Gay People Around the World Face Bias, Abuse and Violence, a Study Reports; Reuters via New York Times, 12/15/11

Reuters, New York Times; Gay People Around the World Face Bias, Abuse and Violence, a Study Reports:

"Gay and transgender people in all regions face discrimination and violence, including killings, rape and torture because of their orientation, and risk the death penalty in at least five countries, the United Nations said Thursday. In its first official report on the issue, the United Nations said that in addition to spontaneous “street” violence, people perceived as being members of a sexual minority may be targets of organized abuse, “including by religious extremists, paramilitary groups, neo-Nazis and extreme nationalists.”"

U.S. Urges Creativity by Colleges to Gain Diversity; New York Times, 12/11

Sam Dillon, New York Times; U.S. Urges Creativity by Colleges to Gain Diversity:

"The Obama administration on Friday urged colleges and universities to get creative in improving racial diversity at their campuses, throwing out a Bush-era interpretation of recent Supreme Court rulings that limited affirmative action in admissions.

The new guidelines issued by the Departments of Justice and Education replaced a 2008 document that essentially warned colleges and universities against considering race at all. Instead, the guidelines focus on the wiggle room in the court decisions involving the University of Michigan, suggesting that institutions use other criteria — students’ socioeconomic profiles, residential instability, the hardships they have overcome — that are often proxies for race."

A Lifetime of Battling Bias; New York Times, 11/13/11

Harvey Araton, New York Times; A Lifetime of Battling Bias:

"In Richard Lapchick’s long battle against racial bias in sports, numbers have been his oral weapon of choice, reliable and irrefutable, though admittedly not the most effective means of commanding a room."

College Diversity Nears Its Last Stand; New York Times, 10/15/11

Adam Liptak, New York Times; College Diversity Nears Its Last Stand:

"Judge Sparks in the end ruled that the Grutter decision meant that Texas was allowed to take account of Ms. Fisher’s race. Now her case is hurtling toward the Supreme Court. That could provide a fresh opportunity to consider what we mean when we talk about diversity. It could also mean the end of affirmative action at public universities.

Ms. Fisher’s lawyers filed a petition seeking a Supreme Court review last month, and legal experts say the justices will probably agree to hear it, setting the stage for a decision by June. Such a decision, given changes in the membership of the court since 2003, is likely to cut back on if not eliminate the use of race in admissions decisions at public colleges and universities.

Diversity is the last man standing, the sole remaining legal justification for racial preferences in deciding who can study at public universities. Should the Supreme Court disavow it, the student body at the University of Texas and many other public colleges and universities would almost instantly become whiter and more Asian, and less black and Hispanic."

Medical Schools Neglect Gay and Gender Issues; New York Times, 11/10/11

Pauline W. Chen, M.D., New York Times; Medical Schools Neglect Gay and Gender Issues:

"A study published recently in The Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the situation has not changed much for young doctors. Researchers from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Medical Education Research Group at Stanford University School of Medicine surveyed medical school deans in the United States and Canada and asked about the curriculum devoted to topics like gender identity, coming out as gay and disparities in health care access for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients. While nearly all the students were learning to ask patients about the gender of their sexual partners, a majority of medical schools devoted only five hours to teaching anything more than that simple question. Fully one-third of schools allotted no time at all...

But while the federal government has recently announced several initiatives to address disparities in L.G.B.T. health care access, the study confirms that most medical schools are lagging behind. Those schools that do integrate the material into standing courses, offering electives or inviting outside experts to speak on topics like gay parenthood, lesbians’ health or the use of hormones in transitioning from one gender to the other."

Obama HRC Speech 2011: President Talks Gay Rights At Human Rights Campaign Dinner; HuffingtonPost.com, 10/1/11

Amanda Terkel, HuffingtonPost.com; Obama HRC Speech 2011: President Talks Gay Rights At Human Rights Campaign Dinner:

""We don't believe in standing silent when that happens. We don't believe in them being silent since. You want to be commander in chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it's not politically convenient. We don't believe in a small America. We believe in a big America -- a tolerant America, a just America, an equal America -- that values the service of every patriot."...

