House Apologies for Slavery and other Racial Justice News

This week there have been a number of compelling news items on racial justice topics. Take a look:

"House Issues An Apology For Slavery"
Washington Post

The House yesterday apologized to black Americans, more than 140 years after slavery was abolished, for the "fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow" segregation. The resolution, which passed on a voice vote late in the day, was sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a white Jew who represents a majority-black district in Memphis. (Click Title for Complete Article)

"U.S. Blacks, if a Nation, Would Rank High on AIDS"
The New York Times

If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus, the Black AIDS Institute, an advocacy group, reported Tuesday. The report, financed in part by the Ford Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, provides a startling new perspective on an epidemic that was first recognized in 1981. (Click Title for Complete Article)

"Study Sees Racial Bias in Traffic-Stop Searches"
Chicago Tribune

Civil rights groups called Thursday for ending the state police practice of searching vehicles during routine traffic stops, citing new statistics that show black and Hispanic motorists are searched more often even though drugs or other illegal items turn up more frequently among white drivers.

Foreclosure Bill Includes Funds for Homeless Education

The Foreclosure Prevention bill (H.R. 3221) passed by the Senate on Saturday includes an amendment that will help children affected by the foreclosure crisis stay in school and get educational assistance.

The amendment authorizes funds for school districts through the McKinney-Vento homeless education program to help ensure that students who are forced to move from their homes do not also have to leave their schools.

"It is unfair to let these children float from one unfamiliar school to another through no fault of their own and against the will of their parents," said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., one of the amendment’s sponsors.

"When they are abruptly uprooted from the schools where they have formed a connection to the teachers, learning material and classmates, their development can be severely stunted."

A recent report by First Focus and The Brookings Institution found that nearly 2 million children will be directly impacted by the mortgage crisis.

The legislation, which also passed through the House last week, has moved to President Bush’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law this week.

House and Senate Appropriations Committees Pass Funding Increases for VAWA and VOCA

The House Appropriations Committee passed their Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) bill with $35 million in increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs at the Department of Justice and a $60 million increase for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund. This is a huge increase in funding over FY 08 and even more funding than VAWA and VOCA received last week when the Senate Appropriations Committee passed their CJS bill.

The House bill increases VAWA from $400 million (in Fiscal Year 2008) to $435 million. This includes increases for several key programs:

· The STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Grant Program was increased to $178 million
· The Legal Assistance to Victims Program and the Rural Grant Program were both increased to $41 million each
· Transitional housing received $20 million
· The Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) received $15 million
· The House passed a $60 million increase to the VOCA cap, providing a total of $650 million. This is a large and much needed funding increase for VOCA.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed their version of the CJS bill with $15 million in increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs bringing the total to $415 millio at the Department of Justice and a $45 million increase for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund.

This included increases for several key programs and critical funding for new programs:
· The STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Grant Program was increased to $162.9 million.
· The Legal Assistance to Victims Program was increased to $42 million.
· Rural Grants were increased to $42 million.
· The Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) received $12 million.
· $45 million increase to the VOCA cap, providing $635 million in crucial funds.

To learn more about VAWA programs click here.

What happens next?
Next the full House and Senate must vote on the bills that were passed out of committee. After the House and Senate pass their separate bills, they must be reconciled into one final bill that is passed by Congress and signed by the President. It is possible that Congress will not finish the Appropriations process this calendar year, and may delay the process until a new President is inaugurated in 2009.

For an explanation of the Budget and Appropriations process and timeline click here.

Your legislators need to hear that they did the right thing by supporting these increases. Those who serve on the House and Senate Appropriations committees played a key role. Click the name of each legislator below to visit her or his congressional website. Use the contact form to send a thank you note for their work to maintain and expand funding for sexual and domestic violence.

If your reps aren’t listed below, fear not! There will be more opportunities to advocate for all of these measures to be funded at the maximum possible level as the federal budgeting process continues.


House Appropriations Committee Members from GLA
David R. Obey, Wisconsin, Chair
Marcy Kaptur, Ohio
Peter J. Visclosky, Indiana
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Illinois
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, Michigan
Tim Ryan, Ohio
Ralph Regula, Ohio
David L. Hobson, Ohio
Joe Knollenberg, Michigan
Ray LaHood, Illinois
Mark Steven Kirk, Illinois

Senate Appropriations Committee Members from GLA

Herb Kohl Wisconsin

Richard Durbin Illinois

Gratitude to the National Network to End Domestic Violence for suppling the information included in this update.

And we wonder why the U.S. Ranks 69th in the world for Women's Poltical Empowerment

One of GLA's issue priorities is advocating for increased access to political leadership and power for women and for people of color. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2007 Report, the United States ranks 69th in the world for women's political empowerment.

