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By BILL MURPHY Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Comments (304) Yahoo! Buzz The Houston rodeo has rejected a U.S. Justice Department offer to mediate disputes with minority groups who say it needs more minorities in high-ranking positions, doesn't give scholarships to noncitizens in the country legally and has stopped featuring Tejano performers on its main stages. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo does not believe mediation is needed because it promotes diversity and does not engage in discrimination, said chief operating officer Leroy Shafer. "At this point, we see no need to have a Justice Department mediator involved in this," he...

  Senator Obama is one of key leaders in a campaign to make Juneteeth Day a National Holiday in the United States. Juneteeth Day occurs on every June 19th, the anniversary of General Granger announcing the emancipation of slaves in the South West. The Holiday would be celebrated on the third Friday in June. Here's what the NYT wrote about it on 2004: "Most gatherings are decidedly upbeat, but the sobering reason for the holiday has also been part of Juneteenth's growth. Dr. Ronald Myers, the leader of a movement to make Juneteenth a national holiday, says June 19 should...

(April 2) - An Atlanta, Georgia, judge who ordered white lawyers out of his courtroom so he could lecture African-American defendants called that decision a "mistake" Tuesday night. Judge Marvin Arrington says he is fed up with the defendants he keeps seeing in his courtroom. "In retrospect, it was a mistake," Judge Marvin Arrington told CNN. "Because my sheriff said to me, 'Judge, that message should be given to everybody' -- 'Don't violate the law, make something out of yourself, go to school, find a role model, somebody that will help you advance your life.'" Arrington, who is African-American, is...

Rules--link only http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080207/NEWS01/802070330/1002

Rather than relieving racial tensions, might an Obama candidacy instead intensify them? Iowa Caucus results quickly shifted many Democrats' sense of Hillary's inevitability to one of Barack's providence.  The smooth-talking senator's surprising historic victory gave fellow blacks and liberal whites a common hope that monumental change was just over the horizon. The happy union didn't last a week. Explaining last week's celebrated upset, Newsday's Martin Evans told of Obama's: "... populist message hat has tapped into the desire of voters here to end decades of infighting between Democrats and Republicans, and to banish traditions of racial politics that have divided...

Last May, firefighters at a Baltimore, Md., fire station came under scrutiny for displaying a deer with an afro wig, gold tooth, gold chain and a cigarette hanging from its mouth. Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP, went ballistic, charging, "There is now and has been a culture of racism and white supremacy within the Baltimore City Fire Department." As it turns out, it was a black fireman who dressed up the critter. Cheatham refused to apologize for his accusations of fire department racism, maintaining "there is now and has been a culture of racism...

The three main minorities in the United States -- blacks, Hispanics and Asians -- have little trust for each other and hold prejudiced views about Americans of different ethnic origins to their own, a poll showed Wednesday. "This extraordinary poll reveals some unflattering realities that exist in America today," said Sandy Close, head of new America Media (NAM) which sponsored the poll together with ethnic media groups. Forty-four percent of Hispanics and 47 percent of Asians are "afraid of African-Americans because they are responsible for most of the crime," the survey of 1,105 adults drawn from the three ethnic groups...

As Sarah Kreager, 26, tried to sit down on a Baltimore City bus Tuesday, police say, a middle-schooler told her she couldn’t. When she attempted to take another seat, a middle-schooler wouldn’t let her. Finally, according to police, Kreager just sat down. She was “immediately attacked” by nine students — three females and six males — from Robert Poole Middle School. They punched and kicked her at 2:59 p.m. at the intersection of 33rd Street and Chestnut Avenue, according to Maryland Transit Administration police. Kreager was dragged off the bus and her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, attempted to get her back...