"I need your help to fight for equality, to pass a repeal of DOMA, to pass an inclusive employment non-discrimination bill, so that being gay is never again a fireable offensive in America," said Obama. "And I don't have to tell you, there are those who don't want to just stand in our way, but want to turn the clock back, who want to return to the days when gay people couldn't serve their country openly. Who reject the progress we've made. Who ... want to enshrine discrimination in state laws and constitutions -- efforts that we've got to work hard to oppose, because that's not what America should be about. We're not about restricting rights and restricting opportunity."

Obama also cited the White House summit he held to fight youth bullying, saying it was an issue his administration would continue to press."

The Freedom To Choose Your Pronoun; New York Times, 9/30/11

Jennifer Conlin, New York Times; The Freedom To Choose Your Pronoun:

"Though Google created the “other” option for privacy reasons rather than as a transgender choice, young supporters of preferred gender pronouns (or P.G.P.’s as they are called) could not help but rejoice. Katy is one of a growing number of high school and college students who are questioning the gender roles society assigns individuals simply because they have been born male or female.

“You have to understand, this has nothing to do with your sexuality and everything to do with who you feel like inside,” Katy said, explaining that at the start of every LGBTQQA meeting, participants are first asked if they would like to share their P.G.P.’s. “Mine are ‘she,’ ‘her’ and ‘hers’ and sometimes ‘they,’ ‘them’ and ‘theirs.’"

Leaders Sound Alarm for High School Class of 2012; Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 9/26/11

Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Diverse Issues in Higher Education; Leaders Sound Alarm for High School Class of 2012:

"Dr. Henry Lewis III, president of Florida Memorial University, said one of the biggest needs in education today is for more students to get educated in the so-called STEM fields.

“I think one of the areas that we’re failing in our education system is in the STEM disciplines,” Lewis said. “I’m a scientist, a pharmacist by training, and I’m keenly aware that science-based training is what we got to have in this information age that we’re in.”"

In El Paso, a Storm Over Benefits for Gay Partners; New York Times, 10/1/11

Brandi Grissom, New York Times; In El Paso, a Storm Over Benefits for Gay Partners:

"“When you look at cities that are thriving,” Mr. Ortega said, “those cities promote a culture of inclusiveness and openness.”...

All three of the city leaders who have been singled out said they plan to fight against the recall election because they want to send a message to El Pasoans and others that the city is progressive and inclusive."

Biracial Identity For America's Web-Slinging Hero; NPR's Tell Me More, 8/11/11

Amy Ta, NPR's Tell Me More; Biracial Identity For America's Web-Slinging Hero:

"To all the people who view this as a politically correct move or what have you, I assure you it's not," said Alonso. "Peter Parker for decades garnered fans of all races, sizes, creeds and colors. And we have no doubt that Miles Morales will do exactly the same thing. It's his heart that matters, not the color of his skin."

Alonso said what really excites him are letters from those sharing plans to go into comic stores for the first time to introduce their children to Spider-Man.

That applies to his family, too.

"I'm thrilled to be able to show Tito, my son, a Spider-Man whose last name is Morales. Call me selfish, but I think that's wonderful," said Alonso."

Hollywood Superheroes Losing The Fight For Diversity; NPR's Morning Edition, 8/9/11

John Ridley, NPR's Morning Edition; Hollywood Superheroes Losing The Fight For Diversity:

"Weaver found that white audiences tended to be racially selective with regard to romantic movies, but not necessarily when it came to other genres. So, sorry, Hollywood. You can't blame it on the ticket buyers."

[Interview with Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officer] The Birth of Miles Morales; ComicBookResources.com, 8/5/11

[Interview with Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officer] ComicBookResources.com; The Birth of Miles Morales:

"[ComicBookResources.com] On a personal level, you've drawn a lot on your own Latino heritage while working for Marvel with the Santerians characters being perhaps the most prominent example. What does it mean to have a character like Miles out there so prominently for you? Is this the kind of hero you feel you didn't have as a young comic fan?

