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Reforming Immigration Enforcement to Better Protect Children and Families

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:13:47 -0500

Each year, tens of thousands of people enter the United States seeking refuge from poverty, war, political or religious persecution, or human rights abuses. Among the most vulnerable of these immigrants are children who enter the country without a parent.

In 2007, more than 8,000 unaccompanied children were held in U.S. custody, according to the Women's Refuge Commission.

The United States has long made it a priority of immigration policy to reunite families. The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended earlier policies that prioritized immigrants from Europe and replaced them with a system that prioritized family immigration.

However, current immigration enforcement has had devastating effects on families. Once detained, children are held in border patrol stations for weeks, often without blankets, showers or adequate nutrition. Furthermore, children are often forced to navigate through the immigration system alone, with about 50 percent appearing in court without an attorney.

Civil Rights Book Club: 'Random Family' by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:02:16 -0500

"Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx" is an honest, heartfelt, and deeply moving story that follows the lives of an extended family. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc conducted extensive research and interviews with Lourdes, her daughter Jessica, daughter-in-law Coco, and all of their boyfriends and children over a 10-year period.

LeBlanc allows the family members to tell their stories as they see and live them, and in the process, pushes past statistics to put real, human faces on issues of poverty, teenage motherhood, abuse, and the drug world.

The Civil Rights Book Club aims to provide context and provoke discussion about today's top social justice concerns. Each week, we profile a book, a movie, or other media that represent the diversity of the contemporary social justice movement. You can help support The Leadership Conference by purchasing Book Club selections through the Amazon.com link on our website.

Rights Groups Urge Congress to Fix Broken Civil Rights Commission

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:56:08 -0500

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has become harmfully politicized and has strayed from its mission to protect the civil rights of Americans. That was the message that the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the ACLU, and a coalition other civil and human rights groups presented at a November 18 congressional briefing.

The groups called for reforms that would broaden the commission's mandate so that it can better investigate and address civil rights issues and work to strengthen U.S. commitments on human rights. In particular, they are seeking a change in the way that members are appointed to the commission to ensure that commissioners remain independent. Currently, members are appointed by Congress and the president and are not required to undergo a confirmation process.

The commission was created with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 as an independent fact-finding body charged with investigating and reporting on civil rights and making recommendations to the federal government on how to fix the problems it uncovered. Through its fact-finding work, it helped lay the foundation for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Over the past few years, however, the commission has taken positions hostile to civil rights issues, such as opposing the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act in 2006.

Judge Rules in Favor of Homeowners Impacted by Hurricane Katrina

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:16:55 -0500

Yesterday, a federal judge ruled in favor of Hurricane Katrina victims who claimed much of the worst flood damage was a result of negligence by the Army Corps of Engineers, an important victory for many of those impacted by the storm. The case was the first to find the government responsible for damages from the storm.

Lawyers representing the victims argued that the Army Corps not only failed to properly maintain the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a navigation canal that connects New Orleans' inner harbor with the Gulf of Mexico, but actually made matters worse with what actions it did take. In particular, they argued that the Army Corps' actions were responsible for killing off marshes, eroding the banks, and doubling the channel width, all of which provided a way for the waters from Katrina to flood the city.

The court's ruling may have a significant impact on many people impacted by the storm. Eighty thousand people lived in the area covered by the ruling, many of whom may be able to join a class action lawsuit based upon the verdict. The Army Corps has estimated that such cases could lead to up to $500 billion in damages being awarded to people who lost their homes in the storm.

Civil Rights Groups Seek Urgent Response to U.S. Jobs Crisis

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:06:13 -0500

Civil rights and progressive organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, the AFL-CIO, and the Center for Community Change, have joined the Economic Policy Institute in calling attention to the urgent need to address the current jobs crisis in light of new unemployment data released for October 2009.

The national jobs crisis has become a major barrier to progress in our country. Without job security, families will continue to lose their homes and will stop saving for their own retirement or their children's education. Job security is also essential because the decisions and sacrifices made by the families hit the hardest today will have lasting repercussions for years to come. For example, young adults who must work to support their families instead of attending school will find themselves disadvantaged when competing for work in the future.