A black firefighter admitted he placed a knotted rope and threatening note with a drawing of a noose in an East Baltimore fire station last month.The firefighter has since been suspended for other performance-related issues, but will also likely face additional punishment for his act, officials said. City officials said the man admitted to the hoax and will not face criminal charges.Officials identified the man as Donald Maynard, a firefighter-paramedic apprentice who is black. The incident sparked outrage and led to a federal investigation into charges of racism. It was also the latest in a series of other incidents over...

Vehicle's passenger was beaten to death by several men, police say. AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF A group of men fatally beat a passenger in a car that police said accidentally struck a child outside an East Austin apartment complex, police said today. As many as 3,000 people were in the area following a Juneteenth celebration at the time, officials said. Austin police Cmdr. Harold Piatt estimated that dozens were in the parking lot of the Booker T. Washington apartment complex at the time and that preliminary information shows no witnesses apparently tried to prevent or stop the attack. "At this point, we...

<p>Nifong Accepts Disbarment David Freedman, Mike Nifong's attorney, has just announced that Nifong has accepted that disbarment is an "appropriate" penalty, and has accepted both disbarment and waived the right to appeal.</p>

Group Annouces Support for JeffersonWednesday June 13, 7:02 pm ET By Cain Burdeau, Associated Press Writer Jefferson Backers Claim Justice Department Using Indicted Congressman As a Scapegoat NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Supporters of a Democratic congressman charged with bribery and money laundering harkened to their civil rights days on Wednesday as they denounced the allegations against U.S. Rep. William Jefferson. The group, including ministers and the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, alleged the 16-count corruption indictment was the work of a Republican White House and Justice Department scheming to target black Democratic leaders and shift attention from...

The Smog of Race War in LA Roberto Lovato Wed Mar 21, 12:18 PM ET The Nation -- These days, Chris Bowers wakes up every morning to a vivid reminder that crossing borders can get you killed in South LA's Harbor Gateway area. Just outside the fence in front of his rented stucco house on Harvard Boulevard is a silver scooter, an assortment of dried flowers and a dozen candles bearing religious messages written in Spanish and English--a makeshift memorial to Cheryl Green, the 14-year-old whose murder last December by members of the 204th Street Gang sparked accusations of Latino...

I did a search and didn't find this posted in the past on FR. I also checked Snopes and found this is TRUE. They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: Why you ain't, Where you is, What he drive, Where he stay, Where he work, Who you be.. And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. Everybody knows it's important to speak English... except these knuckleheads. Mushmouth is what they speak! You can't be a doctor with that...

City JournalThe New Black Realism A new generation sees opportunity in America—and seizes it.Kay S. Hymowitz Winter 2007 What if someone gave a convention called “Black America Today” and Barack Obama, Harold Ford, Cory Booker, Bill Cosby, and Juan Williams starred as the marquee names? Right now, these are some of the black “It” guys (along with Diddy, of course)—yet they don’t fit the typical idea of “Black America,” do they? In his new book Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America—And What We Can Do About It, NPR and Fox...

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/kane111 Commentary: Feeling Sorry for Those Poor, Falsely-Accused Duke Lacrosse Players? Cry Me a River Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 By: Gregory Kane, BlackAmericaWeb.com Commentary: Feeling Sorry for Those Poor, Falsely-Accused Duke Lacrosse Players? Cry Me a River Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 By: Gregory Kane, BlackAmericaWeb.com Michael Nifong, the district attorney of Durham, N.C., recently dropped rape charges against the three white Duke University lacrosse players accused of raping a black North Carolina Central coed. As expected, the cadre of right-wing commentators defending the three have gone into overdrive. And, once again, I’m compelled to write about how I’m...

Michael Richards exploded in anger as he performed at a famous L.A. comedy club last Friday, hurling racial epithets that left the crowd gasping, and TMZ has obtained exclusive video of the ugly incident.

