January 27th, 2012
(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."
Full story…
Tags: APA, Asian Pacific American, attorney, Chinese, lawyer
Posted in Asian American, Business, Diversity, Glass ceiling, Workplace | No Comments »
January 26th, 2012
(New York Times) “Patriotic,” “jingoistic,” “old-fashioned,” “corny” and “inspirational for teenage boys.” Those are the words of George Lucas, the ex
ecutive producer of “Red Tails,” describing his whiz-bang action film about African-American fighter pilots in World War II on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”
Mr. Lucas financed the $58 million movie, which the major studios didn’t want to touch, because of the box office limitations of its mostly African-American cast. “It is exactly like ‘Flying Leathernecks,’ only this one was held up for release since 1942, when it was shot,” Mr. Lucas said. In structure and tone, “Red Tails” proudly harks back to the 1940s and ’50s, when good guys were good, and bad guys bad.
Full story…
Tags: film, George Lucas, movie, Red Tails
Posted in African American, Media/Entertainment | No Comments »
January 25th, 2012
(Washington Post) Rich or poor, educated or not, black women sometimes feel as though myths are stalking them like shadows, their lives reduced to a string of labels.
The angry black woman. The strong black woman. The unfeeling black woman. The manless black woman.
“Black women haven’t really defined themselves,” says author Sophia Nelson, who urges her fellow sisters to take control of their image. “We were always defined as workhorses, strong. We carry the burdens, we carry the family. We don’t need. We don’t want.”
Full story…
Tags: black, racism, religion, Rosalind Brewer, Sams Club, WalMart, women
Posted in African American, Diversity, Glass ceiling, Workplace | No Comments »
January 24th, 2012
(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.
Full story…
Tags: CEO, Rosalind Brewer, Sams Club, WalMart
Posted in African American, Business, Diversity, Glass ceiling, Workplace | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2012
(Think Progress) On the campaign trail, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has repeatedly referred to President Obama as a food stamps president. Many have claimed the comment, and others, are dog whistles for “ugly racial stereotypes” and are insulting to African Americans.
This morning, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the highest-ranking African American in the House, told CNN’s Candy Crowley this morning that he would not call Newt Gingrich a racist, but said the presidential candidate has been using language that appeals to those in the GOP who “will see President Obama as different from all other presidents that we’ve had.” Crowley asked if the term “food stamps president” was a racial comment. Clyburn replied that it’s similar to other racially-coded comments that are not explicitly racist.
Full story…
Tags: dog whistle politics, food stamps, James Clyburn, Newt Gingrich, racial stereotypes, welfare
Posted in African American, Politics | Comments Off
January 23rd, 2012
(Huffington Post) The Republican Party is beefing up its minority outreach nationwide and preparing to put its rising Latino stars on the campaign trail amid concerns that tough immigration rhetoric in the presidential primary is taking on an increasingly anti-Hispanic tone.
But immigrant-rights groups and some political watchers say the damage may be irreversible. They argue that the GOP has severely hampered itself as it looks to woo the critical Latino voting bloc that could decide who wins key states like New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Florida next fall.
Full story…
Tags: election, GOP, Immigration, latino, Republican, voters
Posted in Hispanic American, Immigration, Politics | Comments Off
January 22nd, 2012
(Huffington Post) Once upon a time stars Anglicized their names to appeal to a broader market. A Mexican-American musician, most famous for the early rock-and-roll hit La Bamba, changed his name from Richard Valenzuela to Ritchie Valens at the encouragement of record executives. Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Estevez. Anthony Quinn was once Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca.
But more and more it seems celebrities are changing their names to be more appealing to their audiences by reinforcing their Hispanic heritage. Journalist Geraldo Rivera used to be Gerald, and Carlos Mencia? His real name is Ned!
Full story…
Tags: celebrities, entertainment, latino, name change
Posted in Hispanic American, Media/Entertainment | Comments Off
January 21st, 2012
(LostRemote) Univision, the leading media company serving Hispanic America, launched a new iPhone app for news called Noticias Univision, which can be downloaded here. Univision Network has a huge reach, serving 97% of US Hispanic households. The app’s main purpose for now will be to deliver their 24/7 news coverage, and later this month users will be able to “report breaking news by uploading photos and videos,” and share their favorite Noticias Univision content with friends and family on Facebook and Twitter, according to their release.
Full story…
Tags: app, iphone, TV, Univision
Posted in Hispanic American, Media/Entertainment | Comments Off
January 20th, 2012
(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.
Full story…
Tags: foreclosure, investor, mortgage, Neil Cavuto, real estate
Posted in African American, Business, Housing | Comments Off
January 19th, 2012
(Daily Markets) PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP) will now have to shell out $3.13 million as a price for alleged racial discrimination. Pepsi Beverages Company – the manufacturing, sales and distribution operating unit of Pepsi in United States, Canada and Mexico – allegedly carried irrelevant criminal background checks on several African American applicants, and thereafter denied them jobs in the organization.
The racial discrimination charge was filed in the Minneapolis Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and upon investigation it “found reasonable cause to believe” that Pepsi’s criminal background check discriminated the ‘black people’ and affected more than 300 ‘black applicants’. Pepsi has agreed to pay the aforementioned amount and will also provide job offers and training to the applicants, or the victims of the former criminal background check policy, who still want jobs at Pepsi and are qualified for the jobs for which they apply.
Full story…
Tags: background checks, discrimination, EEOC, Pepsi
Posted in African American, Civil Rights, Workplace | Comments Off