[Joe Quesada:] Back in the '60s, my family was one of the first Latino families in our neighborhood. By the time I was old enough to play with the kids on my block, our neighborhood had grown into the proverbial melting pot. On any given summer day, you could find us, a ragtag crew composed of Asian, Black, Indian, Italian, Irish and Latino kids, playing stickball or hanging out on each other's stoops. I was very lucky as a young reader. My father exposed me to Marvel comics when I was 8 years old, and the reason I gravitated to them was because of characters like T'Challa and Luke Cage. While I'm not African American, as a Latino I could sense very early on that the guys at Marvel were writing stories about my world, about my friends and about my neighborhood. So in some ways I feel I did get characters like that from Marvel -- maybe not to the level of diversity we have today, but it was there nevertheless and significantly important to me."

My Very Own Captain America; New York Times, 7/29/11

[Op-Ed] Charles M. Blow, New York Times; My Very Own Captain America:

"So as “Captain America” ended and the credits began to roll, I managed a bit of a smile, the kind that turns up on the corners with a tinge of sadness. I smiled not for what I’d seen, but for what had not been shown, knowing that I would commit it to a column so that my grandfather and the many men like him would not be lost to the sanitized vision of America’s darker years.

This is my deed through words, for you, Grandpa. You’ll never be forgotten."

Diversity an elusive goal for Pittsburgh police force; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/25/11

Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Diversity an elusive goal for Pittsburgh police force:

"Some young minorities considering law enforcement seek work outside the city entirely, said city Detective Brian Johnson, who has spoken to college groups, promoting his line of work. It's not always an easy task.

"Among some segments of the African-American community, there is still a stigma attached to being black and a police officer," he said. "My answer is always, true change comes from within. All the more reason to join.""

Workplace Atmosphere Keeps Many In The Closet; Weekend Edition Sunday, 7/3/11

Jennifer Ludden, Weekend Edition Sunday; Workplace Atmosphere Keeps Many In The Closet:

"Sumberg also sees another force for change: Generation Y.

"We see they're coming out at a younger age," she says. "They're coming into the workplace having been out for a while. What they expect the workplace to be and how they expect their co-workers to act is going to hold companies to a higher standard."

Sumberg says it's not just employees who have much to gain. Gay- and lesbian-friendly companies will be able to retain top talent and make sure they're comfortable enough to perform at their peak."

You Left Out the Part About ...; New York Times, 6/8/11

Ta-Nehisi Coates, New York Times; You Left Out the Part About ... :

"In print, the X-Men are an elite team culled from a superpowered species of human. The mutants, as they are dubbed, are generally handled roughly by the rest of humanity and singled out for everything from enslavement to internment camps to genocide. As if to ram the allegory home, the X-Men, for much of their history, have hailed from across the spectrum of human existence. Over the decades, there have been gay X-Men, patrician X-Men, Jewish X-Men, Aboriginal X-Men, black X-Men with silver mohawks, X-Men hailing from Russia, Kentucky coal country, orphanages and a nightmarish future."

'X-Men: First Class' reminds us we are all mutants now; Los Angeles Times, 6/5/11

Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch, Los Angeles Times; 'X-Men: First Class' reminds us we are all mutants now:

"Though populated with superpowered "mutants" such as Magneto (who is able to control all sorts of metallic objects), Storm (capable of flight and creating crazy weather), Banshee (an Irish American tenor who can kill with his voice) and Raven (a blue-skinned shape-shifter), "X-Men" perfectly captures social reality and social aspirations in a post-gender, post-racial, post-mainstream, post-everything America. The multicolored, polyglot heroes and villains of the X-Men universe may be able to communicate by reading minds rather than using Skype, and they may be able to fly anywhere without booking tickets in advance, but make no mistake: That's us up there on the screen...

Yet by and large, the X-Men learn not just how to get by but how to flourish as a community. Similarly, after many fits and starts, American society has generally come to accept plenitude, recognizing not just that mutants walk among us but that we are all mutants, with unique desires and talents that, when acknowledged and developed, lead to a vastly more interesting, exciting and prosperous world than the alternative."

Two Straight Athletes Combat Homophobia; New York Times, 5/13/11

John Branch, New York Times; Two Straight Athletes Combat Homophobia:

"Ben Cohen is a world-class English rugby star, and Hudson Taylor is a three-time college all-American wrestler. They live on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. They barely know each other.

But they have something quite unusual in common. They may be the only two high-profile heterosexual athletes dedicating their lives to the issues of bullying and homophobia in sports."