A new initiative from the Women's Media Center brings the sexism directed at women in the public eye into stark relief. Check out this YouTube video on the "Sexism Might Sell, But I'm not Buying It" site. The campaign calls upon national news outlets to stop using sexist commentary as a punchline.

As one speaker in the video states-- women make up more than 50% of the U.S. population. We have every right to demand that our issues, our campaigns for public office, and our ability to lead be taken seriously.

Paid Sick Days Poll

This weekend, Parade Magazine, the country’s most widely-read magazine, featured a story on paid sick days. Now, Parade is conducting an online poll, asking its readers: “Should employers be required to offer paid sick days?”

Help us send the message loud and clear that paid sick days are much-needed—and strongly supported—by taking Parade’s online poll. Parade is distributed by over 400 Sunday newspapers, including several major papers, and reaches an estimated 71 million readers. This article and online poll will help paid sick days campaigns across the nation reach a broad, new audience.

Please take a moment to check out the article and, most importantly, cast your vote in Parade’s online poll, and forward it to your members, friends and coworkers in a show of support for paid sick days for everyone.

contributed by Loretta Line
YWCAs Illinois Advocacy Manager

Advocates Make Case for NC Racial Justice Act

This story is a few weeks old and not from a state in our region, but seemed compelling enough to pass along. North Carolina's House has already approved the "North Carolina Racial Justice Act," and it is now before their state Senate. Racial Justice advocates occassionally struggle with the belief that Civil Rights Era lawsuits and legislation attended to our nation's anti-racism policy needs and that now we simply have to deal with individual attitudes and occassional enforcement issues. When race-based disparities are as egregious as they are on death row-- where approximately 41% of inmates are African American (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006)-- it is apparent that policy changes are needed. Here is one state's attempt to remedy an aspect of structural racism.


By WHITNEY WOODWARD Associated Press Writer

Posted: May. 27, 2008

RALEIGH, N.C. — Spurred by the recent release of three black men from death row, judicial reform advocates called on lawmakers Tuesday to give defendants in capital murder cases the right to challenge their prosecution on racial bias grounds.

The North Carolina Racial Justice Act has sat dormant in a Senate committee since the House voted 68-51 to approve the measure last year. The proposal would allow death penalty defendants to use statistics to claim their conviction or sentence was driven by race.



Click here for the full article

S.F. schools take on racism, classism

There have been so many conversations in GLA this year about structural racism's most tenacious problems, including race-based disparities in education and in the criminal justice system. While the road to undoing these conditions will undoubtedly be paved with trial and error, and with policies that may only scratch the surface, it is heartening to see a school district working strategically and intentionally to topple educational racism and classism.

_____________________________________

Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

San Francisco Superintendent Carlos Garcia took a first stab at putting his mark on city schools Tuesday with a plan that pushes the district to face racism and classism head on.

The district's strategic plan adopted by the school board 6-0 Tuesday night focuses on reversing the typical academic outcomes for black, Hispanic and poor students.

Although that sounds almost like a reworked version of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, district officials say they are working off a corporate model that puts everyone - from school board members to custodians - under the microscope in different ways.

A new grading system will expose schools - even the popular, high-scoring ones - that are failing to address the institutional racial inequities within their walls.

Click here for the full article from the San Francisco Chronicle

Postville Raid Brings Sexual Violence Against Immigrant Wokers to Light

Many racial justice and immigrants rights advocates have been following news of the raids at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville Iowa last week. On May 12th 697 people were arrested by federal agents in the biggest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history.

Among the many dimensions of human rights abuses that advocates seek to remedy through comprehensive immigration reform, sexual and economic exploitation of undocumented workers is rarely brought to light. According to the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, "it is estimated that 80% of undocumented females who cross into the United States experience sexual assault and/or rape."

Many YWCAs offer programs and services to immigrant women and to survivors of violence. As advocates for an end to violence against women and for full racial equity, these issues are our issues. If we are going to prevent immigrant women from experiencing future sexual exploitation, we must advocate for their full rights and enfranchisement.

It is certainly not news to those involved in the movement to end violence against women that conditions of isolation like language barriers, lack of "legitimate" legal status, and economic dependence are the fastest incubator for exploitation and violence.

Does your YW have programs, resources, or expertise on these issues? If so, please share thoughts and ideas for action in the comments section.


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The article below from the Des Moines Register describes the conditions of women workers in Postville:

Advocates: Workers allege sexual abuse
By JENNIFER JACOBS • jejacobs@dmreg.com • May 20, 2008

Reports that there was an expectation of sexual favors at Agriprocessors Inc. are beginning to emerge from workers at the Postville meat processing plant, and advocates for immigrants are trying to document the stories.Sister Mary McCauley, a Roman Catholic nun at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville, said workers have said that "there was sexual abuse, that there's propositioning."

