EthnicMajority » Consumer

Minorities less affected by financial crisis

Clifford Tong — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:33:34 +0000

Look at what has happened to our economy recently. Foreclosures are through the roof, major financial institutions have failed, millions are in danger of losing their jobs, and the stock market has crashed. So what’s the good news?

The credit markets have imploded. It is much more difficult to get a home loan or credit card. So what? Borrowing money is far less culturally acceptable in Asian and Latino cultures, so the impact to Asian and Latino Americans of tightened credit should be much less than the general population.

People of color have historically been dominant members of the under-served banking community, often unable to obtain credit cards, home or business loans, or lines of credit. Many do not even have a bank account, largely because banks avoid placing branches in the inner-cities.

It’s hard to miss something you never had in the first place.

This is not to say that people of color won’t be hurt by the worsening economic conditions. The loss of credit and stock market wealth will result in significant job losses in every sector and will not be color-blind. But if you weren’t relying on credit from the banks, which many minorities aren’t, you’re probably doing better than the rest of the population.

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LPGA Rescinds Discriminatory Policy

Editor — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:37:40 +0000

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.”

Senator Yee had led an effort with over 50 organizations opposing the LPGA policy. The organizations included:

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

• Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
• Applied Research Center
• Asian American Bar Association
• Asian American Coalition for Civil Rights
• Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)
• Asian American Recovery Services
• Asian American Women’s Alliance
• Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
• Asian Americans for Community Involvement
• Asian Law Alliance
• Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute
• Asian Pacific Bar Association of Silicon Valley
• California Alliance for Retired Americans
• California Commission on the Status of Women
• California Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• California Immigrant Policy Center
• California National Organization for Women (NOW)
• California Psychiatric Association
• Californians for Disability Rights
• Cambodian American Resource Agency
• Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA)
• Equality California
• Filipino American Organization of San Jose State University
• Filipino National History Society
• Filipino Youth Coalition
• Filipinos for Affirmative Action
• International Children Assistance Network
• Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
• Japantown Community Congress of San Jose
• Korean American Bar Association
• Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley
• Korean American Coalition
• Korean American Community Services
• Korean American Law Students Association
• Korean American Professional Society
• Korean American Society of Entrepreneurs
• Latino Issues Forum
• Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• National Center for Lesbian Rights
• National Council of Asian Pacific Americans
• National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
• Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA)

• Organization for Justice and Equality

• Sojourn to the Past – A Civil Rights Education Project
• South Asian Bar Association
• Southeast Asian Community Center
• Vision New America
• Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation
• Vietnamese American Bar Association
• Yee Fow Center for History, Culture, and Trade

There are 121 international golfers on the LPGA Tour, coming from 26 different countries. This year, the Tour held events in ten countries.

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Adam J. Keigwin

Communications Director

Office of Senator Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D.,

Assistant President pro Tem

California State Senate, District 8

(916) 651-4008 | www.senate.ca.gov/yee

Civil Rights Organizations Condemn LPGA English Policy

Editor — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:24:29 +0000

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.�

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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).�

In addition, Equality California � the state�s leading Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) civil rights and advocacy organization � is opposing the new policy, as are the Latino Issues Forum, Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), Asian American Coalition for Civil Rights, Applied Research Center, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Legal Aid Society � Employment Law Center, and Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality.

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�Denying access based on language capability or country of origin is unfair, unreasonable, and discriminatory,� said Yee.� �Omitting qualified players from LPGA membership is inappropriate and unsuitable for the world we live in and poorly reflects on the increasingly diverse population of California and the United States.�

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�The LPGA has taken tolerance and diversity back several giant steps after there have been some great strides of progress toward opening the game of golf to all people,� said Floyd Mori, JACL National Executive Director.�

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�We play sports to unify groups, not to divide,� said Ginny Gong, OCA National President.� �This would suggest that someone like Lance Armstrong needs to be proficient in French in order to participate in the Tour de France.�

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�It is outrageous that the LPGA would consider a decision that prohibits certain players from the chance to compete knowing all the struggles women have gone through in order to be recognized as equals in the sport,� said Michael Lin, OCA National Executive Director.

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�This policy is tantamount to national origin discrimination, which is prohibited under the Civil Rights Act,” said Vincent Eng, AAJC Deputy Director. �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.�

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The LPGA claims that it is important for players to be able to interact with American media and event sponsors, despite there being no relevance to the sport.� In fact, no other professional sports league in the United States requires such a mandate.� One major sponsor, State Farm, has already announced they may no longer support the LPGA if they do not rescind the policy.

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There are 121 international golfers on the LPGA Tour, coming from 26 different countries.� This year, the Tour also held events in nine other countries.

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Adam J. Keigwin

Communications Director

Office of Senator Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D.,

Assistant President pro Tem

California State Senate, District 8

(916) 651-4008 | www.senate.ca.gov/yee

Asian American Justice Center organizes boycott of LPGA for “English proficiency” rule (Golf Blog)

Editor — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:11:48 +0000

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…

McDonald’s ups outreach on Hispanic scholarships (PR Week)

Editor — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:10:11 +0000

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…

Elderly Poverty: The Challenge Before Us (Center for American Progress)

Editor — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:06:10 +0000

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…

The Racial Gap (Tampa Tribune)

Editor — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:12:42 +0000

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 Color Of Credit (Washington Post)

Editor — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:12:02 +0000

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…�

Suspended NASCAR officials accused of exposing themselves (AP)

Editor — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:27:35 +0000

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…�

Hispanic-Americans Are Heaviest Media Users (eMarketer)

Editor — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:57:35 +0000

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…