EDINBORO, Pa. -- A black student at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania illegally accessed another student's e-mail account to send racist and threatening messages to about 20 other black students, university police said. Douglas A. Spadey, 18, of Philadelphia, was arraigned yesterday on charges of unlawful use of a computer, harassment by communication and terroristic threats, Cpl. Robert Burns said. The messages were sent Monday and Mr. Spadey admitted sending them, Cpl. Burns said. "This individual was trying to call attention to himself . . . (and) it blew up in his face," police Chief Tom Nelson said. "He didn't understand...

Gubernatorial candidate and professional wiseacre Kinky Friedman was accused Wednesday of making another racially offensive remark _ this time in a year-old interview in which he said sexual predators should be thrown in prison and forced to "listen to a Negro talking to himself." The independent candidate already was under fire for referring to Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Texas "crackheads and thugs." ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Houston Chronicle have reported on an interview with Friedman that aired on CNBC last year in which the country singer and comedian was asked what to do with sexual predators. "Throw...

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas chapter of the NAACP asked comedian and independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman on Friday to apologize for using a racial slur during a 1980 nightclub act in Houston. NAACP President Gary Bledsoe said in a letter that Friedman's remarks "invoke the worst racial stereotypes about people of color." Friedman's campaign did not immediately return a call seeking comment. On Thursday, the campaign issued a lengthy statement denying Friedman was a racist and explaining that he used comedy to lampoon bigotry. Friedman told The Associated Press the criticism was orchestrated by his political opponents. Earlier this...

AUSTIN — Republican Gov. Rick Perry criticized his rival Kinky Friedman Thursday for making "racist" comments about blacks. In a video clip widely circulated this week, the entertainer-turned-politician says he would punish sex offenders by throwing them in prison and making them "listen to a Negro talking to himself." He also called the term Negro a "charming word" in the CNBC interview, which first aired months ago. Friedman, running as an independent, offered no apologies and says his blunt rhetoric is sorely needed in an otherwise timid political culture. Perry, asked about the remarks during a wide-ranging news conference at...

AUSTIN - Kinky Friedman has thrived on brash commentary, outlandish attire and crude humor. But some critics say the independent candidate for governor has gone too far with his comments about African-Americans. Friedman, in a video clip that some of his opponents began circulating Tuesday, calls Negro a “charming word” and uses it in an explanation of what he would do to sexual predators if elected governor of Texas in November. “Throw them in prison and throw away the key and make them listen to a Negro talking to himself,” Friedman said in the TV interview, which CNBC broadcast late...

Veteran U.S. civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, walks past an anti-U.S. banner placed among the rubble of a building that was destroyed following Israeli bombardment during the 34-day long Hezbollah-Israel war, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. Jackson, who said Tuesday that an Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants and two others held captive by Hezbollah are alive, also said Syria, a main backer of both Hamas and Hezbollah, wanted to be involved in a prisoner swap that included the three Israelis and Syrian nationals detained by Israel in the Golan Heights....

The history of the United States is a tale of constant oppression— a story of a checkered past where political leaders and economic moguls continually acted in their own self-interest… or so many left-leaning history authors would prefer modern Americans to believe. American history has been hijacked by the left wing, where the mistakes of America’s past such as slavery, disenfranchisement, and class warfare are overemphasized, while Franklin D. Roosevelt is simultaneously glorified as the savior of the twentieth century with his New Deal policies. While most textbooks of that nature may cast American history in a bad light and...

Confirming weeks of rumors, CBS has revealed the identities of the twenty castaways who will be competing in this fall's Survivor: Cook Islands and announced that the castaways will -- in what the show's producer and host both acknowledge to be a controversial move -- initially be organized into four tribes divided along ethnic lines (African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and White.) "We're going to take some heat for it," Survivor executive producer Mark Burnett acknowledged to People about the segregated tribe decision that will no doubt give the thirteenth edition of the long-running reality series -- which will also include the...