Coalition On Human Needs partners to Reduce Poverty

The message below comes from the Coalition on Human Needs-- a YWCA USA national coalition partner. GLA is eager to join the Half in Ten Campaign!

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Cutting poverty in half in the US over the next decade is an achievable goal.

The Coalition on Human Needs is proud to have joined with three vitally important organizations and with former Senator John Edwards in a new campaign to turn that goal into reality.

On May 13, CHN joined with The Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) to introduce Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity, a campaign chaired by Senator Edwards and coordinated by the four organizations.

Half in Ten will seek federal and state solutions to cut poverty in half within ten years. Meeting in Philadelphia with many ACORN members as well as leaders from community action agencies, anti-hunger groups, children's advocacy organizations, labor, leaders from the faith community, and other advocates, Senator Edwards called poverty "a moral cause facing every single one of us," and the imperative of reducing poverty "a question of fundamental fairness that this country was founded upon." He has been in touch with the three major presidential candidates about making commitments to the half in ten goal. You can read about their poverty positions at the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity website.

Drawing upon a report principally authored for the Center for American Progress by CHN's Public Policy Committee Chair and Board member Mark Greenberg, the campaign will focus on federal and/or state efforts to raise the minimum wage, expand tax credits so they reach more poor families and individuals, increase the availability of quality child care for low-income families, expand Unemployment Insurance so it reaches more low-income workers who lose their jobs, and protect people from foreclosure and other forms of predatory lending.

Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity is off to a very promising start. But we know that the four organizations, even with the exciting participation of John Edwards, cannot by ourselves achieve our goal. We will seek every opportunity to work with organizations in Washington and around the country, many of whom are already hard at work on important anti-poverty initiatives - such as Catholic Charities USA, the Center for Community Change, the Community Action Partnership, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Sojourners/Call to Renewal, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), the National Women's Law Center, and Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). Well - I am getting into trouble because there are so many organizations we will work with and upon whose expertise we depend. Those include all of CHN's members, and many more besides.

We urge you to check out the new Half in Ten website. . .and the press release announcing Half in Ten... and the Philadelphia Inquirer story following the launch event.

We believe that the recession, the failures of the current Administration, and the leadership of many committed organizations and public officials have all contributed to a new desire for practical solutions to poverty - and a recognition that persistent poverty hurts all of us. This is an exciting time.

More to come!

Deborah WeinsteinExecutive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

NY Times Articles on Women Running for Office

On Sunday May 18 the New York Times had a few articles examining the Clinton campaign and the impact it will doubtlessly have on the future for women and politics. While GLA does not endorse any candidate or political party, we advocate for women and people of color to fully engage in civic life through voting, volunteering, and running for offices of their own.

Here are two items to consider:

THE HILLARY LESSON
Published: May 18, 2008
New York Times
By PEGGY ORENSTEIN

Berkeley ’s Fourth Street is my town’s version of a strip mall: there is little you might need there, but much to want: hand-crafted Japanese paper; diaphanous Stevie Nicks-inspired frocks; wooden toys imported from Europe. One recent morning, as my 4-year-old daughter and I strolled to our favorite diner, she pointed to a bumper sticker plastered on a mailbox. A yellow, viraginous caricature of Hillary Clinton leered out from a black background. Big block letters proclaimed, “The wicked witch of the East is alive and living in New York.”

For the complete article click here: The Hillary Lesson

She Just Might Be President Someday
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: May 18, 2008

If not her, who?

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton may or may not become the first female president of the United States, but if fate and voters deny her the role, another woman will surely see if the mantle fits.
That woman will come from the South, or west of the Mississippi. She will be a Democrat who has won in a red state, or a Republican who has emerged from the private sector to run for governor. She will have executive experience, and have served in a job like attorney general, where she will have proven herself to be “a fighter” (a caring one, of course).

She will be young enough to qualify as postfeminist (in the way Senator Barack Obama has come off as postracial), unencumbered by the battles of the past. She will be married with children, but not young children. She will be emphasizing her experience, and wearing, yes, pantsuits.

Oh, and she may not exist.

For the complete article click here: She Might Just Be President Someday

Anonymous Rape Tests Are Going Nationwide

The Associated Press By KRISTEN WYATT – May 13 2008
ELKTON, Md. (AP) — Starting next year across the country, rape victims too afraid or too ashamed to go to police can undergo an emergency-room forensic rape exam, and the evidence gathered will be kept on file in a sealed envelope in case they decide to press charges.
The new federal requirement that states pay for "Jane Doe rape kits" is aimed at removing one of the biggest obstacles to prosecuting rape cases: Some women are so traumatized they don't come forward until it is too late to collect hair, semen or other samples.
Click Here for the complete article from the Associated Press