GLAAD Condemns Jerry Lewis for Anti-Gay Slur

While actor and comedian Jerry Lewis successfully raised $63.7 million at his 42nd annual telethon benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), he also caused a bit of controversy. During the 18th hour of the MDA Telethon, a disheveled Lewis wandered about the stage trying to dodge the cameraman, and he said, "Your family has come to see you ... you remember Bart, your oldest son ... Jesse, the illiterate f**." As a result of Lewis' remark, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) President Neil G. Giuliano has asked him to publicly apologize for using the slur "fag." According to a statement on GLAAD's web site, Giuliano expressed intense criticism toward the well-known comedian. "Jerry Lewis' on-air use of this kind of anti-gay slur is simply unacceptable," said Giuliano. "It also feeds a climate of hatred and intolerance that contributes to putting our community in harm's way. Our nation's media have done an admirable job this year holding public figures accountable for their use of anti-gay slurs, and I hope they continue to do so with Mr. Lewis." Read more.

Half of Blacks Work Low-Paying Jobs, New Study Finds

Last July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the unemployment rate among blacks was 8 percent, nearly twice the rate for whites. But according to a new study from the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education, more than half of blacks who have jobs work for low pay with no retirement or health benefits. The study, "Job Quality and Black Workers: An Examination of the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York," used data from the 2000 U.S. census to analyze low-paying jobs among blacks. Even though the study uses seven-year-old statistics, Steven Pitts, a labor-policy specialist at the center and author of the report, argues that the findings are still relevant in 2007. The Labor Center found that more than half (56.5 percent) of the country's black workers earn low wages or $12.87 per hour or less. In comparison, 43.9 percent of whites, 44.6 percent of Asians and a staggering 68.7 percent of Latinos work in low-wage jobs. The report contends that these figures for blacks cannot be attributed to part-time employment because more than half of full-time black workers earn low wages at 54 percent. Read more.

Anti-Semitism in Europe

There's a new outbreak of hatred toward 300,000 British Jews brewing in and around Europe and many other points south and east of the continent. Synagogues have been vandalized; Jewish schoolboys are pushed and shoved while riding public transportation; and rabbis are at risk of brutal attacks at knifepoint. This new wave of anti-Semitism against British Jews has forced many to raise millions to provide private security for their weddings and community events. However, some Jews say the anti-Semitism of today is mounting into something much more dangerous. It has become a new crusade to eradicate Jews from the region. Read more.

Mexico's President Blasts U.S. Immigration Policy

Although he's been a long supporter of the United States, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has a few harsh words for U.S. immigration policies. During his first state-of-the nation address at the National Palace in Mexico City, Calderon denounced U.S. immigration policy, including the deportations that have divided up many families, sometimes forcing U.S.-born children to build new lives in Mexico by themselves. His speech, which earned him a standing ovation, promised to fight harder to protect the rights of millions of Mexicans in the United States, many of whom are undocumented workers, saying, "Mexico does not end at its borders. Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico". Source: AJC.com

Culture and Mental Health

Seung Hui Cho, the 23-year-old Virginia Tech student who shot and killed 32 people before turning the gun on himself during a campus rampage last spring, has become the focus of a debate about mental disorders and how they relate to culture. According to recent reports, Cho's psychological problems were evident from the age of 8 when his family emigrated from South Korea to the United States. Psychiatrists who specialize in culturally sensitive treatment say there is still a stigma attached to mental illness in countries outside of the United States, whereas in America, it's more socially acceptable to discuss sensitive topics such as mental illness. Experts say these cultural differences can have profound implications for their access to treatment. In many cases, people will not receive treatment. Last week, a panel discussion appointed by Democratic Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine wrote that "the stigmatization of mental health problems remains a serious roadblock in seeking treatment in the United States, too, but in Korea the issue is even more relevant. Getting help for such concerns is only reluctantly acknowledged as necessary." Read more.

Govt. No Help With Subprime Mortgages

Don't expect the government to help you get out of a subprime mortgage. Lawmakers may have lots of ideas and plans up their sleeves, attending hearings where they openly share their concerns and assess blame, but there's no consensus on how to stop the foreclosures. Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, told committee members that mortgage-related legislation will take a little more time. "We may have as many as 1 million to 3 million people who could lose their homes, not because they lost their jobs, not because the economy collapsed, but because they got bad deals on mortgages." But is time already running out? U.S. financial markets and markets around the globe have already been shaken by fears about spreading credit problems that began with home mortgages. Read more.

For more information on subprime mortgages, check out DiversityInc's July/August 2007 issue.

Muslim Americans Want End to Stereotypes

Muslim Americans are ready to put stereotypes behind them. While attending the largest Muslim annual convention, Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told 30,000 attendees that Muslim Americans are ready for a fresh start after six years of prosecution. "Muslim Americans feel an increasing level of tension and scrutiny in contemporary society," said Mattson. Six years after the 9/11 attacks, Muslim Americans feel people should be able to distinguish between mainstream Muslims and the radical fringe. Mattson and other Muslim leaders say it's time for the United States to stop treating every American Muslim as a suspect of terrorism. However, Muslim Americans say they expect attacks to worsen in the presidential election and anticipate candidates to criticize Islam in an effort to prove that they are tough on terrorism. Read more.

Former Slave Pardoned by NAACP 

Gabriel Prosser, the man who was hanged for leading a failed slave revolt in 1800, has just won a symbolic gubernatorial pardon. Prosser and 34 supporters were all executed in Richmond, Va., on Aug. 30, 1800, after two slaves revealed the planned exodus in Richmond, known as Gabriel's Rebellion. In an informal pardon, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Prosser was motivated by "his devotion to the ideals of the American Revolution — it was worth risking death to secure liberty." Kaine told the Virginia chapter of the NAACP that Gabriel's cause marked the end of slavery. "It is important to acknowledge that history favorably regards Gabriel's cause while consigning legions who sought to keep him and others in chains to be forgotten," Kaine wrote to the NAACP, which sought the pardon. Read more.

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