Minorities

May 26, 2009 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter issued the following statement today regarding President Obama's nomination of U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court:

"I applaud President Obama's historic nomination of U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Larry Echohawk, 60, was sworn into office today as the Interior Department’s 11th Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. EchoHawk is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma whose nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 19, 2009. Secretary Salazar conducted the official swearing in ceremony.

“I am very pleased to welcome Larry EchoHawk to the Interior Department,” Salazar said. “I will rely on his steady leadership as we move forward to protect tribal communities, advance Indian education, carry out our trust responsibilities, support sustainable tribal economies, and address Indian Country’s infrastructure needs under the Recovery Act.”    » read more »

State NAACP Calls for Board Member to Resign and Full Investigation to be Conducted

May 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC—The NAACP announced today a letter sent by the North Carolina State Conference demanding the resignation of Burke County School Board member Rob Hairfield.

From September 2008 to as recent as February 2009, Hairfield sent expletive laden and racist emails from his personal email account.    » read more »

USDA offers solution to long standing case by discriminated farmers

Washington, May 6, 2009 - Today President Obama announced his plans to include settlement funds for black farmers in the FY 2010 budget to bring closure to their long-standing lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"This is an issue I worked on in the Senate, and I'm pleased that we are now able to close this chapter in the agency's history and move on," said Obama. "My hope is that the farmers and their families who were denied access to USDA loans and programs will be made whole and will have the chance to rebuild their lives and their businesses."    » read more »

New York State MWBE Task Force Delivers Preliminary Report Outlining Sharp Improvement in the Rate at which State-supported Debt Issuers Empanel and Engage Minority and Women Owned Businesses

April 28, 2009 -- The New York State Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Task Force today delivered its preliminary report to Governor David A. Paterson. The Task Force, established by Executive Order No. 10, reviewed the debt-issuing practices of the five authorities which issue State-supported debt, and wrote recommendations designed to improve their performance in retaining MWBE underwriting firms. The Task Force’s final report is due to the Governor in January, 2010.    » read more »

Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland signed an executive order on April 8 that maintains the state’s commitment to minority business success in Ohio by establishing the Ohio Minority Business Advisory Council, which will coordinate the state’s efforts to maximize the opportunities and growth of minority businesses. The Governor held a ceremonial signing event today with Interim Director of the Ohio Department of Development Mark Barbash and members of the minority business community.    » read more »

Issues First Letter to Procter & Gamble CEO to Address Dramatic Racial Discrimination in U.S. Advertising Industry;First Step In Bringing Racial Equality To Madison Avenue

WASHINGTON, DC --- On the heels of the public launch of the Madison Avenue Project, and a recent study that exposed pervasive racial bias in America’s advertising industry, the NAACP has sent a letter to Procter & Gamble Co. Chairman of the Board/CEO A.G. Lafley asking the big budget advertiser require their advertising agencies to use diverse teams in creative and account management positions.    » read more »

Remedies would benefit millions of potential borrowers

March 13, 2009 -- Today, the NAACP filed separate lawsuits in U.S. District Court in California against two of the country’s largest lenders, Wells Fargo, and HSBC. These lawsuits allege systematic, institutionalized racism in sub-prime home mortgage lending. The remedies being asked for in the lawsuit include measures for increased accountability and transparency.

* Original Complaint against Wells Fargo Bank & Wells Fargo Home Mortgage    » read more »

AT&T is also included on Three of DiversityInc's Specialty Lists for Its Commitment to Diversity in the Workplace and Marketplace

Dallas, Texas, March 13, 2009 -- AT&T today announced that it has once again been recognized for its longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion across its global operations — most recently by DiversityInc, which named AT&T among its Top 50 Companies for Diversity in 2009. AT&T moved up 20 spaces in the 2009 rankings over last year — from 22nd to 2nd.

AT&T is also included on three of DiversityInc's Top 10 specialty lists, ranking No. 7 among the Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention; No. 1 among the Top 10 Companies for African Americans; and No. 8 among the Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees.    » read more »

March 2, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) - Blacks have been arrested nationwide on drug charges at higher rates than whites for nearly three decades, even though they engage in drug offenses at comparable rates, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Using data obtained from the FBI, the report reveals the extent and persistence of racial disparities in US drug-law enforcement. The data also show that most drug arrests are for nothing more serious than possession.    » read more »

February 5, 2009 -- The first multi-dimensional effort to quantify the disparities faced by African-American and Latino boys and men in California across a broad spectrum of health and social factors provides a disquieting outlook for their lives.

Compiled by RAND Corporation researchers at the request of The California Endowment, the report compares how well men and boys of color have fared relative to their white peers across the realms of health, safety, socioeconomic characteristics and readiness to learn.    » read more »

His unique experience, talents will help restore confidence in nation's leading law enforcement entity

The NAACP congratulates Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney General and is excited about the potential his confirmation means to the justice system in America. Holder will also make history as the first African American to hold the highest federal law enforcement position.    » read more »

Governor issues Executive Order outlining efforts to create more opportunity for minority and women owned businesses

August 13, 2008 -- (Salem) – Oregon Governor Kulongoski today announced he sent a letter to state agencies accompanying Executive Order 08-16, directing agencies to adopt aspirational targets to increase opportunities for minority and women owned businesses that are competing for state contracts. The executive order identifies agencies that have contracting needs that are a good match with existing certified minority and women owned businesses.    » read more »

04 June 2008 -- Senator Barack Obama has acquired the necessary pledged delegates to become the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in this year’s U.S. presidential election. This means 46-year-old Obama is the first African American candidate to lead a major political party for the White House.

Barack Obama claims victory, St. Paul, Minnesota: Photo by Chad Davis (CC)    » read more »

Washington DC --02 June 2008 -- A new documentary "At the Death House Door" and a Virginia execution of convicted killer Kevin Green have once again stirred the controversy over capital punishment. New questions have been raised in recent years over the U.S. death penalty, as some officials say minorities and the poor are disproportionately put to death. In other cases, DNA tests resulted in the release of a few inmates who were scheduled to die.

On a Friday night in February 1983 a man with a knife walks into a Texas convenience store. The documentary "At the Death House Door" replays the conversation in which Wanda Lopez, a lone clerk, calls the police screaming for help while being attacked.    » read more »