Race in America Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Race in America

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  • Az_ethnic_studies

    Debating Tucson School District's Book Ban After Suspension of Mexican American Studies Program

    Public school officials in Tucson, Arizona, have released a list of seven books that can no longer be used in classrooms following their suspension of the district’s acclaimed Mexican American Studies program. Last year, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal ruled the program violated a new state law, saying it "promote[s] resentment toward a race or class of people." "If all you’re teaching these...
    Jan 18, 2012 | Story
  • Mlk_dn2012-0116

    SPECIAL: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in His Own Words

    Today is the federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was born January 15th, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 39 years old. While Dr. King is primarily remembered as a civil rights leader, he also championed the cause of the poor and organized the Poor People’s Campaign to address issues of economic justice. Dr. King was also a fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy...
    Jan 16, 2012 | Story
  • Danny_chen

    Death of Private Danny Chen: Military Admits Chen was Target of Race-Based Hazing on Daily Basis

    U.S. Army investigators have released explosive new details about the death of Private Danny Chen, who allegedly took his own life just weeks after he was deployed to Afghanistan last October. The family of the 19-year-old Chinese-American soldier says the Army told them Chen had been abused by comrades on an almost daily basis, including racist hazing, with soldiers throwing rocks at him, calling him ethnic slurs and forcing him to do push-ups...
    Jan 09, 2012 | Story
  • Students2

    Tucson Orders Closure of Mexican-American School Program as Ethnic Studies Faces Nationwide Threat

    An Arizona administrator has ruled that the public school district in Tucson must end its acclaimed Mexican American Studies program for grades K-12, saying it violates a new state law that bans the teaching of any class designed for a particular ethnic group or that "promote[s] resentment toward a race or class of people." But the program’s supporters say the classes push the district’s largely Latino student body to excel...
    Dec 29, 2011 | Story
  • Chen-play

    U.S. Troops Charged After Fellow GI, Hazing Victim Danny Chen Found Dead in Afghanistan

    The family of 19-year-old Danny Chen has demanded an investigation after the Army private was found dead in Afghanistan of what military authorities say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Chen’s family says, before his death, he reported being subjected to racist hazing, with soldiers throwing rocks at him and calling him ethnic slurs. Now the Army has charged eight soldiers involved in his death with crimes ranging from dereliction...
    Dec 23, 2011 | Story
  • Arpairo

    Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Mounting Storm of Anti-Latino Bias, Prisoner Abuse, Sex-Crimes Negligence

    The controversy around Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is growing by the day. In a scathing report, the Justice Department has accused Arpaio of "wide-ranging discrimination against Latinos," leading federal authorities to suspend Arpaio’s access to programs under which undocumented immigrants are handed over from his jail for deportation. "The federal government was using Arpaio as sort of a showcase, a model for its 287(g) program,...
    Dec 22, 2011 | Story
  • Ows_occupy_wall_street_web

    Occupy Everywhere: Michael Moore, Naomi Klein on Next Steps for the Movement Against Corporate Power

    How does the Occupy Wall Street movement move from "the outrage phase" to the "hope phase," and imagine a new economic model? In a Democracy Now! special broadcast, we bring you excerpts from a recent event that examined this question and much more. "Occupy Everywhere: On the New Politics and Possibilities of the Movement Against Corporate Power," a panel discussion hosted by The Nation magazine and The New School...
    Nov 25, 2011 | Story
  • Juan_gonzalez_on_tavis_smiley

    VIDEO: Watch Juan Gonzalez on Tavis Smiley about News for All the People

    Democracy Now! co-host and co-author of News for All the People, Juan Gonzalez, explains why Americans don’t have a free market in the media and tackles the racial politics of media ownership on PBS’ Tavis Smiley.
    Nov 03, 2011 | D.N. in the News
  • West3_web

    Dr. Cornel West: "We Are in a Magnificent Moment of Democratic Awakening"

    Princeton University professor and renowned civil rights activist Cornel West was arrested Friday afternoon during a demonstration in Harlem against alleged racial profiling by the New York City Police Department. West joined a protest against the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, which critics say disproportionately targets people of color. New York City police carried out 600,000 such searches last year, with 87 percent of the targets being...
    Oct 24, 2011 | Story
  • Troy-davis-executed_web

    Democracy Now! Special Report from Troy Davis Execution: Did Georgia Kill an Innocent Man?

    Troy Anthony Davis was killed by lethal injection by the state of Georgia at 11:08 p.m. EDT last night, despite widespread doubts about his guilt. The execution occurred shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop the execution. Democracy Now! was the only news outlet to continuously broadcast live from the prison grounds last night, where hundreds of supporters Troy Davis held an all-day vigil in Jackson, Georgia. Today we hear the...
    Sep 22, 2011 | Story