Civil Rights Link Roundup: Addressing the Jobs Crisis, Legal Services Corp., and the Redskins

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:16:27 -0500

Here are a few interesting civil rights related items:

Civil rights groups are pushing the Obama administration to address the job crisis - The New York Times
Editorial: Congress should fully fund the Legal Services Corp, which provides legal services to low-income people - The Washington Post
The Supreme Court declines to hear arguments in case challenging the Redskins name - USA Today

Senate to Vote on President Obama’s First Judicial Nominee David Hamilton

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:10:29 -0500

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow on the confirmation of President Obama's first nominee to the federal courts, Judge David Hamilton, who was nominated eight months ago for a seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Hamilton's nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 4, but his confirmation vote has been delayed unnecessarily since then.

Despite a distinguished record and bipartisan support, Judge Hamilton may face a Republican filibuster. Senators James Inhofe, R. Okla., and Jeff Sessions, R. Ala., have pledged to vote against taking up Hamilton's confirmation and have urged their colleagues to do the same.

The delaying tactics used against Judge Hamilton's nomination are one example of the obstructionist tactics that have been used to block President Obama's judicial and executive nominees this year. Civil rights groups argue that it is particularly troubling that these tactics are being applied to Judge Hamilton, who has proven to be an uncontroversial jurist earning high praise and a wide range of support throughout his career. Judge Hamilton has served for 15 years as a federal district judge in his home state of Indiana where he has earned the support of both of his state's senators, Democrat Evan Bayh and Republican Richard Lugar.

In a floor statement today in support of Judge Hamilton's nomination, Sen. Lugar said, "I believe our confirmation decisions should not be based on partisan considerations, much less on how we hope or predict a given judicial nominee will rule on particular issues of public moment or controversy. I have instead tried to evaluate judicial candidates on whether they have the requisite intellect, experience, character and temperament that Americans deserve from their judges, and also on whether they indeed appreciate the vital, and yet vitally limited, role of the federal judiciary faithfully to interpret and apply our laws, rather than seeking to impose their own policy views. I support Judge Hamilton's nomination because he is superbly qualified under both sets of criteria."

Civil Rights Book Club: 'The Revolt of the Cockroach People' by Oscar Zeta Acosta

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:45:58 -0500

"The Revolt of the Cockroach People" is a fictionalized semi-autobiographical account of Oscar Zeta Acosta's involvement in the Chicano anti-war protest of the Vietnam War in 1970.

The novel also covers a variety of conflicts between the protagonist, Buffalo Zeta Brown, an attorney with his own share of personal problems, and the religious, educational, and legal systems of East Los Angeles, CA at the time. Brown represents rioters who were unjustly indicted and in the process draws significant attention to many Latino issues, but also sacrifices his own health in the process.

Acosta's novel shows how one of the largest Chicano protest movements was fought both in the streets and in the courts.

The Civil Rights Book Club aims to provide context and provoke discussion about today's top social justice concerns. Each week, we profile a book, a movie, or other media that represent the diversity of the contemporary social justice movement. You can help support The Leadership Conference by purchasing Book Club selections through the Amazon.com link on our website.

Foreclosures Hit Black and Latino Communities Hard

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:29:53 -0500

A new William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) study finds that the foreclosure crisis has had a disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities – and that the recession has made it worse.

Black and Latino homeowners were more likely to be the victims of predatory lending during the peak of the housing boom. Fifty-five percent of Blacks and 46 percent of Latinos were issued subprime loans, even when most of them qualified for regular loans, according the WCVI's analysis of RealtyTrac data.

As a result, Blacks and Latinos were two-to-nine times more likely than White homeowners in high foreclosure regions like California, Nevada, and Florida to hold high-cost mortgage loans, putting them at greater risk of default and foreclosure. Higher rates of unemployment among Blacks and Latinos in the wake of a devastating recession only further aggravate such risk.

Home foreclosure often turns into a perpetual cycle because the foreclosure of one home lowers the value of other nearby homes. In order to stop this cycle, the WCVI study includes several policy recommendations:

Expand eligibility requirements for the Making Home Affordable program to target borrowers who are at a high risk of foreclosure;
Reform bankruptcy laws to enable restructuring of mortgage terms;
Underwrite Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages to allow private sector refinancing at a 4.5 percent interest rate;
Expand the Federal Tax Credit for first-time homebuyers to have a greater impact in more expensive markets.

