>>>NNA Breaking News Update 11/28/98
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NNA Breaking News Update 11/28/98
1. PA Gov. Ridge Condemns Racial Intolerance, Efforts by KKK
to Spread Hate
2. Student added to university admissions discrimination suit
3. Health gap between blacks, whites persists
4. Statistics on Racial Health Disparities.
5. Black PA cop, shot in chase, files bias suits
6. Bryan Cox Brands NFL As Racist
7. Federal Judge Considers Immigration Suit
World News
8. Crackdown On Hate Materials Planned: Tougher Laws Would Include
9. Penalties, Hard Drive Seizures
10. Tassie's loathing of hatred: huge penalties loom
11. Scottish National Party holds European Parliament seat
12. UEFA rejects racist chants protest
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PA Gov. Ridge Condemns Racial Intolerance, Efforts by KKK to Spread
Hate
ERIE, Pa., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Gov. Tom Ridge today issued the
following statement on tomorrow's planned rally in Erie by the
Ku Klux Klan and its efforts to spread hate across Pennsylvania:
``There is no place in Pennsylvania for a rally in support of hatred,
bigotry and prejudice. Not in Harrisburg. Not in Pittsburgh. Not in
Philadelphia. And not in the place I'm proud to call home, Erie. We
all must condemn these acts with swift and sure resolve.
``We simply cannot condone -- not through words, deeds or silence
-- those who seek to divide us based on skin color, country of
origin or religion.
``William Penn founded this Commonwealth as a safe haven from
religious persecution. We cannot turn our back on this proud past.
All Pennsylvanians must join the fight against groups or individuals
who betray the ideals of our great country and our great state.
``As Governor, I am proud that Pennsylvanians speak out against the
plague of the KKK by embracing, promoting and celebrating
Pennsylvania's diversity.
``For this entire Commonwealth to reach our fullest potential, we
must harness the power of our diversity and history of personal
freedom to guide us into the 21st century.''
SOURCE: Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
--
Student added to university admissions discrimination suit
Savannah Morning News
A Savannah judge has allowed a white male student who was denied
entry to the University of Georgia to join six others suing the
University System of Georgia for alleged racial bias in admissions
and university job promotions.
U.S. District Judge B. Avant Edenfield of the Southern Circuit
granted the plaintiffs a legal victory by allowing Craig Greene,
a white Whitfield County student who applied for admission to UGA
in 1997, to become a plaintiff after the January filing deadline.
Greene didn't attempt to join the suit until July.
Greene, the son of a self-employed laborer, graduated from high
school with a 3.33 grade point average, scored 27 on the ACT, in
the 91st percentile nationwide and "excelled in an accelerated
college prep curriculum," according to court documents.
Plaintiffs say at least one black applicant with lower scores was
admitted to UGA last fall.
"If Craig Greene had been of African-American or black race he would
have been admitted to the University of Georgia as an undergraduate
freshman during the 1997-1998 school year," Atlanta attorney A. Lee
Parks wrote in a plaintiff's motion.
The north Georgia student joins a group of white and black Georgians
who sued the university system last year in federal court, charging
bias in affirmative action policies and claiming the state perpetuates
the legacy of racial segregation by supporting historically black
public colleges -- Savannah State, Albany State and Fort Valley
State.
The case could reach court early next year.
Jeff Milsteen, spokesman for the state attorney general's office,
said the office was preparing a legal challenge to the new plaintiff's
contentions and had no comment. The state says the entire lawsuit is
fatally flawed and that the demographics of three historically black
colleges "is the result of private choice, not public action."
--
Health gap between blacks, whites persists
ATLANTA (AP) - Decades after the civil rights movement forced America
to confront racial inequities, disturbing disparities remain on one
of the most basic human levels: Blacks get sick easier, stay sick
longer and die sooner than whites. From day one, a black baby's life
expectancy is six and a half years shorter than a white baby's.
