SOC6

Op-Ed Columnist - The Rage Is Not About Health Care - NYTimes.com If Obama’s first legislative priority had been immigration or financial reform or climate change, we would have seen the same trajectory. The conjunction of a black president and a female speaker of the House — topped off by a wise Latina on the Supreme Court and a powerful gay Congressional committee chairman — would sow fears of disenfranchisement among a dwindling and threatened minority in the country no matter what policies were in play. It’s not happenstance that Frank, Lewis and Cleaver — none of them major Democratic players in the health care push — received a major share of last weekend’s abuse. When you hear demonstrators chant the slogan “Take our country back!,” these are the people they want to take the country back from.

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Allegedly Granted Guest's Discriminatory Request - ABC News On March 12, 2010, the family came for dinner at the hotel's Grill Restaurant. Tranchant was working there but was prevented by immediate supervisors that night from serving the family dinner, the suit says. Tranchant said in the suit that he "was humiliated, embarrassed, frightened, intimidated, subject to undeserved shame and suffered severe emotional distress." Tranchant says in his suit that he has sought medical and psychological treatment. He declined to comment.

Obama slams Arizona immigration bill - CNN.com Washington (CNN) -- President Obama on Friday criticized a controversial new immigration bill in Arizona, calling it "misguided." "Our failure to act responsible at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others. That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe," the president said at a naturalization ceremony for 24 members of the military.

Arizona immigration bill ignites outcry from students and Latino advocates While a poll indicates a 70 percent approval rating for Senate Bill 1070, the tough immigration legislation awaiting the governor's veto or signature also has unleashed a groundswell of activism among Arizona's young people and Latino advocates at a level not seen since immigration marches in 2006.

About Us :: racismreview.com RacismReview is intended to provide a credible and reliable source of information for journalists, students and members of the general public who are seeking solid evidence-based research and analysis of “race,” racism, ethnicity, and immigration issues, especially as they undergird and shape U.S. society within a global setting. We also provide substantive research and analysis on local, national, and global resistance to racial and ethnic oppression, including the many types of antiracist activism.

The 'Other' Laughs Back: Humour and Resistance in Anti-racist Comedy -- Weaver 44 (1): 31 -- Sociology This article outlines the ‘reverse discourses’ of black, African-American and Afro-Caribbean comedians in the UK and USA. These reverse discourses appear in comic acts that employ the sign-systems of embodied and cultural racism but develop, or seek to develop, a reverse semantic effect. I argue the humour of reverse discourse is significant in relation to racism because it forms a type of resistance that can, first, act rhetorically against racist meaning and so attack racist truth claims and points of ambivalence. Second, and connected to this, it can rhetorically resolve the ambiguity of the reverse discourse itself. Alongside this, and paradoxically, reverse discourses also contain a polysemic element that can, at times, reproduce racism. The article seeks to develop a means of analysing the relationship between racist and non-racist meaning in such comedic performance.

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - Thinking Allowed, 10/03/2010 Also, from Richard Pryor to Lenny Henry - how humour can reinforce or subvert racial stereotypes. The sociologist Simon Weaver tells Laurie about his research into the nature and variety of anti-racist comedy.

Illegal Immigrants May Face New Curbs in Arizona - NYTimes.com The police would be authorized to arrest immigrants unable to show documents allowing them to be in the country and the legislation would leave drivers open to sanctions in some cases for knowingly transporting an illegal immigrant, even a relative. It expressly forbids cities from adopting “sanctuary” policies that restrict the police and public workers from immigration enforcement, though it was a matter of debate if any cities had such policies.

Confederate history is about race - CNN.com Historically, Confederate versions of the past and Confederate symbols have meant opposition to equal rights for all Americans. In officially recognizing Confederate History Month, Gov. McDonnell is asking Virginians to join together in celebration of this history of white supremacy.

Soc 206 Spring 10 Midterm Four Take-Home Question DUE Monday, April 19, IN CLASS Discuss the experience of women, particularly as their lives are impacted by poverty and ethnic minority status. This question is worth 12 points. The suggested length is two pages double-spaced. As always, extra credit points will be awarded for completeness (thoroughly answering the question), quality of writing, and critical thinking. You may also include personal observations and external sources as well. For full credit, you must reference ALL the following readings AND show knowledge of lecture material: In Race and Ethnicity in the United States, Higginbotham and Andersen: 46. Heidi Barajas and Jennifer Pierce, "The Significance of Race and Gender in School Success among Latinas and Latinos in College." 31. Avis A. Jones DeWeever and Heidi Hartmann, "Abandoned before the Storms: The Glaring Disaster of Gender, Race, and Class Disparities in the Gulf." 40. Kathryn Edin and Maria K...

Lexington: Sex and the single black woman | The Economist As incarceration rates exploded between 1970 and 2007, the proportion of US-born black women aged 30-44 who were married plunged from 62% to 33%. “I thought I was a catch,” sighs an attractive black female doctor at a hospital in Washington, DC. Black men with good jobs know they are “a hot commodity”, she observes. When there are six women chasing one man, “It’s like, what are you going to do extra, to get his attention?” Some women offer sex on the first date, she says, which makes life harder for those who prefer to combine romance with commitment. She complains about a recent boyfriend, an electrician whom she had been dating for about six months, whose phone started ringing late at night. It turned out to be his other girlfriend. Pressed, he said he didn’t realise the relationship was meant to be exclusive.

Our Racial Interior | The American Prospect Other studies have found that test takers under identity threat show physiological signs of anxiety -- increasing heart rate and higher blood pressure -- even when they say they don't feel anxious. Steele refers to this pattern of denial as "trying to slay a ghost in the room." The Herculean effort of trying to disprove a stereotype, Steele argues, "leaves little mental capacity free for anything else we're doing." These cognitive effects, he explains, are as potent a limit on the life chances of minorities as the segregated institutions of his youth in Chicago.

Red Room | Where the Writers Are Tim Wise's Blog - White privilege