Census: Hispanic, Asian populations soar; USA Today, 3/24/11

Haya El Nasser, USA Today; Census: Hispanic, Asian populations soar:

"The number of Hispanics surpassed the 50 million mark, growing 43% and accounting for more than half the national growth since 2000, according to the Census Bureau's first release of detailed 2010 national data. By contrast, the non-Hispanic population grew 5%...

Hispanics now make up 16% of the USA's 308.7 million people."

Census Data Presents Rise in Multiracial Population of Youths; New York Times, 3/24/11

Susan Saulny, New York Times; Census Data Presents Rise in Multiracial Population of Youths:

"Among American children, the multiracial population has increased almost 50 percent, to 4.2 million, since 2000, making it the fastest growing youth group in the country. The number of people of all ages who identified themselves as both white and black soared by 134 percent since 2000 to 1.8 million people, according to census data released Thursday.

Census 2010 is the first comprehensive accounting of how the multiracial population has changed over 10 years, since statistics were first collected about it in 2000."

Gains, and Drawbacks, for Female Professors; New York Times, 3/21/11

Kate Zernike, New York Times; Gains, and Drawbacks, for Female Professors:

"Despite an effort to educate colleagues about bias in letters of recommendation for tenure, those for men tend to focus on intellect while those for women dwell on temperament.

“To women in my generation, these residual issues can sound small because we see so much progress,” said Nancy H. Hopkins, a molecular biologist who instigated the first report. “But they’re not small; they still create an unequal playing field for women — not just at universities, and certainly not just at M.I.T. And they’re harder to change because they are a reflection of where women stand in society.”"

Two UCLA Professors Seek Campus Diversity Requirement; Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 3/17/11

Lydia Lum, Diverse Issues in Higher Education; Two UCLA Professors Seek Campus Diversity Requirement:

"In the aftermath of a racially offensive Internet video, two University of California, Los Angeles professors are urging the administration to require diversity training for students in hopes of discouraging such incidents."

Rev. Peter J. Gomes Is Dead at 68; A Leading Voice Against Intolerance; New York Times, 3/1/11

Robert D. McFadden, New York Times; Rev. Peter J. Gomes Is Dead at 68; A Leading Voice Against Intolerance:

"The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, a Harvard minister, theologian and author who announced that he was gay a generation ago and became one of America’s most prominent spiritual voices against intolerance, died on Monday in Boston...

...[I]n 1991, he appeared before an angry crowd of students, faculty members and administrators protesting homophobic articles in a conservative campus magazine whose distribution had led to a spate of harassment and slurs against gay men and lesbians on campus. Mr. Gomes, putting his reputation and career on the line, announced that he was “a Christian who happens as well to be gay.”...

“I now have an unambiguous vocation — a mission — to address the religious causes and roots of homophobia,” he told The Washington Post months later. “I will devote the rest of my life to addressing the ‘religious case’ against gays.”...

“Religious fundamentalism is dangerous because it cannot accept ambiguity and diversity and is therefore inherently intolerant,” he declared in an Op-Ed article in The New York Times in 1992."

Dwayne McDuffie, RIP: Championed Diversity Among Champions; NPR, 2/23/11

Glen Weldon, NPR; Dwayne McDuffie, RIP: Championed Diversity Among Champions:

"Race was dealt with matter-of-factly, but it was dealt with.

A new generation of kids who watched McDuffie's work saw worlds full of heroes — worlds that looked a lot like their own, and heroes that looked a lot like them.

Did McDuffie's pugnaciousness on matters of diversity (read the very funny memo he wrote when, as a Marvel editor, he detected a surfeit of skateboardin' black superheroes) change superhero comics forever?"

Perry Moore, Author of Book About Gay Superhero, Dies at 39; New York Times, 2/19/11

Dennis Hevesi, New York Times; Perry Moore, Author of Book About Gay Superhero, Dies at 39:

"Perry Moore, an executive producer of the fantasy movie series “The Chronicles of Narnia” and the author of “Hero,” a book about a gay superhero, died on Thursday after being found unconscious in his Greenwich Village apartment. He was 39...

