Race and Ethnicity Commons^™

The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle For A Livable City, Regina Freer, Robert Gottlieb, Mark Vallianatos, Peter Dreier

Mark Vallianatos

While most historians, journalists, and filmmakers have focused on Los Angeles as a bastion of corporate greed, business boosterism, political corruption, cheap labor, exploited immigrants, and unregulated sprawl, The Next Los Angeles tells a different story: that of the reformers and radicals who have struggled for alternative visions of social and economic justice. In a new preface, the authors reflect on the gathering momentum of L.A.'s progressive movement, including the 2005 landslide victory of Antonio Villaraigosa as mayor.

African-Americans And The Administration Of Justice, E. Yvonne Moss, Roy Austin, Nolan Jones, Barry Krisberg, Hubert Locke, Michael Radelet, Susan Welch

Barry A Krisberg

The status of African Americans in relationship to the administration of justice has improved since the 1940s. Significantly, however, researchers continue to find racial discrimination and racial disadvantage operating in various aspects of the criminal justice process in numerous jurisdictions. Such findings are unacceptable in a society that claims to honor equal justice under law.

This article is reprinted from Summary, Volume 1 of the Assessment of the Status of African-Americans series, published in 1990 by the William Monroe Trotter Institute, University of Massachusetts at Boston, and edited by Wornie L. Reed. Materials included in the article were adapted …

Impact Report 2015: University Of Dayton Human Rights Center, Mark Ensalaco

Mark Ensalaco

It is time for new thinking about human rights advocacy. This is the challenge for the global human rights research and advocacy community.

The University of Dayton Human Rights Center creates positive change through research, education and dialogue. As a leader in the global human rights community, we search for transformative solutions to systemic patterns of injustice that will bring about real change in the lives of poor people. We are committed to addressing the gap between theory and practice, between scholars and practitioners. Advocates need information to be able to develop evidence-based strategies that bring about real change. We …

2013 Conference Report: The Social Practice Of Human Rights, Mark Ensalaco

Mark Ensalaco

Universities have new importance in the global human rights movement. This was the resounding message the University of Dayton heard at its global conference on human rights advocacy in October 2013. The human rights movement is experiencing dramatic changes. Dynamic new NGOs in the global South are resetting the human rights agenda. Popular movements inspired by human rights ideals are arising around the world to demand justice. New information technologies are creating the possibility of real global solidarity. The movement must adapt. Human rights organizations must imagine new strategies to address poverty and other root causes of human rights violations. …

Experiencias De Migritud, Textos Y Carcajadas (Experiencias De Migritud, Textos Y Carcajadas), Andrés Henao Castro

Andrés Fabián Henao-Castro

No abstract provided.

Implications Of Racial And Ethnic Relations For Health And Wellbeing In New Latino Communities: A Case Study Of West Columbia, South Carolina, C. Barrington, Deanne Messias, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

Mississippi Front-Line Recovery Work After Hurricane Katrina: An Analysis Of The Intersections Of Gender, Race, And Class In Advocacy, Power Relations, And Health, Lynn Weber, Deanne Messias

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

Katrina’S Imprint: Race And Vulnerability In America, Lynn Weber

Lynn Weber

No abstract provided.

Best Kept Secret: Single Black Fathers, Roberta Coles

Roberta Coles

The Best Kept Secret studies the often-overlooked group of single, African American custodial fathers. While the media focuses on the increase of single mothers and the decline in marriage in the black community, Roberta Coles paints a nuanced picture of single black dads. Based on qualitative research, the author looks at the parenting experience of these fathers, who may have become single parents through nonmarital births, divorce, widowhood and adoption. The fathers, ranging in age from 20 to 76, discuss their motivations for taking custody of their children, what roles they enact as parents, what they hope for their children, …

Wglt Interview, Meghan Burke

Meghan A. Burke

Professor Megan Burke discusses her new book, "Race, Gender, and Class in the TEA Party" with WGLT's Charlie Schlenker.

The Religification Of Pakistani-American Youth, Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher

Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher

This article describes a cultural production process called religification, in which religious affiliation, rather than race or ethnicity, has become the core category of identity for working-class Pakistani-American youth in the United States. In this dialectical process, triggered by political changes following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Muslim identity is both thrust upon Pakistani-American youth by those who question their citizenship and embraced by the youth themselves. Specifically, the article examines the ways in which schools are sites where citizenship is both constructed and contested and the roles that peers, school personnel, families, and the youth themselves play in …

La Asfixia, El Estado Racista Y La Movilización Social En Defensa De Las Vidas Negras (Asphyxiation, State Racism And The Black Lives Matter Movement), Andrés Henao Castro

Andrés Fabián Henao-Castro

¿Cómo existir para los otros cuando el aire por el que circula la voz está contaminado con gas lacrimógeno? El movimiento social y la protesta popular constituyen una respuesta, se trata de multiplicar la singularidad de la voz rechazada por el estado racista en la pluralidad de todas esas gargantas congregadas en las calles. Se grita “¡no puedo respirar!” para transformar la asfixia del estado racista, para limpiar el aire contaminado ya no con el aire acondicionado del capital corporativo sino con el que circula, impropio, por las gargantas en común de la protesta popular.

