(See also: Stripteases, Porn, the B-Word: Isiah Thomas Is Not Alone in Sex Harassment and EEOC Charges Bloomberg With Pregnancy Discrimination)
Student Says 'Sorry' for Blackface Parody
"This is so not me," said Kirsty Smith, a Univeristy of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM) student who videotaped white students in blackface acting out the beating of white Jena High School student Justin Barker, for which six black teenagers were initially charged with second-degree attempted murder. "It wasn't that we were making fun of the Jena 6 incident. We were just fed up with it ... I have just as many black [friends] as I do white friends," Smith said in her defense. Smith posted her video on her Facebook page and it was then posted on YouTube and The Smoking Gun. School administrators are considering disciplinary action against Smith and another ULM student in the video. The school held a forum Tuesday night in response, at which the vice president of Student Affairs told students, "there are no words to express the dismay at what happened in that video ... We're here tonight because the action of one or two set our university in motion," reports CNN.
(See also: Death Threats & Nooses: Jena 6 Family Tells Their Story)
America Ferrera Is Hispanic Woman of the Year
"Ugly Betty" lead America Ferrera, already an Emmy winner, has now been named by Hollywood Reporter and Billboard magazines as Hispanic Woman of the Year. The publications will honor Ferrera and 25 other Latinas in the film, television and music industries at their first Hispanic Women in Entertainment breakfast at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Tuesday, reports Yahoo! News.
(See also: 'Ugly Betty' Star America Ferrera Talks Diversity)
Healthcare Co. Loses $1.8M Same-Sex-Harassment Lawsuit
Male-on-male harassment is costing United Healthcare of Florida $1.8 million, says the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC's lawsuit, a male regional vice president of key accounts subjected a male senior account executive at United Healthcare of Florida to repeated verbal sexual harassment. The senior account executive complained to upper management, but United HealthCare subjected him to discipline and denied him stock options and commissions. The account executive went to United Healthcare's parent company, United HealthGroup, but nothing changed. The account executive then quit, the EEOC said. Beyond paying $1.8 million, United HealthCare must distribute a new anti-harassment policy to all of its employees in Florida; train all its employees and managers at the facility on federal employment-discrimination laws; post a notice of resolution of the lawsuit; and report to EEOC twice annually about any harassment or retaliation complaints based on harassment, and the actions taken by United HealthCare to resolve such complaints.
(See also: Man-to-Man Harassment at Work Surging)
Why Is Retired 'Price Is Right' Host Bob Barker Being Sued?
Deborah Curling, a 20-year veteran of the game show "The Price is Right," claims in a lawsuit filed against Bob Barker, production company FreemantleMedia North America and CBS that her "pleasant working environment" changed after she testified in a wrongful-termination lawsuit brought against Barker by a former production assistant, according to her lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court. Curling claimed she was demoted to working in an "intolerable" working environment backstage, forcing her to leave the show last fall. Curling, who is black, also claimed a hostile work environment in which black employees and black contestants were discriminated against, reports The Associated Press.
MBAs Useful for Women on Wall Street
Some of the nation's top business schools have been providing courses for women and men returning to the work force after an extended leave of absence. Most women participate in programs such as the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth's Back in Business program. The program combines academics with career opportunities, and its students' median age is 47, with an average of eight years out of the work force. Of Back in Business' 41 students, 35 were women and more than half have found high-level, high-paying work, the program's director told The Wall Street Journal.
(See also: Part I: One Woman's Story of Racism & Sexism on Wall Street and Do You Need an Ivy League MBA to Succeed?)
Who Helped Fund Jena 6 Defense?
Following news of the Jena 6 case where six black teenagers were initially charged with attempted murder for beating up a white student, rapper/actor Mos Def sprang into action. Def sent out a video urging students to walk out of classrooms nationwide in protest of the prosecution of the black teens. Def was joined at the protest by rapper Bun B and singer Lyfe Jennings. And rappers Ice Cube and T.I. have lent money to the Jena 6 cause. Hip-hop artists have responded en mass to the Jena 6 case advocating for the black teens and criticizing the actions of the Jena, La., district attorney. "[T]here's a Jena Six that goes on in Mississippi every month—or every two months," rapper David Banner told MSNBC.
(See also: National Commentator's View: Jena 6 Shows Why Juvenile Courts Are Dumping Grounds)
Vick Passes Animal-Empathy Test
To further make amends for his participation in an illegal dog-fighting ring, beleaguered former NFL quarterback Michael Vick accepted the offer to take an 8-hour course in empathy and animal protection from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The course was followed by a "rigorous" test. "Actually, we were very surprised he took us up on it," PETA spokesperson Dan Shannon said to CNN. "We made it clear to him that this was something he needed to try to get something out of. We weren't interested in some kind of PR ploy." Vick, however, sat through the course, asked questions and passed a test at the end, said Shannon. That does not mean Vick's troubles are over. Wednesday, a Surry County Circuit judge set a November 27 trial date for the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who already pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, for which he awaits sentencing December 10.
(See also: Race and Sports: When Fast-moving Objects Collide)
Was Dallas Corruption Probe Racially Motivated?
Twelve of 16 Dallas leaders named by the FBI in a city-corruption indictment are black, which has some people in the city saying the investigation was racially motivated. The case involves a kickback and bribery scheme where white developers were awarded contracts to build affordable housing, mostly in black neighborhoods, reports MSNBC. The FBI and U.S. Attorney Richard Roper deny accusations that their investigation was racially motivated, saying that investigators made their case by raiding Dallas City Hall and removing boxes of documents, then following the paper trail, not by setting up a sting operation. But racially motivated charges in the past have the black community suspecting foul play. Less than 20 years ago, a federal civil-rights lawsuit forced Dallas to revamp its government structure because people of color complained it was too difficult to win seats on the city council. In 2003, the city's first black police chief, Terrell Bolton, was fired, which led protesters to march on city hall and shut down a city-council meeting. And in 2001, a number of white police officers were disciplined for jailing dozens of Latino immigrants on trumped-up drug charges.
FCC Blasted for No Media-Ownership Diversity
The media watchdog Free Press is criticizing the Federal Communications Commission for not increasing the number of radio and television stations owned by women and people of color. For every female-owned radio station in the country, the average market has 16 stations owned by white men, even though women make up 51 percent of the U.S. population. For each station owned by a person of color, the average market has eight stations owned by white men, even though people of color make up more than 30 percent of the U.S. population. The numbers of women owners and owners of color are much higher in other industries, says Free Press. Consolidation is hurting any effort to diversify radio- and television-station ownership, adds research director S. Derek Turner in Ars Technica.