But Mr. Moore, who was gay, had a more personal mission: although he was glad that comic books had been introducing gay superheroes for some time, he wanted to see them portrayed in a better light. What particularly disturbed him was the death of Northstar, a member of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, whose announcement in a Marvel comic book that he was gay made headlines in 1992. In 2005 Northstar was killed by a brainwashed Wolverine. Mr. Moore said he felt that the murder of Marvel’s biggest gay hero by one of its most popular characters had sent the wrong message.

He began giving speeches in which he cited his own research showing that more than 60 gay and lesbian comic-book characters had been ignored, maimed or murdered."

Counting by Race Can Throw Off Some Numbers; New York Times, 2/10/11

Susan Saulny, New York Times; Counting by Race Can Throw Off Some Numbers:

"The chameleon-like quality of Ms. López-Mullins’s racial and ethnic identification might seem trivial except that statistics on ethnicity and race are used for many important purposes. These include assessing disparities in health, education, employment and housing, enforcing civil rights protections, and deciding who might qualify for special consideration as members of underrepresented minority groups."

Did the Rooney Rule Really Work?; New York Times, 1/31/11

Freakonomics, New York Times; Did the Rooney Rule Really Work? :

"Last week, Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim wrote a guest post about black coaches in the NFL and the introduction of the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority applicant when filling head-coaching spots."

How Much Has The Rooney Rule Helped Black Coaches In The NFL? ; ThePostGame.com, 2/7/11

Alan Grant, ThePostGame.com; How Much Has The Rooney Rule Helped Black Coaches In The NFL? :

"TPG: Is Mike Tomlin pro football’s Barack Obama?

Duru: I think in some ways, yes. I was reading an article during the summer when Obama was fighting for the Democratic nomination. The question was, ‘Why now?’ Why all of a sudden do people believe a black person can win? One of the reporter’s conclusions was that Obama was helped in part because people had begun to see an increased number of black head coaches of sports teams. That suggested a young African-American could succeed in running the country. It made people think Obama could win. There is a belief now, in this country, that the non-prototypical human being can fill the leadership role."

Is Oprah’s Network Too White?; Newsweek, 1/30/11

Allison Samuels, Newsweek; Is Oprah’s Network Too White? :

"Does Oprah’s network need more diversity? Many African-American women seem to think so, including Black Entertainment cofounder Sheila Johnson, who says that Winfrey should “open her circle a bit more,” and blogs such as Hello Beautiful and Clutch, which have complained bitterly about the absence of black faces and voices on the fledging network...

“Oprah is the network’s diversity,” says Todd Boyd, a professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. “And that’s been the way she’s operated from the beginning of her career, so I’m not sure why there is even a question about more diversity. That’s really not who she is or who she ever was.”"

Census Data Show Rise in College Degrees, but Also in Racial Gaps in Education; Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/23/11

Alex Richards, Chronicle of Higher Education; Census Data Show Rise in College Degrees, but Also in Racial Gaps in Education:

"One thing that jumps out of the data is the large educational gap experienced by blacks and Hispanics. That can be difficult to examine fairly over time because of changes in how the census has handled race and ethnicity, but a clear contrast exists with college degrees in the population as a whole.

For instance, the census estimates that in 2009, 28 percent of Americans 25 and older had at least four-year degree.s But the rate for black Americans was just 17 percent, and for Hispanic Americans only 13 percent...

"I think the backdrop to all this is that socioeconomic conditions have created an environment which makes it fairly difficult for African-American males, and African-Americans in general, to go on to college," Mr. Levine said."

Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List; New York Times, 1/31/11

Noam Cohen, New York Times; Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List:

"About a year ago, the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that runs Wikipedia, collaborated on a study of Wikipedia’s contributor base and discovered that it was barely 13 percent women; the average age of a contributor was in the mid-20s, according to the study by a joint center of the United Nations University and Maastricht University.

Sue Gardner, the executive director of the foundation, has set a goal to raise the share of female contributors to 25 percent by 2015, but she is running up against the traditions of the computer world and an obsessive fact-loving realm that is dominated by men and, some say, uncomfortable for women.

Her effort is not diversity for diversity’s sake, she says. “This is about wanting to ensure that the encyclopedia is as good as it could be,” Ms. Gardner said in an interview on Thursday."

