By: Alyssa Giachino
Mon, 03/01/2010 - 09:09

Journalists of Color from around the country told us in our survey, which ponders how the media has dealt with race and influenced race relations, that the media fails to adequately and fairly report on race issues, and in some cases even contributes to a more polarized society. Link to the 2010 Journalism in Color Survey results here.

Here are a few thoughts on what can be done to improve portrayals of race in the mainstream media.

By Vanessa Russell

If you think the accomplishments and grave sacrifices of leaders in the past are forgotten or unappreciated by youth of today, think again.  Several students in our area marvel the legacy of those who came before them; 5th graders, like Matthew Small of Fredericksburg, can teach us all a few things or two.

Small, who attends Lafayette Elementary, is the 2010 Winner of Virginia's Black history month Children's Writing Contest.  In his compelling essay on American poet and abolitionist, Phyllis Wheatley, Small said that Wheatley left a legacy of education for this nation, and "her poems of antislavery touched others to move to change their position on slavery, toward freedom for all people."   His essay told how "Wheatley was named after the ship, Phillis, that brought her across the middle passage from Gambia, Africa, to Boston, Massachusetts, where she was purchased by the Wheatley family."

President of Virginia's Black History Month Association, William "Bill" Jones, says the writing contest is an opportunity for a young boy or girl in the 5th grade to research the accomplishments of African Americans who students seldom hear about.

"Traditionally, students in the Virginia school system are taught about famous African Americans such as Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass and/or Harriet Tubman;" said Jones. "Yet African American history is much more than those four honored Americans.  Therefore, the Writing Contest is one way to challenge each student to look beyond the traditional honored African Americans and to write about others who have made a difference in our nation's history."

Small said his school is where he also learned about Phyllis Wheatley's writings and contribution to American literature. His parents say they're just proud their son, a 5th grader, understands and appreciates the history that has helped influence the lives and opportunities we now enjoy! Other winners of the writing contest are:

1st Place Matthew Small           Lafayette Upper Elementary School

2nd Place Dayna Richards        Lafayette Upper Elementry School

3rd Place Aleya L. Jackson      Smith Station Elementary School

Way to go students!!

Two subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. have agreed to pay $7.1 million to settle discrimination allegations of charging higher fees to African American borrowers.

According to the statement released by the Justice Department on Thursday (March 3), 2,500 African American borrowers of subprime loans will receive a total of $6.1 million after being charged higher broker fees.

Those unfamiliar with a subprime loan, it is the loan that is extended to borrowers who's credit rating is considered to be below standards or “poor.”

Thomas E. Perez, , the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's civil rights division, told the Associated Press, the action "is a warning shot" to lenders who fail to monitor brokers' conduct.

AIG is at the center of many of the nation's economic woes.

The settlement was decided after allegations were made that AIG Federal Savings Bank and Wilmington Finance Inc. engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination under the federal Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts.

The case marks the first time a lender has been held responsible for failing to ensure brokers do not charge higher fees because of race, Perez said in a briefing for reporters.

In addition to the settlement, the AIG subsidiaries will invest at least $1 million in consumer education.

Associated Press - February 25, 2010 6:35 PM ET

FORT LEE, Va. (AP) - Fort Lee says it's investigating a discrimination complaint filed by a civilian employee.

The Petersburg military base responded Thursday after the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP accused the military of widespread racial discrimination against civilian workers and contractors at the installation.

The civil rights group said it has been "inundated with complaints" of cronyism and an old-boy network since the worker's complaint was filed.

A spokesman for the base acknowledged the NAACP's advocacy on behalf of the worker, but said he could not comment further because of an ongoing investigation.

Information from: The Progress-Index, http://www.progress-index.com

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Staff Reports)
Published: February 25, 2010

FORT LEE - The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP has again accused officials at Fort Lee of widespread racial discrimination against civilian employees and contractors.

In a press release, King Salim Khalfani, executive director of the state organization, said the NAACP had written a letter in January to Fort Lee Commanding General Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers "concerning allegations of discrimination against a civilian employee who was exhausting her internal remedies to no avail."

Khalfani said he has not received a response to the letter. Since the employee's complaint was filed, he said, "the NAACP was inundated with complaints from other similarly situated employees with tales of cronyism, good ole boy & girl systems, promotions of unqualified white employees" and other abuses.

In response, Khalfani said, his organization is creating a hotline "for those civilian employees who want to file a complaint with the NAACP for the potential development of a class-action-based mass complaint against the installation."

Khalfani also alleged that African-American business people "are being excluded from participation" in contracting for the expansion of Fort Lee under the Base Realignment and Closure process and have filed formal complaints.

In response to the allegations, Fort Lee Public Affairs Officer Matthew Montgomery said officials at the post "received Mr. Khanlfani's letter postmarked Jan. 23, 2010, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. The Sustainment Center of Excellence chief of staff, Col. Gwendolyn Bingham, responded to the letter and the response was mailed three days later on Jan. 29, 2010."

Montgomery said Bingham's letter to Khalfani "stated that the employee's concerns are the subject of an ongoing investigation and therefore could not be discussed by the Army. She also stated the Army is one of the nation's epitomes of equal opportunity and very proud of its diversity and equality programs."

Montgomery also noted that Fort Lee has an Equal Employment Opportunity office on post with counselors and a formal complaint process to help employees who believe they have faced discriminatory treatment.

Detailed information about the percentage of contracts at Fort Lee awarded to minority-owned businesses was not immediately available.