Minorities

09 August 2007 -- As the world marks “Indigenous Day” today, Minority Rights Group International is urging holiday makers to put pressure on governments and individuals whose activities it says have deprived the less privileged of livelihood due to tourism. The group says indigenous people are more often forced out of their lands in favor of development and tourism industries.

Cynthia Morel is a legal cases officer with Minority Rights Group International. From London, she tells reporter Peter Clottey more about what her organization is doing to mark World Indigenous Day today.    » read more »

Legislation would strengthen community-based efforts, establish national information database

July 16, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today introduced the Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007, which would help prevent teen pregnancies in minority communities.    » read more »

July 2, 2007 -- After Senate Republicans and their right-wing allies defeated bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform last week, The New York Times reported yesterday that the GOP will pay a price in 2008 and lose support from Hispanic voters. As the report notes, “…Hispanics may have been deeply alienated by the heated rhetoric that wound around the axle of the debate, most of it stemming from a few Republican opponents and the loud echo chamber of talk radio.”    » read more »

June 29, 2007 -- Across the country, people expressed dismay at yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that turned back the clock on 53 years of work by schools around the country to provide all children with a quality education. Editorial boards echoed the sentiment saying that the Court “repudiated the last half-century of race-conscious efforts to overcome that tortured racial legacy,” “will accelerate the trend toward school resegregation in many parts of the country,” and that in the “name of abiding by the letter of Brown, the court has dishonored its spirit.”    » read more »

Legislation to Address Digital Divide among Minority Institutions Heads Toward Senate Floor for Vote

June 27, 2007 -- Washington, DC - Senators Jim Webb and John W. Warner today announced that the “Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act” was reported out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology.    » read more »

Simplification of Minority and Small Business Registration; Proposals Highlight Meeting of Attorney General’s Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force

June 19, 2007 -- Richmond- Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell welcomed the Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force to Richmond today for a full meeting featuring 63 new recommendations to reduce excessive and burdensome regulations in Virginia.    » read more »

Strengthens Protections for Minority, Disabled Employees in Maryland’s Government

ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 15, 2007) - Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley today signed an executive to ensure that state employment decisions are based only on merit and fitness. Executive Order 01.01.2007.09 - Code of Fair Employment Practices - protects state employees from discrimination and mandates that state government comply with the Maryland Commission on Human Relations and the United States Equal Opportunity Commission.    » read more »