Assistant Attorney General Perez Testifies on the Need for ENDA

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:01:43 -0500

Enacting legislation that would prevent employers from discriminating against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a top priority for the Obama administration, according to Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general, Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

"We cannot in good conscience stand by and watch unjustifiable discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals occur in the workplace without redress," Perez told members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions at a hearing last week on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). "We have come too far in our struggle for 'equal justice under the law' to remain silent or stoic."

As head of the Civil Rights Division, Perez oversees the enforcement of federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, disability, religion, and national origin, including the Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act.

New Report Finds Greater Diversity in U.S. Union Membership

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:32:44 -0500

The popular image of a typical union member in the United States has been of a middle-age White man working in a factory. While that may have been true a quarter century ago, it is far from accurate today, as a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) finds.

Almost half of unionized workers (45 percent) in 2008 were women, up from 35 percent in 1983, according to "The Changing Face of Labor 1983 - 2008." The report, which analyzes demographic trends in the union workforce over the last 25 years, predicts that, based on current trends, women will be the majority of union members before 2020.

The report also found that:

Latinos (12 percent) are the fastest growing ethnic group in the labor movement, up from just 5.8 percent in 1983.
Asians (4.6 percent) have nearly doubled as a percentage of the union workforce since 1989 (2.5 percent).
The share of Black workers in the unionized workforce has held fairly steady at 13 percent since 1983, while there has been a large decline in the representation of White workers in the same period.

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Sentencing Juveniles to Life Without Parole

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:01:11 -0500

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two separate cases to determine whether sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole for non-homicide crimes violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

Sullivan v. Florida is the case of Joe Sullivan, who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole 20 years ago at the age of 13. Graham v. Florida is the case of Terrance Jamar Graham, who violated parole at age 17 and was sentenced, without a trial, to life without parole. Both cases took place in Florida, one of only six states that have imprisoned juveniles for life without parole for non-homicide offenses.

Many civil rights groups, academics, and social scientists have spoken out against these sentencing practices. Charles Ogletree — who joined in a brief submitted by the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., in support of Graham and Sullivan — said that the Court should apply the same logic to these case it used to decide Roper v. Simmons, which struck down capital punishment for minors as unconstitutional.

"The same transient qualities of adolescence that the Court relied upon in Roper make it similarly inappropriate to subject a teenager to a permanent punishment of life in prison without parole. It is cruel and inaccurate, as the Court has recognized, to pass a final and irreversible judgment on a person whose character is still forming and undergoing significant changes," Ogletree said.

More info on the cases.

President Obama Commits to Greater Cooperation Between Federal Government and Tribal Nations

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:24:23 -0500

Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Obama held a historic White House Tribal Nations Conference on November 5 and made it clear that he is committed to ensuring that the needs and concerns of Tribal Nations are addressed by the federal government.

At the conference, the president signed a directive to every cabinet agency asking them to provide a detailed plan — within 90 days — on how to implement Executive Order 13175 — "Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments."

"In the final years of his administration, President Clinton issued an executive order [13175] establishing regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration between your nations and the federal government. But over the past nine years, only a few agencies have made an effort to implement that executive order — and it's time for that to change," said Obama upon signing the directive.

Civil Rights Book Club: 'Let's Get Free' by Paul Butler

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:10:31 -0500

After years as a federal prosecutor, Paul Butler became convinced that American criminal justice system is fundamentally broken, ruining more lives than it protects. In his book, "Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice," Butler offers a lively and interesting analysis of crime and punishment in the United States and provides a powerful new vision of justice.

He explores the limitations of working within a "corrupt" system and discusses a variety of provocative proposals for how ordinary citizens protest a system that is unjust.

Higher Achievement-Baltimore Launches First After School Program

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:40:25 -0500

This week, Higher Achievement-Baltimore held a commencement ceremony in honor of its very first class of After School Academy scholars.

Higher Achievement is a non-profit organization that provides middle school youth with academic enrichment programs and high schoool prep. It has been operating in the Washington, D.C., area for nearly 35 years and has helped thousands of school children improve their grades, test scores, school attendance, and confidence. The opening of programs in Baltimore is part of Higher Achievement's national expansion.