Blacks are more likely to be born too little and less likely to
survive their first year.
At work and in schools, blacks have made impressive gains. Poverty has
fallen. Still, disparities in health remain and in some cases are
worsening - even among middle class blacks with health insurance and
college degrees.
Asthma, hypertension, cancer. Name the disease and chances are blacks
face a higher risk. They're nearly twice as likely to die of a stroke
than whites, 40 percent more likely to die of heart disease. Blacks'
cancer death rates are 35 percent higher.
Other racial minorities also face disparities - Vietnamese women have
five times as much cervical cancer, and American Indians have twice as
much diabetes as whites. But among African-Americans, the gap cuts
across nearly every major disease.
``We have been - and remain - two nations: one majority, one minority
- separated by the quality of our health,'' said Secretary Donna
Shalala, whose Department of Health and Human Services has launched
a $400 million program to attack the problem. ``The time has come
to stop accepting disparities with resignation.''
The problems are multifaceted. It's poverty and the poor access to
care that comes with it. It's nutrition. And it's a health system
that blacks don't always trust - and that's not always trustworthy.
Standing in West End's gray hallway, Lillian Boodle waits to talk
with a nutritionist about her diabetes. She doesn't always take her
medicines because they're so expensive.
``I take it one day and not the next,'' she says. ``I don't discuss
it with the doctor because I know he wouldn't agree.''
It's not unusual for poor patients to take medicine every other day
to stretch out a prescription, doctors say. And blacks are more than
twice as likely as whites to be poor and nearly twice as likely to
be without health insurance. That means they're less likely to see
a doctor.
Health care, particularly preventative, has to compete with so many
other things, said Dr. John Maupin, president of Meharry Medical
College in Memphis, which has trained 40 percent of the nation's
black doctors and dentists.
``You're trying to deal with everyday survival - with everyday issues
of food, clothing and shelter - and someone wants to tell you how to
prevent a problem 20 years from now?'' he said. ``That's not going to
be a priority.''
Still, health problems go beyond the ability to pay. Hispanics are
less insured and poorer as a group, yet the health gap between
Hispanics and whites is not as dramatic.
In fact, health disparities persist even among blacks who are in the
middle class. Health improves for all races as income and education
increase, yet the gap between blacks and whites remains.
Why? Public health experts note that even middle class blacks face
extra stresses of living in a white-dominant society that still
contains racism.
And they suggest that some middle class blacks may have grown up poor,
with early influences still affecting their health.
``You're never dealing with a person just today. You're dealing with
everything they've been exposed to throughout their lives,'' says the
nation's surgeon general, Dr. David Satcher. ``Does it ever end? Our
hypothesis is that it never ends.''
--
Statistics on Racial Health Disparities.
(AP) Statistics on racial health disparities Statistics show the
disparities between the health of black and white Americans.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services:
-Life expectancy: A white baby born in 1996 can expect to live for
76.8 years; the average black baby will live 70.2 years.
-Infant mortality: Out of every 1,000 black babies born in 1995, 14.7
died in the first year; just 6.1 out of 1,000 white babies died.
-Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: 57.9 out of every 100,000 white babies
died of this mysterious crib death; for blacks, it was 137.5.
-AIDS: The overall number of AIDS cases is dropping, but it's rising
among blacks. Blacks are nearly six times as likely to die of AIDS
than whites.
-Cancer deaths: The death rate for cancer among black men is about 50
percent higher than for white men.
-Prostate cancer: Black men are hit 1.5 times more often than white
men. In 1990-95, 230 out of 100,000 black men got prostate cancer,
compared to 154 white men.
-Breast cancer: Black women are less likely than white women to get
it, but more likely to die from it. Between 1990 and 1995, the death
rate for all women fell 10 percent, but among black women it stayed
constant.
-Lung cancer: Blacks have a 27 percent higher death rate and, among
men, a 50 percent higher incidence rate.
