Submitted by Amanda Ogus on Wed, 07/18/2007 - 2:45pm
in
- Racialicious reports on a new game, “Without Prejudice”, in which five
judges must decide which contestant deserves a $25,000 prize. Hosted by psychotherapist Robi Ludwig and
working with partners like GLAAD and National Council of La Raza, “Without
Prejudice” asks the five contestants to be honest about their lives and the
judges must narrow down these contestants based on any reason. The show hope to teach viewers about prejudice, and the affiliated website features a number of educational resources on the subject. There are also discussion guides for starting
conversations about prejudice. After the
pilot episode premiered last night, The New York Times reports that the show is
anything but “without prejudice": each participant seems to have his own biases
that are hard to miss. Check it out for
yourself on Tuesdays on the GSN. - The New York Times profiles younger members of the New York immigrant community, as well as its support of the DREAM Act. Many of these
children of undocumented workers are legal citizens, born in the US. Not all are registered to vote, but they could be a powerful voice on behalf of their parents in the U.S. and local politics. Some groups are trying to gather support there for
the DREAM Act, a provision of which has been added as
an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill (thanks,
ImmigrationProf Blog!). In this
amendment, undocumented residents of military age who arrived in the US before age 16 and could immediately enter a
path to citizenship if they serve at least two years in the armed forces. The Boston Globe has an update of the bill's progress. - In a review of over 100 studies, The Boston Globe reports that black women are less healthy because of the pressures of racial discrimination (thanks, RaceWire!). In one study, black women who indicated that
racism was a source of stress in their lives developed more plaque in their
carotid arteries – an early sign of heart disease – than black women who
didn’t. These studies could reshape
racism as a public health problem. These
findings come at a time of severe racial disparities in American health care. African Americans face a higher risk than any
other racial group of dying from heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and
hypertension. These health disparities
are exacerbated by lack of access to quality health care and health
insurance. Higher poverty rates and
lower wages also hinder progress in equality. Check out our fact sheet about African Americans and Opportunity. - DMI Blog reports on Rinku Sen’s reflection on the possible
unity between immigrants and US.-born Blacks, Latinos, Asians and American
Indians. She looks at the origin of the
term “people of color”, and how it has affected identity in political
action. In her experiences
as an advocate working in partnership with multiracial organizations, she felt it necessary to “expand [her] identity
in a way that tied [her] to Black people as part of their rebellion.” Sen confronts the impact the term has on our immigration debate, and asks whether immigrants fall under the definition of
“people of color.” At the end of the day,
she acknowledges that she cannot decide this question, but expresses that a
positive immigrant policy will include dialogue on race and color as well as
nationality and class.Our view:
The best way to achieve fair legislature and rights for
immigrants is to understand the common struggles we all face in achieving
equality. “People of color” everywhere
want the same basic rights – better education, living conditions, wages, and
health care – and the only way to achieve anything is to recognize this common
struggle. We’re all in this together,
and achieving opportunity for one group will be best fought with many partners.
