Source: WENN

We told you earlier this month that to the disappointment of a great deal of people, Roland Martin and his ascots would be leaving CNN for good. This definitely had everyone talking especially since it was starting to seem that all the “color” on the channel was being given the boot, including Soledad O’Brien, whose morning show is going in a “different direction” without her. But she will continue to produce documentaries/specials for CNN through her very own production company. As for Martin, his last day is reportedly set to be April 8, but homeboy isn’t going out quietly. According to reports, after announcing his last day on Twitter earlier this month, he allegedly tweeted that the “new boss wants his own peeps.” That new boss being Jeff Zucker. But he’s taking things a step further as of late, claiming said new boss doesn’t have a soft spot in his heart for minorities hosting their own programs. Seeing as how Martin was a contributor for the channel for years, he’s not feeling the way the game has been played.

In a conversation with Huffington Post Live, Martin spoke on the fact that after years of hard work, he was never given his own show, but was never really given a reason why:

“What do we do to get from here to get to there? To get from here to be able to host a show? That was never made clear. There’s this fear of making the leap.

You have largely white male executives who are not necessarily enamored with the idea of having strong, confident minorities who say, ‘I can do this.’ I’m just saying, give folks a shot.”

Martin went on to explain that his gig hosting Washington Watch on TV One and many other specials for CNN and bringing in huge numbers should have been proof that he could handle such responsibilities, but he wasn’t given the opportunity:

“We deliver, but we never get the big piece, the larger salary, to be able to grow from there.

Bernard Shaw left CNN as the top news anchor how many years ago? Two decades ago? So who right now is in the position to get a primetime show??

If it’s a ratings game, and we won, how is it I never got a show?”

Guess we can’t say no hard feelings this time around…Thoughts? 

See Martin’s conversation with Marc Lamont Hill on HuffPostLive on the next page: 

Intel’s Brian David Johnson and will.i.am (who works with the company) at Macworld 2013. Photo Credit: Susana Bates/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)

CNN has made numerous attempts over the past few years to collect data about diversity at the top tech companies, but have been mostly unsuccessful due to blockades from tech leadership. As you may know, I work for a large tech firm, also one that CNN attempted to collect data from, and I don’t need any advanced survey research to prove that black people, male and female, are hard to spot on tech campuses.

I’m sure many would make this assumption, but CNN wanted to prove it. After making a general request to 10 of the largest firms and 10 smaller but influential firms only three — Dell, Ingram Mico, and Intel — were forthcoming with their data. The other 17 companies flat out refused to share this data, which immediately raises a red flag.

CNN consulted with their legal team and found out they could make a request through the Department of Labor to access Equal Employment Opportunity Commission data. But even this tactic only added two more companies to the information list — Cisco and Ebay. Five major companies required by law to give up the data submitted written objections on the basis that releasing this data would cause “competitive harm.”

To go so far as to be ready to start a legal battle over the issue, shows that these companies have something to hide. With the data they were able to collect, CNN was able to determine that diversity in Silicon Valley is a serious issue and it seems like we are just embarking upon the conversation. As Aditi Mohapatra, associate tech sector director at BSR, a consulting group that works with companies on social and sustainability issues, put it: “This data is just a baseline for discussion, but we can’t end the problem if we can’t start the conversation. For the tech industry to remain silent about diversity is so not aligned with what they preach.”

Tech companies are supposed to be about breaking the mold, advancement and innovation, but it seems like this is not represented in their workforce. These cutting edge companies are stuck in the past when it comes to diversity. Maybe one day the transparency they promote in other areas of business will be reflected by their willingness to provide diversity data. It’s only when you know what you’re working with that you can improve. And as the tech industry is a thriving one with boundless potential for growth and innovation, it’s important that we open doors for different groups to make their way into the industry — for their own betterment and that of the technology advancements we want to continue seeing.

CREATISTA/Shutterstock

Look for lots of change to come in America. According to just released projections from the U.S. Census Bureau, the American population will be more diverse in the near future. And judging by the projections of the nation’s population by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, which cover the 2012 through 2060 period, whites will no longer be the majority.

A U.S. Census Bureau press release states that  the U.S. is projected to become a majority-minority nation for the first time in 2043. While the non-Hispanic white population will remain the largest single group, no group will make up a majority.

According to the Census data, the non-Hispanic white population is projected to decrease, falling by nearly 20.6 million from 2024 to 2060.  The Hispanic population, on the other hand, will more than double, from 53.3 million in 2012 to 128.8 million in 2060. Nearly one in three U.S. residents, by that period, would be Hispanic. The black population is expected to increase from 41.2 million to 61.8 million with its share of the total population rising slightly, from 13.1 percent in 2012 to 14.7 percent in 2060. Like the Hispanic population, the Asian population in the United States is expected  to more than double, from 15.9 million in 2012 to 34.4 million in 2060. American Indians and Alaska Natives would increase by more than half from now to 2060, from 3.9 million to 6.3 million. And Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations is projected to nearly double, from 706,000 to 1.4 million.

