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Welcome to Diversity Chat for the week of August 13th, 2006! This week, Tony Wade and I discuss leadership changes at the EEOC, new evidence that diversity really makes bottom-line sense for business, the importance of communicating senior leadership’s commitment to human issues, and why many white Americans believe racism and discrimination are things of the past, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
And it's about on "Out or About" this week, as I review Fiasco, a new book on the U.S. war in Iraq, which highlights how human relations missteps and cultural misunderstandings helped create the stubborn and deadly insurgency we're still fighting there.
And in our interview segment, we'll talk with former North Carolina Senator and 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, on his thoughts about the relationship between poverty and discrimination in America, and what he sees as the answer in the ongoing immigration debate.
First, here are some of the top stories in equal opportunity, human relations and diversity:
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Cari Dominguez announced this week she is stepping down at the end of her five-year term, which expires this month. A press release from the EEOC says Dominguez oversaw "record enforcement of workplace discrimination laws and outreach, and repositioned the agency for greater efficiency and effectiveness." There's no word yet on a permanent replacement. EEOC Vice Chair Naomi Earp will head the Agency on an interim basis starting September 1st.
Meanwhile, veteran labor and employment attorney Ronald Cooper this week joined the EEOC for a four-year term as the Agency's General Counsel. Cooper has worked in the labor law division of Washington D.C. firm Steptoe & Johnson for the last 34 years. In his new role, he'll run the EEOC's enforcement litigation program, among other duties.
U.S. demographics are continuing to shift, with some whites returning to the urban core, and minorities increasingly flocking to the suburbs. That's the conclusion of new U.S. Census Bureau data released last week. William Frey, a demographer for the Brookings Institution, told USA Today that suburbs aren't "just attracting whites anymore" and have become a "magnet for blacks as well as Hispanics and Asians."
Jeffrey Shifler, a white former police officer in Hagerstown, Maryland, has pleaded guilty to making anonymous death threats against African American students attending two local high schools, and against an African American member of the city council. Shifler made the death threats in November of 2005 and January of 2006. He faces 10 years in prison.
Shortly after Earl Ross, a 34-year old African American, moved into is new home in Millvale, Pennslyvania, Thomas McPherson, a white neighbor pointed a pistol at him and showered him with racial slurs. McPherson's been arrested on a variety of charges, including ethnic intimidation. Ross says he knows racism exists, but "didn't know it's like this."
Monica Hewitt says she's heartbroken after learning the teenage children of her neigbors are responsible for painting racial slurs on the driveway of her Cleveland, Ohio-area home. Hewitt, an African American, initally told law enforcement officers she didn't believe her neighbor's children were capable of committing the crime. She's lived in the neigborhood since 1982. The teenagers say they were just trying to be funny.
A complaint filed in a San Francisco federal court by the EEOC says the slurs included spelling a common word for black backwards and using the initials N.P.
Lieutenant General John Rosa, The Citadel's current president and the former commandant of the Air Force Academy, says the training aims to teach cadets to respect themselves and each other. Rosa also says preventing alcohol abuse by students is a key component of the The Citadel's initiatve.
Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael Moseley focused part of their most recent letter to airmen on preventing sexual harassment and illegal discrimination. The July-August letter from the top Air Force brass says, among other things, that "tolerating harassment of any type is no different than committing the offense," and urges Air Force members to demonstrate a "whole-hearted respect" toward each other.
CRI CEO Bill Cunningham says the Research Diversity Index Portfolio makes diversity performance the top selection criterion for inclusion in the portfolio. He says all the companies in the portfolio must all have proven track records in human capital, CEO commitment, corporate communications and supplier diversity.
A company called Asia Link is helping companies with aggressive diversity initiatives turn those initiatives into a revenue stream. A press release from the company says firms with existing relationships with non-profits committed to diversity issues can leverage those relationships into more business. Asia Link says the hospitality industry is particularly well-suited to capitalize on the relationships created by effective diversity initiatives.
A new poll of likely voters in South Dakota shows a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage would likely fail if the vote were to happen today. The amendments opponents point out same-sex marriage is already illegal in South Dakota. They say voters are wary about the amendments sweeping provisions, which include language banning so-called quasi-marital relationships.
Republican Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a noted social conservative, has withdrawn his support for a statement that would affirm his office doesn't practice employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. The statement, a joint project of the Gender Policy Advocacy Coalition and the Human Rights Campaign, has been signed by a bi-partisan group of 24 U.S. Senators and 145 members of the House of Representatives. Ironically, one of Santorum's senior aides is an openly gay man.
The Anti-Defamation League is weighing in on the bitter sniping between cable heavyweights Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly. MSNBC's Olbermann recently used a Nazi salute while holding up a mask of Fox News commentator O'Reilly during a recent public appearance.
The ADL says Olbermann's use of the Nazi salute, even as joke, "only serves to trivialize the Holocaust, and denigrate the memory of the six million Jews and others who died as a result."
The New York City Fire Department last week announced a new effort to recruit women and minority fire fighters. Currently about 90 percent of the city's fire fighters are white men. As part of the effort, eligibility requirements to take the exam will be relaxed.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta says the goal of the initiative is to "have a workforce that mirrors the citizens that we serve." The U.S. Justice Department is currently investigating the New York City Fire Department for potential discrimination in its hiring practices.
Sonia Jacobs, a former business manager for Oakland University, says the Michigan school fired her after complications related to her pregnancy caused her to miss six days of work. Jacobs filed suit last month in the U.S. District Court of Detroit claiming pregnancy discrimination. The University denies the allegations. Jacobs now works as an auditor for the Michigan Treasury Department.
Sanders claims Thomas asked her to have sex with him and used sexually explict derogatory language toward her when she said no. Thomas and the Knicks say Sanders is simply a disgruntled former employee.
NASCAR's "Drive for Diversity," an effort to increase minority participation in a sport dominated by whites, may be paying off in the person of Marc Davis. Davis, a 16-year old African American, is still two years away from being old enough to race on any of the NASCAR pro circuits. But he's already being called the "Tiger Woods of Motorsports" by some.
Meanwhile, David Scott, an African American who formerly worked as a motorcoach driver for NASCAR, is suing NASCAR for race discrimination and breach of contract. Scott says NASCAR officials promised him a new job after a well-publicized racial incident in 1999, but never delivered after five years of negotiations.
New Pro Football Hall of Famer Harry Carson used his induction speech last week to urge the NFL to provide more help to retired players and improve diversity in the sport. Carson noted 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of Bill Willis integrating the NFL, and urged NFL officials to give retired NFL minority players "a shot" at head coaching positions.
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