exclusionary practices of their sport following the successful closing of the unifying Olympic Games.”

Full story…

OAK BROOK, IL: McDonald’s increased communications efforts for its second year of helping Hispanic high school students prepare for college. It is promoting its �Steps for Success College Workshops� and the company’s scholarship program, funded by Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

McDonald’s partnered with Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources (part of RMHC) and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for the effort. Valencia P�rez & Echeveste, which handles Hispanic consumer marketing for McDonald’s, is providing PR support.

Full story…

Aging Americans, like other age groups, are feeling the effects of the declining real estate and stock markets, as well as soaring fuel and food prices. Seniors� economic security will only increase in importance as the U.S. population ages. The nation�s health and social services resources will face unprecedented demand as 75 million people in the baby boomer generation reach retirement age�some with eroded savings and retirement accounts.

Fighting elderly poverty

Between 1959 and 1974, the elderly poverty rate fell from 35 percent to 15 percent. This was largely attributable to a set of increases in Social Security benefits. The elderly poverty rate has continued to decline in subsequent decades, reaching 9.4 percent in 2006. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits continue to play a key role in reducing elderly poverty, especially among women and people of color. If Social Security benefits did not exist, an estimated 44 percent of the elderly would be poor today, assuming no changes in behavior.

Full story…

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - A black professor at Columbia University tells Soledad O’Brien that he instructs his 11-year-old son to fear the police.

“When you are stopped, whether you have done something or not, you cower. I want you to cower because I want you to live,” he says.

The CNN special-projects anchor says black parents from all social and economic classes told her the same thing.

“It was stunning and disturbing,” she said in an interview last week. “What is the impact of that on the psyche of these young children? What does it say about our society?

“And what’s interesting to me about that is white people do not have those conversations with their children, but every black person does,” she adds. “And the gap between those two things is where our story lies. What is happening in America? Why is that difference there?”

Full story…�

The subprime mortgage fiasco is sending tremors through Wall Street and has brought the U.S. economy near (if not into) recession. For African Americans and Latinos — the primary victims of the debacle — the mortgage meltdown may widen the considerable gap in wealth that already exists between whites and people of color. Even worse, some proposals to fix the problem of limited access to credit may end up doing more harm than good.

“We estimate the total loss of wealth for people of color to be between $164 billion and $213 billion for subprime loans taken during the past eight years. We believe this represents the greatest loss of wealth for people of color in modern U.S. history,” the Boston-based organization United for a Fair Economy noted in its report “Foreclosed: State of the Dream 2008.”

Full story…�

Two officials suspended by NASCAR are accused in a $225 million lawsuit of exposing themselves to a former co-worker, the Associated Press has learned.Tim Knox and Bud Moore have been placed on indefinite administrative paid leave.

NASCAR will not reveal the identities of the officials sent home Friday from Kentucky Speedway, but a person familiar with the investigation confirmed to AP on Saturday that Knox and Moore were suspended. The person requested anonymity because NASCAR’s investigation is ongoing.

NASCAR did not give a reason for the men’s suspension, and chairman Brian France cautioned against assuming the officials are being punished for allegations made in the lawsuit.

“Obviously we found some violations in our policy, but I would not jump to conclusions to assume that all of the allegations that were made are accurate,” France said at Michigan International Speedway, site of Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race.

Full story…�

In February 2008 the average Hispanic-American over the age of 11 spent more time online than watching television, according to the Terra Networks-sponsored “Hispanic Syndicated Study,” conducted by comScore Media Metrix.

“In general, online Hispanics�independent of their language preferences and acculturation levels�are heavily engaged in technology,” wrote the report’s authors.

Every day, more than half (56%) of Hispanic-Americans surveyed said they spent at least an hour online, which was slightly more than the 50% who spent an hour or more watching TV.

On a weekly basis, Terra reported that more Hispanic-American Internet users spent 13 or more hours online (30%) than watched TV for the same amount of time (23%).

Full story…�

The U.S. mutual fund industry is doing little to increase diversity and hire more minority workers, a senior executive at boutique investment firm Ariel Investments said this week.�The fund industry has to make a real commitment, not lip service, to diversity. And really go out of our way to find people of color to work in our organizations,� Ariel president Mellody Hobson told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

Ariel has long championed the cause of spreading financial literacy in the African-American community. Founder John Rogers is helping raise support and funds for Barack Obama.

�Name any well-known black portfolio manager besides John Rogers,� Hobson said on the sidelines of the annual Investment Company Institute (ICI) conference. �And, to our knowledge, I am the only black woman chair of a mutual fund board. That�s not progress,� she said. Hobson chairs the board of trustees of Ariel�s mutual funds.

Full story…