“All in all, minorities, now 37 percent of the U.S. population, are projected to comprise 57 percent of the population in 2060. “By 2060, multiracial people are projected to more than triple, from 7.5 million to 26.7 million — rising even faster and rendering notions of race labels increasingly irrelevant, experts say, if lingering stigma over being mixed-race can fully fade,” reports The Grio.

This dramatic shift in demographics will surely change how America operates on all levels—from educational to juridical. The landscape of the United States will, just by sheer numbers, be more inclusive.

Source: nomblog.com

Probably, like most of you, I’ve been watching the republican primaries with the peripheral interest of a circus sideshow. As Gingrich, Santorum and Romney duke it out, I’ve heard such alienating phrases as, “I want African American people to demand paychecks, not food stamps,” (Gingrich),  ”I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” (Santorum), and Romney’s flub about not caring about the unemployed–never mind that blacks make up 12 percent of that group. And to put icing on the cake, a recent report indicated that 29 percent of republicans from the Deep South think interracial marriage should be illegal, and it appears none of the presidential hopefuls have chosen to disabuse them of this notion. Surprise, surprise.

All this pandering to the extreme right wing of the party has backfired because the ignorant comments, Freudian slips, and allusions to swipe at women’s hard-won reproductive rights impacts not only blacks, but other minorities and white soccer moms. Rick Santorum’s recent comments about how Puerto Ricans should speak better English is just another on a long list of buffoonish remarks aimed at minorities. Santorum single-handedly managed to offend both Hispanics and black people part of the African diaspora.

But it looks like republicans don’t too much like it when “off color” remarks are thrown in the other direction. At a recent fundraiser for President Obama, Robert DeNiro joked about America not being “ready for a white First Lady.” Newt Gingrinch was outraged, OUTRAGED!! He said DeNiro’s comments were inexcusable, and wanted the president to apologize for DeNiro; I guess because an apology from the mega-star wasn’t sufficient for Mr. Gingrinch.

Republicans have essentially given up trying to win “the black vote,” so there seems to be little self-editing happening. Lenny McAllister, senior contributor at Politic365.com and radio host of “Get Right with Lenny McAllister” (www.LMGILIVE.com), and frequent guest on CNN, says that the recent antics in the republican party aree less about alienation, and more about a failure to connect. “There hasn’t been a concerted effort to reach minorities [in the republican party] for 40 years.”

McAllister, who is a member of the group, Hip Hop Republicans, worries that this continued failure to connect will prevent republicans from leading a more diverse America, and the country continues to “brown.”

But there’s good news for Obama fans: Although McAllister thinks the president should get a “C-” for his first term, he still predicts a narrow win against Mitt Romney, whom he believes will be the single man standing after the republican primary. Who do you think will win the republican primary?

Christelyn D. Karazin is the co-author of “Swirling: How to Date, Mate and Relate Mixing Race, Culture and Creed” (to be released May 2012), and runs a blog, www.beyondblackwhite.com, dedicated to women of color who are interested and or involved in interracial and intercultural relationships. She is also the founder and organizer of “No Wedding, No Womb,” an initiative to find solutions to the 72 percent out-of-wedlock rate in the black community.

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All of you who cry foul whenever a new study points out the “alarming” rates of STDs among minorities may be on to something. A new study by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute has found that young minority women are screened for chlamydia at a significantly higher rate than young white women, and this discrepancy may contribute to nationwide reporting of higher rates of this sexually transmitted disease among black and Hispanic women.

In the study, which is published in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics, researchers looked at the screening rates for 40,000 young women ages 14 to 25 and found black women were 2.7 times more likely to be screened for chlamydia than white women. For Hispanic young women that rate was 9.7 times higher. Race wasn’t the only thing that led to higher testing rates, though, women with public insurance also had greater odds of chlamydia testing, compared with women with private insurance.

“For some common conditions like breast cancer, white women are more likely to receive a screening test like mammography. For chlamydia infections – which are highly stigmatized STDs – white women are less likely, while minority women are more likely, to receive screening,” said the study’s first author Sarah E. Wiehe, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and a Regenstrief Institute affiliated scientist. “This may mean that providers make judgments about a woman’s likelihood of infection based on her race or ethnicity. Yet in an asymptomatic condition like chlamydia, all sexually active young women should be screened.”

It’s definitely true that you always find what you’re looking for, and if doctors are sticklers for testing minority women it’s no wonder they find STDs at the rates that they do. While they’re spending time profiling minority women, they may want to pay a little more attention to what’s going on in white people’s backyards as well. These results obviously don’t take away from the fact that we still have an issue with STDs in our community, but healthcare advocates may need to slow down on making chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases “black issues” and start screening white women at equal rates.

Are you regularly asked to be tested for chlamydia and other STDs?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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At least somebody gets it. A new poll by CBS and the New York Times shows that a decent portion of Americans think the government should focus more on minority issues. Specifically, 39% say the government isn’t paying enough attention to problems concerning people of color, while 35% think the right amount attention is being paid; another 16% say the government is already paying too much attention to minority issues.