Black Deaf Individuals' Reading Skills: Influence Of Asl, Culture, Family Characteristics, Reading Experience, And Education, Candace Myers, M. Diane Clark, Millicent Musyoka, Melissa Anderson, Gizelle Gilbert, Selina Agyen, Peter Hauser

Melissa L. Anderson

Previous research on the reading abilities of Deaf individuals from various cultural groups suggests that Black Deaf and Hispanic Deaf individuals lag behind their White Deaf peers. The present study compared the reading skills of Black Deaf and White Deaf individuals, investigating the influence of American Sign Language (ASL), culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education. (The descriptor Black is used throughout the present article, as Black Deaf individuals prefer this term to African American. For purposes of parallel construction, the term White is used instead of European American.) It was found that Black Deaf study participants scored lower on …

Race, Gender, And Class In The Tea Party: What The Movement Reflects About Mainstream Ideologies, Meghan Burke

Meghan A. Burke

It has been all too tempting to characterize the Tea Party as an irrational, racist, astro-turf movement composed of members who are working to subvert their own economic interests. Race, Gender, and Class in the Tea Party reveals a much messier and much more fascinating analysis of this movement. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with organizers and fieldwork at conservative campaign trainings and conventions, its rich ethnographic data explores how the active folks in this movement, specifically organizers in one Midwestern state, understand their world, and how they act on that basis to change it. As this book will reveal, most …

Striving For Cultural Competence In An Hiv Program: The Transformative Impact Of A Microsystem In A Larger Health Network, Judith N Sabino, Timothy Friel, Lynn Deitrick, Debbie Salas-Lopez

Debbie Salas-Lopez MD, MPH

No abstract provided.

Barriers And Facilitators For Colorectal Cancer Screening Practices In The Latino Community: Perspectives From Community Leaders, Ana Natale-Pereira, Jonnie Marks, Marielos Vega, Dawne Mouzon, Shawna Hudson, Debbie Salas-Lopez

Debbie Salas-Lopez MD, MPH

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and the third most commonly diagnosed cancer among Latinos. While Latinos represent one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, their participation in cancer prevention and treatment trials is low. METHODS: Thirty-six Latino community leaders participated in five focus groups that examined factors affecting CRC screening practices among Latinos. RESULTS: The top four barriers identified were low knowledge and awareness of CRC, language barriers, lack of insurance, and undocumented legal status. Additional barriers included seeking health care only when sick, fatalism, fear, denial …

Colorblindness Vs. Race Consciousness –An American Ambivalence, Meghan Burke

Meghan A. Burke

First published online at The Society Pages

Umass Boston – Brazilian Immigrant Center Partnership, Tim Sieber, C. Eduardo Siqueira, Natalicia Tracy

Timothy Sieber

The Brazilian Immigrant Center (BIC) does organizing, advocacy and training to reduce marginalization of Brazilian immigrants, promoting their engagement as workers & civic participants. A worker’s center, BIC supports and defends workers’ rights under current state & US labor laws. BIC helps workers mediate complaints with employers, and refers others for class action suits, or intervention by the Mass. Attorney General or US Dept. of Labor. A special focus at present is organizing mostly women domestic workers, and BIC has a new Law and Policy Clinic, a Domestic Worker Mediation Program, and an Immigration Justice Project staffed by two full-time …

Testing Theories Of Doctoral Student Persistence At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Gloria Vaquera

Gloria S. Vaquera

Little empirical work exists which tests theories of doctoral student persistence. Among these studies, there is limited representation of minority students. To counter this state of affairs, this study uses a sample of four doctoral cohorts enrolled at a Hispanic Serving Institution. Focusing on the earlier stages of graduate study, I adapt theories of persistence previously employed for undergraduate students (Hurtado, 1992; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Tinto, 1993). Testing the impact of student background characteristics, departmental context, and student social and academic integration on persistence, findings are mixed. Strongest support is found for the effect of academic integration, father's education, …

Pre-College Factors Impacting Persistence In A Diverse University: An Exploration Of High School Racial Composition And Experiences With Diversity, Gloria Vaquera

Gloria S. Vaquera

No abstract provided.