In this video Erin Hodge-Williams, executive director of Higher Achievement-Baltimore, and a few of the Baltimore scholars explain the importance of the program and how it works:

Visit the Higher Achievement-Baltimore website to learn more or to volunteer.

Unjust Census Amendment Dropped

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:18:32 -0500

The U.S. Senate blocked a controversial amendment today that would have required the Census Bureau to belatedly add a citizenship question to the 2010 Census questionnaire.

In voting for cloture on the Commerce Justice and Science (CJS) FY10 Appropriations bill, a majority of senators effectively stopped the amendment from coming up for a vote. If approved, the amendment would have asked respondents to identify if they are a U.S. citizen and would have required the reprinting of Census questionnaires at an estimated cost of $1 billion.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) welcomed the decision. "The civil rights community won an important battle today in the fight for a fair and accurate 2010 census that counts every person in the United States as required by the U.S. Constitution," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson.

Today in Civil Rights History: Shirley Chisholm’s becomes First Black Woman Elected to Congress

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:00:09 -0500

Today marks the anniversary of Shirley Chisholm's election to Congress in 1968. Chisholm, a Democrat who represented New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983, was the first Black woman elected to Congress. In 1972, Chisholm became the first Black woman from a major political party to run for president.

Before her political career, Chisholm earned a BA from Brooklyn College and an MA from Columbia University in elementary education and became known as an expert on early childhood education. She worked as a nursery school teacher, a director of a nursery and a child care center, and an educational consultant. She also volunteered with organizations like the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League and the League of Women Voters, which eventually led to her political career.

Chisholm first ran for the New York State Assembly, where she served from 1964 to 1968. When asked why she became involved in politics, she said, "The people wanted me." She then decided to run for Congress in 1968 with the slogan "unbought and unbossed," which accurately reflected her strong personality. She won the congressional seat in an upset victory over Independent candidate James Farmer and Republican candidate Ralph Carrano.

Civil Rights Groups Urge Sen. Reid Hold Vote on Dawn Johnsen

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:42:47 -0500

Nearly 40 national civil rights organizations recently sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D. Nev., stating their concern over the obstructionist tactics used to stall Dawn Johnsen's nomination and urged him to bring the nomination to a vote quickly.

President Obama nominated Dawn Johnsen to head the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in February. Her nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19 and has been pending ever since.

The OLC is a critical agency that advises the executive branch on the constitutionality of proposed policies, legislation, and executive orders. Johnsen is well qualified for this position, having served in the OLC as a deputy assistant attorney general from 1993 to 1996 and as the acting assistant attorney general from 1997 to 1998. She is currently a professor of constitutional law at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University.

"Professor Johnsen has the experience, the integrity, and the intellect to head this critical office. She should be confirmed without further delay…We urge you to use the full force of your office to bring this nomination to a vote at the earliest possible date," the letter states.

Read the letter (PDF)

Economy Track Shows How the Recession Hits Communities Differently

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:01:46 -0500

The economic hardships caused by current recession reach far and wide, but some communities are experiencing the negative effects of the recession more acutely than national averages reveal, according to data available through a new online tool from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank.

EPI's new Economy Track website allows you to see how the recession affects different industries and states, and also people of different races, gender, and education level.

For instance, though the overall U.S. unemployment rate is 9.8 percent, it is 15.4 percent for African Americans and 12.7 percent for Hispanics. And while the 9.6 percent unemployment for workers in service industries is near the national average, the situation for blue-collar workers – 15.3 percent unemployment – is even more dire.

You can find a broad range of comparative statistics on Economy Track –and all of the data is downloadable and updated on a regular basis.

Civil Rights Link Roundup: Maryland Dropouts, Jerry Miller, Enforcing the New Hate Crimes Law

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:41:46 -0500

Here are a few interesting civil rights related items:

Editorial: Maryland should make it harder to dropout by raising the dropout age to 18 - The Washington Post
Jerry Miller's journalism has helped to bring justice in civil rights-era murder cases - Editor & Publisher
Memo urges all U.S. attorneys to enforce the recently passed hate crimes law - U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division