New Orleans police chief during Hurricane Katrina, Eddie Compass, says he unnecessarily "heightened people's fears" by repeating unconfirmed reports of out-of-control crime in the city during the aftermath of the storm, adding to the confusion caused by the disaster and potentially hampering rescue efforts. "There were reports of rapes and children being raped. I even got one report … that my daughter was raped," Mr. Compass says in a Spike Lee documentary scheduled to air on HBO tonight. "In hindsight, I guess I heightened people's fears by me being the superintendent of police, reporting these things that were reported to...

LOS ANGELES - Alejandro "Bird" Martinez and a crew of fellow gangbangers were joyriding in a stolen van when they came upon a black man parking his car — and decided to kill him. Three of them riddled Kenneth Kurry Wilson and his Cadillac with bullets from a .357-caliber revolver and a 9 mm semiautomatic and blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun. This month, Martinez and three other members of the Avenues, a Hispanic gang entrenched in one Los Angeles neighborhood, were convicted of federal hate crimes usually tagged on white supremacists. Although the slaying was seven years ago, the verdict...

NPR and Fox News commentator Juan Williams is a certified liberal — so liberal some have called him the black Alan Colmes, the liberal half of Fox’s Hannity and Colmes. When he writes a book you’d expect the liberal media to fall all over each other to be the first to review his book and have him as a guest on network radio and TV. That hasn’t happened, however, because his book “Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America — and What We Can Do About It,” has crossed the boundary of...

The question of why there aren't more "black" comedies, dramas or even characters in television in 2006 has been a steady theme at this summer's press tour. With the cancellation of network comedies starring Bernie Mac and Damon Wayans, and the folding of UPN into the new CW, the number of black faces in principal roles on American television is noticeably diminished. The "diversity issue" came up on the weekend when former Friends executive producer David Crane presented another all-white ensemble for his new CBS comedy The Class, a show premised around a Grade Three reunion. Wouldn't some of those...

Hawaii is a separated land and not just because it consists of over 130 scattered points of land stretching 1,600 miles. Within the state a large battle still rages over 100 years after Hawaii’s annexation and nearly 50 years after gaining statehood. The battle is over the status of native Hawaiians. The Native Hawaiian Recognition Act (the Akaka Bill) would give native Hawaiians the same federal recognition as Native Americans and Native Alaskans. A win for this bill in Congress would be a huge boost to Kamehameha Schools and their pending lawsuit. Kamehameha Schools admits applicants of any background, as...

Duke University police barred members of the New Black Panthers from the school's campus this morning. About 40 members of the group came to protest against white lacrosse players charged with raping a black escort service dancer at a team party. Though university officials had said they would be permitted to protest on the private school's grounds, police refused to let them enter the West Campus on Duke University Drive. Officers said students were already overstressed by exams and the protest might further unsettle them. The Panthers, dressed in fatigues, combat boots and flak jackets -- some sporting knives on...

A half a million illegals and their supporters in one demonstration on the streets of Los Angeles. A half a million. From just Los Angeles. That’s roughly as big as any public protest or civil rights march in the history of the United States. And this was just people from Los Angeles. That’s how bad it’s gotten. How frayed America has become and how the equilibrium of social and cultural identity has tipped irrevocably in some areas. Some areas aren’t really in the United States anymore, and southern California is one of them. The protest proved that. Ten thousand in...

WELCOME TO RECONQUISTA By Michelle Malkin   ·   March 27, 2006 09:42 AM ***scroll for updates...Bush warns against stoking anti-immigrant feelings. Wants a "civil debate." Video here...Ok. Tell that to the divisive militants below...*** As Mickey Kaus points out, the reporters at the Los Angeles Times (and all other major media, for that matter) have downplayed the radical ethnic separatism that characterized the pro-illegal immigration rallies over the weekend. While the Times misleadingly asserted that the Los Angeles rally "featured more American flags than those from any other country," its reporters conveniently ignored marchers with extremist signs and banners advocating...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is touring Southern cities this week to rally opposition to next month's mayoral election in New Orleans, saying too many Hurricane Katrina victims scattered around the country will be unable to vote. He is asking black churches, black colleges and other organizations in cities like Atlanta, Jackson, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn., to encourage their members to march on New Orleans on April 1. The election is set for April 22. Jackson and other civil rights leaders have demanded that the election be postponed. But they have not said when they believe the balloting should be held....