-Stroke: Blacks are nearly twice as likely to die of stroke, with
44.2 deaths per 100,000 black Americans and 24.5 for whites.
-Heart disease: Black death rates are 40 percent higher than whites.
Deaths declined 20 percent overall from 1987 to 1995, but were down
just 13 percent among blacks.
-Hypertension: Between 1988 and 1994, 35 percent of black men ages
20 to 74 had high blood pressure, compared with 25 percent of white
men.
-Diabetes: Blacks are 70 percent more likely to have the disease than
whites. Between 1980 and 1994, the number of cases among blacks rose
33 percent, three times the increase among whites.
--
Black PA cop, shot in chase, files bias suits
The Bergen Record
A black Port Authority police officer who was shot in the leg by a
white state trooper at the George Washington Bridge at the end of a
police chase last year has filed a pair of discrimination lawsuits.
The complaints, filed in federal and state courts, contend that Port
Authority Police Officer Corvet Curley was shot because of his race
in the Nov. 20, 1997, incident. The shotgun blast shattered Curley's
leg.
The lawsuits also allege that a New Jersey State Police investigation
into the shooting was, essentially, a coverup.
Curley, a 13-year veteran of the Port Authority Police Department,
was shot by state Trooper Ronald Klem as authorities closed in on
Dion Bailey, who was wanted for the execution-style killing of a
Long Branch police officer earlier that day.
Starting in Monmouth County, Bailey had led police on a 60-mile chase
on the Garden State Parkway before his stolen car plowed into another
vehicle near the bridge tollbooths. Shortly afterward, Bailey fatally
shot himself in the head.
The uniformed, hatless Curley was shot as he approached Bailey's car
on foot. He has not returned to work and "is in really bad shape,"
said his lawyer, David Gould of New York.
Doctors originally thought they might have to amputate his leg but
have since embarked on a series of surgeries in an attempt to save
it, Gould said.
The federal civil rights claim, filed last week, names Klem as the
primary defendant, and says Curley's civil rights were violated by
the "unreasonable" shooting.
It alleges that Klem shot Curley at close range after mistaking him
for an African-American perpetrator, without just cause or
provocation.
After the shooting, the suit also alleges, Klem falsely claimed it
wasn't obvious that Curley was a law enforcement officer, even though
he was in a police uniform and clearly visible at the time of the
shooting.
The state complaint, filed in Superior Court in Bergen County, names
the New Jersey State Police and the state of New Jersey as defendants.
Among several allegations, it contends that the state police have
inadequately trained officers in the use of deadly force and have
failed to screen applicants regarding the "foreseeable dangers"
associated with "friendly fire" incidents involving African-American
officers.
"It was the duty of the New Jersey State Police officers in the
discharge of their firearms to do so without racial prejudice and
without negligence and with the knowledge of the reasonable
consequences of their acts," the state complaint says.
Both complaints also allege that the investigation into the shooting
has been predetermined by a flawed approach that permitted the state
police to run the investigation and by the false statements.
State police spokesman John Hagerty said Monday that the department
has forwarded all findings to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office,
which has the final say in whether to present the case to a grand
jury.
Bergen County Prosecutor William H. Schmidt said Monday that his
office has yet to decide whether to empanel a grand jury. The matter
is still under review, he said.
Hagerty declined to comment about Curley's lawsuits, saying the state
police weren't aware of them. The complaints will be reviewed by the
Attorney General's Office, Hagerty said.
Gould said Monday that he sent a letter to the state police in June,
complaining about the status of the investigation. Up to that point,
Curley had not been contacted or asked to speak to investigators,
Gould said.
A week after the letter was sent, Gould said, Curley was contacted.
At that point, he advised Curley not to speak with investigators, he
said.
"The investigation was no investigation," said Gould, a former
federal prosecutor. "There were clear attempts to steer testimony.
I don't know of anybody who was interviewed over a six-month period.
We were promised specific information about the investigation and
everybody reneged on their promise."
