Some California charter schools discriminate in admissions, ACLU report says

By | August 8th, 2016|Education|

Tom Brown was scrolling through his news feed on Monday

afternoon when he found the school he runs on a list that made him gasp.

Ceiba College Preparatory Academy in Watsonville, south of Santa Cruz, was one of 253 California charter schools flagged for discriminatory admissions practices in a new

Comments Off on Some California charter schools discriminate in admissions, ACLU report says

Squeezed garment factories use check cashing services to mask true wages, workers say

By | August 1st, 2016|Employment & Housing|

After a week of 10-hour days folding and packaging clothing, Jesus Francisco Moreno walked out of the factory in downtown Los Angeles on

a recent Monday afternoon to collect his $450 in wages. Holding a personal check, with no required deductions, he went to a white,

Comments Off on Squeezed garment factories use check cashing services to mask true wages, workers say

He was homeless — but to get help, the rules said he had to prove it

By | August 1st, 2016|Employment & Housing|

After being discharged from detox, Rory Gallegos had nowhere to go. So he made the street his home.

A year later, he thought he had found a home when the Hillview Mental Health Center in Pacoima offered him an apartment with onsite mental health services.

Read more in the Los Angeles Times.

Comments Off on He was homeless — but to get help, the rules said he had to prove it

Critics See Efforts by Counties and Towns to Purge Minority Voters From Rolls

By | August 1st, 2016|Intergroup Relations|

SPARTA, Ga. — When the deputy sheriff’s patrol cruiser pulled up beside him as he walked down Broad Street at sunset last August, Martee Flournoy, a 32-year-old black man, was both confused and rattled. He had reason: In this corner of rural Georgia, African-Americans are arrested at a rate far higher than

Comments Off on Critics See Efforts by Counties and Towns to Purge Minority Voters From Rolls

Bill would prevent LGBT discrimination at religious schools

By | August 1st, 2016|Education, LGBTQ+|

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The conflict between religious freedom and gay rights has a new battleground — California’s religious colleges and universities.

A bill moving through the Legislature would remove a longstanding exemption from anti-discrimination laws for religious institutions, potentially exposing the schools to civil rights lawsuits from students and employees.

Read more in the Washington Post.

Comments Off on Bill would prevent LGBT discrimination at religious schools

Teachers, dishwashers, engineers: These are the people who moved to the U.S. without their parents

By | July 29th, 2016|Immigration|

In the past five years, more than 100,000 children and teens have crossed the border between the United States and Mexico without their parents.

Gaspar Marcos, an 18-year-old who lives in Los Angeles, is one of them. A recent story about how he works until 3 a.m. and gets to school by 8 a.m. generated a tremendous response.

Read

Comments Off on Teachers, dishwashers, engineers: These are the people who moved to the U.S. without their parents

Is a Police Shooting a Crime? It Depends on the Officer’s Point of View

By | July 29th, 2016|Police & Community|

The black teenager had just reached into his waistband for what the New York City police officer assumed was a gun. As the officer, Richard Haste, later told a Bronx grand jury, he thought he was about to die.

In that instant, Officer Haste pictured Thanksgiving, with everyone

Comments Off on Is a Police Shooting a Crime? It Depends on the Officer’s Point of View

Why the gap between old and new black civil rights activists is widening

By | July 28th, 2016|Intergroup Relations|

As waves of protesters gathered in Atlanta night after night to condemn the fatal police shootings of African American men, civil rights veteran Andrew Young stepped in to provide some encouragement – not to activists, but to police officers.

“Those are some unlovable little brats out there,” the 84-year-old former Atlanta mayor and U.S. ambassador said

Comments Off on Why the gap between old and new black civil rights activists is widening

When passions run high over civil rights and race, these Justice Department mediators try to keep the peace

By | July 22nd, 2016|Conflict Resolution, Police & Community|

Paul Monteiro saw the reports on social media — unrest over a black man killed at the hands of police in Baton Rouge — and quickly got on the phone with his regional director in Texas.

“What can you tell me?” he asked. “What more have you learned that can inform how we sort of figure

Comments Off on When passions run high over civil rights and race, these Justice Department mediators try to keep the peace