Fate is indeed fickle. Who would have guessed that in this year's Oscar voting, Brokeback Mountain, a fine, risky movie about a gay love affair, would surge ahead of Capote, a movie about a gay journalist, only to be edged out for the Best Picture Oscar by a fine, risky movie about racism? Is this a sign of our times, or what? If conservatives needed any evidence that liberal impulses have taken over the Motion Picture Academy, this is it. Right? But, alas, in some folks' minds, every silver lining has its cloud. Instead of celebrating, many fans of Brokeback...

(CBS) GARY, Ind. A Northwest Indiana mother says her 14-year-old son has been beaten up three times in the past few weeks at school. He had to leave a school in Portage that is mostly white. He currently goes to a predominantly African American school in Gary. CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports his mother says the boy’s race is the reason for the beatings. "They kept screaming, ‘How do you like that, whitey?’ Or 'F' you, whitey,’” said seventh grader James Tokarski. “And they kept on calling me trailer trash, hillbilly, redneck." Fourteen-year-old James Tokarski sports...

Where is the outrage that was manufactured to run Rush Limbaugh off the air? Is it absent because Gumbel is allegedly black? So just picture for a moment, if you will, that you're watching SportsCenter tonight and Dan Patrick says, "The lack of whites in the NBA makes it look like a welfare office." Think that would get buried like Gumbel's comments? For what it's worth, maybe Gumbel should do some research on the emerging face of the GOP.

Some cast aside traditional loyalties... Adam Hunter, an ambitious law student with bright eyes, an easy smile, and plenty of charisma, seems practically destined for politics... a first-year law student at Howard University, a historically black campus with a long record of liberal activism. He has political ambitions of his own -- but not with the Democrats. Instead, Hunter, who as an undergraduate headed Howard's chapter of College Republicans, sees himself as part of a younger generation of African-Americans. He is ready to cast aside traditional loyalties to the Democratic Party and forge his own political identity. ''There's a lot...

Officials at Texas A&M University-Commerce want Walt Disney Co. and the makers of ''Glory Road'' to apologize for inaccurately linking their school to some of the film's most racially charged scenes. The movie chronicles the Texas Western Miners, who won the 1966 NCAA title with the first all-black starting lineup in a championship game. It includes a ''completely false'' depiction of a game against East Texas State University, the name of Texas A&M-Commerce at the time, spokeswoman Lorraine Pace said Friday. In the movie, East Texas fans are shown throwing drinks and popcorn and yelling racial slurs at Texas Western,...

There were some eye-opening remarks from Bryant Gumbel on the most recent episode of HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. According to a transcript posted by a television columnist named Seth Frelich, Gumbel said the following in his closing monologue last week (emphasis mine): "Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t care about them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying ... Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when...

They're less than two months from taking the field, but the team known as Houston 1836 may soon change its name. The 1836 is the team which used to be the San Jose Earthquakes, but the new name is causing a little controversy here in Houston. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also on ABC13.com: Send news tips | RSS | ABC13 E-lert | Info mentioned on air | Search abc13.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What's in a name? Apparently a lot since Major League Soccer announced that the San Jose Earthquakes were coming to Houston and would be called Houston 1836. "People have been very sincere. Some...

Moniker tied to Texas history lasts just a month for soccer franchise If you're one of the thousands who went out and bought a Houston 1836 T-shirt, run to your closet, bag it and hide it in a safe place.If you don't have one, hurry to a nearby sporting goods store. The shirts are about to become collector's items.Why? You might say the team is having an identity crisis.Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said Tuesday that Philip Anschutz, owner of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which in turn controls 1836, confirmed that a name change is in the...