Revolutions And Rebellions And Syria's Paths To War And Peace, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

In less than a month, peaceful Tunisian and Egyptian protesters ousted two of the most authoritarian rulers of the Arab world. The human and economic costs: a total of about 1100 people dead (300 in Tunisia and 800 in Egypt) and some decline in economic growth. These were the dignity revolutions. In contrast, the Syrian peaceful uprising quickly turning into armed rebellion is now 22 months old with over 60,000 people (civilians, rebels, security and military officers, women and children) dead, more than 4,000,000 persons displaced from their homes, and destruction estimated at $70 billion. This is now, without doubt, …

'Dicks Are For Chicks': Latino Boys, Masculinity, And The Abjection Of Hiomosexuality, Richard Mora, Mary Christianakis

Richard Mora

Employing social constructivist theories and the concept of abjection from gender studies, this article examines how and why a group of low-income, USA-born Dominican and Puerto Rican middle-school boys constructed masculine identities by invoking and repudiating homosexuality. Ethnographic data from a 2.5-year study indicate that the abjection of homosexuality was a place of performativity wherein the boys utilised their bodies, cultural referents, and bilingualism to delineate masculinity, reiterate heteronormativity, and distance themselves from homosexuals, who they perceived as a threat to their sexuality, personal safety, and physical dominance. At school, the boys enacted a hypermasculine, heteronormative variant of their ethno-racial …

Constructing A Moderate Multiracial Coalition In "America's Most Diverse City": Kevin Johnson And Coalition Politics In Sacramento, Corey Cook

Corey Cook

Purpose - The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to the growing academic literature on "post-racial" African American leadership by exploring the election and reelection of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. Johnson is emblematic of the current generation of young African American leaders: politically moderate, less likely to employ overt racial appeals, and able to assemble a multiethnic political coalition. Design/methodology/approach - This chapter utilizes a combination of semi-structured interviews and multivariate quantitative analysis of an original dataset to reveal both the diversity of the Johnson coalition and the high support for Johnson's candidacy in Sacramento's African American community. Findings …

Leading From Behind The Gap: Post-Racial Politics And The Pedagogy Of Black Studies, Seneca Vaught

Seneca Vaught

An Associated Press Poll released on the eve of the 2012 presidential election revealed that more Americans are overtly racist today than four years ago.

Recognizing New Syrian National Coalition Alone Won’T End War In Syria, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Those who doubt Lakhdar Brahimi’s assessment of the crisis in Syria ought to rethink their position. His ostensibly naïve initiative for a ceasefire over the Eid holidays might have been a brilliant maneuver that ended the existence of the Syrian National Council, the previously prominent face of the Syrian opposition. Before proposing an ambitious plan of six or one hundred points like his predecessor, Brahimi wanted to make sure that there are reliable representatives of both sides who can exert influence and control over their subordinates. After visiting Russia and China, he proposed, from Tehran, that both the opposition forces …

Did Teachers’ Race And Verbal Ability Matter In The 1960’S? Coleman Revisited, Ronald Ehrenberg, Dominic Brewer

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Our paper reanalyzes data from the classic 1966 study Equality of Educational Opportunity, or Coleman Report. It addresses whether teacher characteristics, including race and verbal ability, influenced "synthetic gain scores" of students (mean test scores of upper grade students in a school minus mean test scores of lower grade students in a school), in the context of an econometric model that allows for the possibility that teacher characteristics in a school are endogenously determined. We find that verbal aptitude scores of teachers influenced synthetic gain scores for both black and white students. Verbal aptitude mattered as much for black teachers …

Who Is The Syrian Opposition?, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Since the start of the uprising in Syria, countries supporting the opposition groups wanted to unify them. They organized a series of the so-called “Friends of Syria” conferences one after another only to adjourn without realizing their objective. In most cases, the meetings created more discord than opportunities for unity.

Why Is The U.S.-Islamic World Relation So Fragile?, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Can Non-Violent Resistance And Armed Rebellion Co-Exist?, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Social Change in Arab Societies

Two Tales Of A City: Nineteenth-Century Black Philadelphia, Nick Salvatore

Nick Salvatore

[Excerpt] In the tension between Forging Freedom and Roots of Violence certain themes present themselves for further research and thought. Neither volume successfully analyzes the historical roots of the African-American class structure. This is especially evident in each book's treatment of the black middling orders. While neither defines the category with clarity, their basic assumption that small shopkeepers and regularly employed workers were critical to the community's ability to withstand some of the worst shocks of racism is important. The clash between these books also raises questions concerning the role of pre-industrial cultural values in the transition to industrial capitalism. …