Gould said Curley showed great courage when he approached Bailey's
vehicle. Curley knew that the driver was armed, had earlier killed
a police officer, and fired on several others during the chase, the
attorney said.
When he was shot, Curley's first thought was to wonder how Bailey
had managed to escape from the car, Gould said. It was at the
hospital that Curley learned he had been shot by a police officer,
Gould said.
Gould took issue with a statement made shortly afterward by Governor
Whitman, who called the shooting understandable. He also said that
news reports of a fusillade of gunfire at the bridge were inaccurate
and gave the impression that Curley was probably caught in a
crossfire.
"There were a whole bunch of cops there, and only one cop fired,"
Gould said. "If that's understandable, then you're saying that black
cops shouldn't show up at scenes like these when there are white cops
there."
--
Bryan Cox Brands NFL As Racist
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) - On this week's docket - yet again - is Bryan
Cox vs. the National Football League.
The New York Jets linebacker, who has been fined $146,000 in his
career and filed two lawsuits against the league, drew a $10,000
fine on Tuesday for hits Sunday against Steve McNair and Eddie George
of Tennessee. Cox, who is black, criticized the NFL for having a
``slave Negro, house Negro mentality.'' He also questioned the roles
the league places blacks in.
``History to this?'' Cox said. ``There's no doubt about it. They
don't like me, and I don't like them. Paul Tagliabue is not my
favorite person, Gene Washington is not my favorite person, and
nor am I their favorite person. There's a little history about the
way this thing has gone. If it was another player, I don't think
that person would have been fined.''
Cox believes blacks such as Washington, who is responsible for fines
levied by the league, and Harold Henderson, the NFL's labor relations
director, are placed in unfair positions in dealing with black
players.
``Why do we always have to pitted against each other?'' Cox asked.
``I do have a problem with that, because every time we have to be
subject to discipline of some sort, it always has to be against a
person of color.
``If they're token, it's worthless. It's just like slave Negro,
house Negro mentality, and that's what this is.
``Also, the thing that with this league being over 70 percent black,
and within the league office all the black people that are in any
position of authority are always pitted against the players in the
league,'' added Cox, who played and behaved well since joining the
Jets in August as a free agent. ``Why can't we be the spokesman where
we have a job that's not a bad job, where you can't get in trouble?
``Yeah, we want to be placed in high positions, but now you want to
place us in high positions where there's always some kind of scandal
going on or there's always a problem. To me, that's unfortunate and
unfair. But at the same time, they choose to put themselves in that
position, so it's on them.''
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would have no comment on
Cox's racism charges.
Cox has been a regular when it comes to discipline and fines. He has
been fined eight times by the league, including $87,500 in 1996 for
directing an obscene gesture at an official. He also has been fined
for his role in fights; for unnecessary roughness; for spitting; for
criticism of officiating; and for obscene gestures to the crowd.
In 1994, Cox sued the league for not providing a work environment
free of racial harassment. That suit was dropped once the NFL promised
to eject fans who were racially abusive at games.
In 1997, he sued the league for what he claimed was a vendetta against
him. That suit was dismissed this past September.
The latest fines came on two plays late in the second half. On the
first, he was attempting to tackle McNair, who slid. Cox's forearm
connected with McNair's head.
On the other, he was fined for sending an uppercut toward George in
the course of tackling the Oilers running back.
``It was $10,000, and I got fined for unnecessary roughness, which
in football I didn't know there was such a thing,'' he said.
``If it happens again next week, I'll be doing the same thing. That's
the way I play. I'm not doing anything that I did wrong, I'm not
doing anything being dirty, I'm just playing football as hard as
possible. Yeah, I threw a forearm at Eddie George and I apologize
for it, because my intent is not to injure anybody, but I'm trying
to cause as much pain and hurt as I can.''
Cox also questioned the way coaches are hired in the NFL, noting that
only three of the 30 head coaches are black.