When is a hate-crime not a hate-crime? Answer: when the powers-that-be say it isn’t. One problem with hate-crime laws is that they’re more the result of bad ideology than good criminology, and nothing illustrates this point better than the current spate of church burnings in Alabama. As you may know, a series of Alabama churches have been burned in rapid succession over the past week. Yet, while I had encountered much reportage on this story prior to writing this piece, I had yet to hear any government official or media figure hazard the guess that these acts could constitute a...

Coretta Scott King or Kanye West? BET went West. In a shocker, Black Entertainment Television took a pass on live coverage of the King funeral yesterday, going instead with its usual lineup of music-video shows from noon to 3 p.m. "Was it an easy call? Absolutely not," says Michael Lewellen, BET's senior vice president for corporate communications. "We weighed a number of different options. In the end, we chose to offer a different kind of experience for BET viewers." BET streamed live coverage on its Web site. On TV, it ran taped, 60-second cut-ins from the funeral by BET senior...

American blacks who are affiliated with the Republican Party are vigorously vilified by Democrats, especially black Democrats. Uncle Tom, sell-out, Oreo -- the list of slurs is long. But it is not only insults. I am the founder and director of a unique, progressive homeless facility in downtown Los Angeles, known as the Dome Village. Yet the 35 men, women and children and their pets who call the Dome Village home are being "evicted" from privately owned property after 12-and-a-half years -- apparently on account of my political beliefs and activities. You see, though I am a leading homeless activist,...

WASHINGTON -- Four African-American New Orleans residents told a House committee Tuesday that they felt a sense of abandonment from all levels of government when Hurricane Katrina hit three months ago and believe more lives and homes would have been saved had the victims been predominantly white and wealthier. "People were allowed to die," said Leah Hodges, who told the panel she still doesn't know if her brother survived the hurricane. She likened what happened to New Orleans, and many of its black residents, to "genocide and ethnic cleansing."

CNN's Carol Lin and the French "African-Americans" The Paris riots have highlighted more than any other issue in recent years not only the bias, but the ignorance of the "old media." Internet readers have studied the situation in Europe for years. Numerous writers, from Mark Steyn to Ba'at Yeor to Debbie Schlussel, have long predicted the decline of Europe and the jihad that we have seen over the past few weeks. But the "old media" personalities still have no clue as to what is going on. And their reporting and commentary has taken on an almost comical quality as a...

FrontPageMagazine.com | November 8, 2005 My decision to write a column recommending Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy, by Peter Schweizer was easy. I haven’t had so much fun reading a political book in ages. But my decision to focus on my favorite chapter – the one lambasting Al Franken – was a bit risky. Despite my extensive firearms collection, I’m really afraid of Al Franken. The reason for my fear of Al Franken – which my team of psychiatrists dubbed Franken-phobia – began when Franken challenged Rich Lowry to a fistfight in 2003....

Last March, at a workshop aimed at empowering girls to confront bullies, I listened as girls recounted tales of being harassed and intimidated. One girl's voice cracked as she spoke of a student who cursed at her and tried to trip her in the hall of her school. We learned that bullying is "the unjust exercise of power of one individual to humiliate, frighten, denigrate or injure another." That day, a national expert said it's not just victims who have to stop bullies; bystanders need to speak up too; otherwise they're enabling the bullies. So today I'm standing up to...

Using the Press to Attack Political Opponents Everyone is weighing in on what Bill Bennett said on his radio program. Everyone is eager to offer their opinion on his words and whether or not he should have said them. Everyone is missing the point. The travesty is that we’re even talking about this at all. The most abhorrent behavior that occurred regarding this issue came from the Associated Press (AP). Allowing news hit men like John Conyers, Bruce Gordon, Ralph Neas, Howard Dean and many elected Democrats to assault Bill Bennett is detestable and the AP should be held accountable....