A Chicken Chain’s Corporate Ethos Is Questioned by Gay Rights Advocates; New York Times, 1/30/11

Kim Severson, New York Times; A Chicken Chain’s Corporate Ethos Is Questioned by Gay Rights Advocates:

"Nicknamed “Jesus chicken” by jaded secular fans and embraced by Evangelical Christians, Chick-fil-A is among only a handful of large American companies with conservative religion built into its corporate ethos. But recently its ethos has run smack into the gay rights movement. A Pennsylvania outlet’s sponsorship of a February marriage seminar by one of that state’s most outspoken groups against homosexuality lit up gay blogs around the country. Students at some universities have also begun trying to get the chain removed from campuses.

“If you’re eating Chick-fil-A, you’re eating anti-gay,” one headline read. The issue spread into Christian media circles, too.

The outcry moved the company’s president, Dan T. Cathy, to post a video on the company’s Facebook fan page to “communicate from the heart that we serve and value all people and treat everyone with honor, dignity and respect,” said a company spokesman, Don Perry."

Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above; New York Times, 1/30/11

Susan Saulny, New York Times; Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above:

"The crop of students moving through college right now includes the largest group of mixed-race people ever to come of age in the United States, and they are only the vanguard: the country is in the midst of a demographic shift driven by immigration and intermarriage.

One in seven new marriages is between spouses of different races or ethnicities, according to data from 2008 and 2009 that was analyzed by the Pew Research Center. Multiracial and multiethnic Americans (usually grouped together as “mixed race”) are one of the country’s fastest-growing demographic groups. And experts expect the racial results of the 2010 census, which will start to be released next month, to show the trend continuing or accelerating.

Many young adults of mixed backgrounds are rejecting the color lines that have defined Americans for generations in favor of a much more fluid sense of identity."

Ugandan Who Spoke Up for Gays Is Beaten to Death; New York Times, 1/28/11

Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times; Ugandan Who Spoke Up for Gays Is Beaten to Death:

"David Kato knew he was a marked man.

As the most outspoken gay rights advocate in Uganda, a country where homophobia is so severe that Parliament is considering a bill to execute gay people, Mr. Kato had received a stream of death threats, his friends said. A few months ago, a Ugandan newspaper ran an antigay diatribe with Mr. Kato’s picture on the front page under a banner urging, “Hang Them.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Kato was beaten to death with a hammer in his rough-and-tumble neighborhood."

Gates Says New Military Policy on Gays Can Start Soon; New York Times, 1/28/11

Thom Shanker and Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times; Gates Says New Military Policy on Gays Can Start Soon:

"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said that the military could be ready this year to carry out the repeal of a ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the armed forces, and that he has accelerated efforts to revise training and regulations...

“Our troops come from every corner of this country — they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim,” Mr. Obama said. “And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.”"

The Thorny Path to a National Black Museum; New York Times, 1/23/11

Kate Taylor, New York Times; The Thorny Path to a National Black Museum:

"What story will it tell? As part of the Smithsonian, the museum bears the burden of being the “official” — that is, the government’s — version of black history, but it will also carry the hopes and aspirations of African-Americans. Will its tale be primarily one of pain, focused on America’s history of slavery and racial oppression, and memorializing black suffering? Or will it emphasize the uplifting part of the story, highlighting the richness of African-American culture, celebrating the bravery of civil rights heroes and documenting black “firsts” in fields like music, art, science and sports? Will the story end with the country’s having overcome its shameful history and approaching a state of racial harmony and equality? Or will the museum argue that the legacy of racism is still dominant — and, if so, how will it make that case?

Addressing a topic as fraught as race would be challenging anywhere, but it is particularly tricky within the Smithsonian, a complex of 19 museums that last year got $761 million from Congress. Efforts to tackle difficult topics often become politicized, torn between historians’ desire to treat issues with scholarly detachment and an expectation that the Smithsonian’s role is to honor the nation’s past."

[Podcast] Martin Luther King's Message Inspires A New Generation; NPR's Morning Edition, 1/17/11

[Podcast] Allison Keyes, NPR's Morning Edition; Martin Luther King's Message Inspires A New Generation:

"As the nation celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a group of high school students in the nation's capital is following in his footsteps. Operation Understanding DC brings together African American and Jewish teens for a year-long leadership development program in which the two groups learn about each other's history and culture."