White and black Americans see things drastically differently. One in five white Americans think the government is paying too much attention to minority issues, while another 31% think it’s not paying enough. Black people overwhelmingly say the federal government isn’t paying enough attention, 77%, and 17% say the government is paying the right amount.

There’s also a difference among political parties. Democrats mostly think the government isn’t paying enough attention to the needs of minorities, 55%, but most Republicans think either the right amount of attention is being paid, 43%, or too much 29%. That’s not surprising for a party that values limited government involvement.

Attention on minorities can be a bit of a catch 22 though, as we already know. More than just the right amount of attention, the government needs to have the appropriate focus on minority issues and not go the route of our dear frenemies Newt Gingrich, Jesee Peterson, and countless others who have a skewed view of race relations and concerns African Americans and other minorities are facing.

Where do you stand on the government’s focus on minority issues? Should they be doing more, less, or is their involvement just right?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Yesterday, Bank of America’s Countrywide Financial unit agreed to pay a record $335 million to settle civil charges that it discriminated against minority home buyers.

Countrywide Financial was accused of charging African Americans and Hispanics higher interest rates and fees and directing some to more expensive subprime mortgages between 2004 and 2008– before they were acquired by Bank of America. An investigation found a widespread pattern of discrimination against more than 200,000 people in more than 180 geographic markets across 41 states and the District of Columbia.

“These allegations represent alarming conduct – by one of the largest mortgage lenders in this country, during the height of the housing market boom,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

The Justice Department said the money will be used to compensate victims of Countrywide’s discriminatory mortgage loans from 2004 through 2007. Their civil rights division also has about 20 other open investigations into financial institutions accused of discriminatory practices against minorities buying homes.

What do you think about the settlement?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Earlier this year an anti-abortion smear campaign charged that the most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb. Erykah Badu and members of the International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC) are taking health disparities among infants of color and their mothers more seriously with a summit focusing on improving both pre- and postnatal outcomes. The summit will take place from Oct. 14-16 in D’lberville, Mississippi.

The Grammy award winning singer and songwriter recently joined ICTC as its national spokeswoman after training to be a doula. She is also an advocate of natural childbirth and breastfeeding for healthy babies.

The summit is an action and solution-oriented leadership development event designed to reduce health disparities, improve breastfeeding rates, and build capacity in the Southeast region of the United States to support women and infants. ICTC annually convenes African-American and other midwives and doulas of color in order to increase the number of women and babies who have access to pre-and postnatal healthcare.

By Alexis Garrett Stodghill

President Obama is the first American president in history appoint mostly “non-traditional” candidates — as in persons who are not white males — to judge positions in the federal courts. While 70% of Obama’s nominees have been women or minorities, former President George W. Bush had a non-traditional appointment rate of only 32.9%. For Bill Clinton, his non-white-male appointments stood at a respectable 48.1%. But by comparison, for the first 140 years of this country’s federal judiciary system all those appointed to lifetime judgeships were white men, and presumably straight. Obama has shifted this trend dramatically within the first three years of his presidency, even appointing the first openly gay man to a federal judge position in New York City to further tip the scales.

The Associated Press has more on the president’s steady judiciary revolution:

The White House recently has been touting its efforts to diversify the federal bench during Obama’s tenure, now approaching three years in office.

The president won Senate confirmation of the first Latina to the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. With the confirmation of Justice Elena Kagan, he has put three women on the high court for the first time. The Obama administration also nominated and won confirmation of the first openly gay man to a federal judgeship: former Clinton administration official J. Paul Oetken, to an opening in New York City. [...]

The first openly homosexual federal judge was Deborah A. Batts in New York City, a lesbian nominated by Clinton in 1994.

Of the 98 Obama nominees confirmed to date, the administration says 21 percent are African-American, 11 percent are Hispanic, 7 percent are Asian-American and almost half — 47 percent — are women. By comparison, of the 322 judges confirmed during George W. Bush’s presidency, 18 percent were minorities and 22 percent were female. Of the 372 judges confirmed during Clinton’s terms, 25 percent were minorities and 29 percent were women. In these figures, some judges fit into more than one category.

Last week, the Senate confirmed the first African-American woman to sit on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Bernice Donald. Earlier, she was the first African-American woman elected as a judge in Tennessee, the first appointed as federal bankruptcy judge in the nation and first confirmed as a U.S. district judge in Tennessee.

Well, it’s not surprising news that the white population in America is dwindling but the Tea Party, the KKK and other fear-promoting groups may just jump at the new demographic data recently released by the Brookings Institute. In 1990, minorities were more than half the population in 5 of the largest 100 metropolitan areas. Today, minorities compose over half the population in 22 of the largest metro areas. Hispanic and Asian populations are the driving force behind these dramatic changes, especially in the Western region. African-Americans are constitute a less significant factor as immigration and birth rates among Asians and Latinos signify a source of the population growth of minorities overall. Check out which cities are now dominated by minorities as reported by the Brookings Institute.

Washington, D.C.