Teaching Understanding in a Time of Intolerance; Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/11/11

Marybeth Gasman, Chronicle of Higher Education; Teaching Understanding in a Time of Intolerance:

"Despite occasional pushback for teaching in an inclusive way (some students are not used to reading about anything but White America), I am glad that I teach the way I do. I try to make sure that students leave my classes with a deeper understanding of how we are all interconnected regardless of the issues that make us different. I want them to learn to argue without insults and threats. If students don’t learn these skills early on, they do not know how to function in reasonable ways in society.

I fear that the political discourse as of late is a result of adults not learning to argue in reasonable ways and disagree respectfully with each other. These are skills that we need to instill in young people beginning in elementary school through their college experience."

Cherokee for Beginners: the Long Road Back, Starting on Campus; Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/9/11

Lawrence Biemiller, Chronicle of Higher Education; Cherokee for Beginners: the Long Road Back, Starting on Campus

For Minorities, A New ‘Digital Divide’; Diverse Issues in Higher Education/AP, 1/10/11

Jesse Washington, Diverse Issues in Higher Education/AP; For Minorities, A New ‘Digital Divide’ :

"Today, as mobile technology puts computers in our pockets, Latinos and Blacks are more likely than the general population to access the Web by cellular phones, and they use their phones more often to do more things.

But now some see a new “digital divide” emerging with Latinos and Blacks being challenged by more, not less, access to technology. It's tough to fill out a job application on a cell phone, for example. Researchers have noticed signs of segregation online that perpetuate divisions in the physical world. And Blacks and Latinos may be using their increased Web access more for entertainment than empowerment."

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik: Arizona 'Mecca For Prejudice & Bigotry'; HuffingtonPost.com, 1/8/11

HuffingtonPost.com; Sheriff Clarence Dupnik: Arizona 'Mecca For Prejudice & Bigotry':

""When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous," said the sheriff. "And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry."...

"Pretty soon, we're not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people who are willing to subject themselves to serve in public office.""

[Podcast] Looking Back At The 'Tremendous Hate' Of Bullies; NPR's StoryCorps, 1/7/11

[Podcast] NPR's StoryCorps; Looking Back At The 'Tremendous Hate' Of Bullies:

"Recent stories about bullying — and the people who have spoken out publicly against it — inspired Rob Littlefield to tell his own story of abuse, and how it affected his family."

UPMC executive develops program focusing on dignity and respect; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/17/10

Pohla Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; UPMC executive develops program focusing on dignity and respect:

""Traditionally, diversity means how many people you can count that are different ... but having diversity doesn't mean they're included," she said.

"Inclusion is the surest path to diversity."

And the surest path to inclusion, she said, is treating others with dignity and respect.

With that in mind, Ms. Castleberry-Singleton launched a Dignity and Respect campaign at UPMC in 2008."

Gay and Lesbian College Presidents Go Public With Web Video; Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/17/10

Paul Fain, Chronicle of Higher Education; Gay and Lesbian College Presidents Go Public With Web Video:

"A small but growing group of openly gay and lesbian college presidents will make its official debut at a March meeting of the American Council on Education. But the group publicly introduced itself on Friday with a Web video, which features several of its members and their partners."

Obama Signs Away ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; New York Times, 12/23/10

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times; Obama Signs Away ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:

"The military’s longstanding ban on service by gays and lesbians came to a historic and symbolic end on Wednesday, as President Obama signed legislation repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the contentious 17-year old Clinton-era law that sought to allow gays to serve under the terms of an uneasy compromise that required them to keep their sexuality a secret.

“No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie or look over their shoulder,” Mr. Obama said during a signing ceremony in a packed auditorium at the Interior Department here. Quoting the chairman of his joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, Mr. Obama went on, “Our people sacrifice a lot for their country, including their lives. None of them should have to sacrifice their integrity as well.”

Kaplan Higher Education Sued Over Alleged Job Discrimination; Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 12/22/10

Diverse Staff and the Associated Press, Diverse Issues in Higher Education; Kaplan Higher Education Sued Over Alleged Job Discrimination:

"Federal officials on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Kaplan Higher Education Corp., a nationwide provider of postsecondary education, for allegedly discriminating against Black job applicants by screening the credit history of potential employees."