``Because if you believe this league is a racist league, which I do,''
Cox said, ``the good-ol'-boy network is alive and kicking. How many
black owners are in this league? How many black coaches? How many
coaches in this league that proved they can't win anywhere, but they
keep resurfacing as head coaches?''
--
Federal Judge Considers Immigration Suit
(DENVER) -- A federal judge in Denver is considering a challenge
to the country's first new law regarding how legal immigrants are
detained. U-S District Judge Lewis Babcock heard arguments in the
case yesterday. It's not known when the judge will issue his
decision. The A-C-L-U is challenging the law which requires illegal
immigrants who commit crimes to be put in jail during deportation
hearings.
--
World News
Crackdown On Hate Materials Planned: Tougher Laws Would Include
Penalties, Hard Drive Seizures
By Jim Bronskill, National Post November 25, 1998
CANADA- Possession of hate propaganda for the purpose of distributing
it to others could soon be a crime. The measure is among several
planned Criminal Code reforms aimed at toughening laws against the
spread of hatred. The package will include specific new penalties
for the desecration of churches, cemeteries and other institutions-
a response to such crimes as the spray-painting of swastikas on
gravesites and synagogues. It would also include a Criminal Code
revision allowing police to seize computer hard drives containing
hate propaganda.
Another move would prevent those charged with promoting hatred from
using the defense of truth based on a denial of the Holocaust or any
other historically recognized act of genocide.
Federal and provincial justice ministers quietly agreed to the charges
recently during a meeting in Regina. "There was unanimous support for
the principles here that hate motivated violence is something that we
condemn," said Pierre Gratton, press secretary to Justice Minister
Anne Mclellan. "Federal justice officials are studying the planned
revisions with the aim of bringing in legislation next year,"
Mr. Gratton said yesterday.
Current Criminal Code provisions prohibit anyone from inciting hatred
against members of an identifiable group distinguished by colour,
race, religion, or ethnic origin. Under the changes, the list of
characteristics would be expanded to include sex, sexual orientation,
age, and mental or physical disability.
The new offense concerning possession would apply to those who have
hate propaganda for the purpose of distributing it with the intention
of promoting hate. The provision will make it easier to crack down
on hate mongers while protecting the rights of people to openly
discuss controversial issues, said Ujjal Dosanjh, British Columbia's
attorney-general, who has been pushing for adoption of the new
measures. "It would preserve academic freedom, freedom of expression
and all those values that we cherish," Mr. Dosanjh said yesterday
in an interview. "Promotion of hatred isn't a value that we cherish
as Canadians and thats where it would stop."
--
Tassie's loathing of hatred: huge penalties loom
Tasmanian Mercury
RACIAL or other hate mail will be banned under proposed new State
Government anti-discrimination legislation with fines of up to $2000
for people found to have incited hatred.
The new legislation, tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday,
outlaws discrimination on a broad range of attributes including race,
age, sexual orientation, lawful sexual activity, breastfeeding and
political or industrial activity.
The legislation also sets up an anti-discrimination commissioner and
a tribunal to inquire into complaints.
The Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group last night hailed the
legislation as the best in Australia, combining the best elements
of all recent attempts to get the laws through.
Group spokesman Rodney Croome said he believed the legislation had a
good chance of getting through the Legislative Council.
"I think if they understand that it doesn't favour anyone, but gives
everyone equal protection, it has a good chance," he said.
Under the proposed laws, direct discrimination would be found if a
person treated another person on the basis of any attribute
prescribed in the legislation less favourably than a person without
that attribute.
The legislation would also prohibit sexual harassment, victimisation
or incitement of hatred or their promotion.
The tribunal would also be given the power to order the payment of
compensation, fines of up to $2000 and redress for any injury,
humiliation or loss.
Mr Croome said if the legislation was passed Tasmania would go from
being the only state without broad-based anti-discrimination laws to
having the best in the country.
"We welcome Labor's legislation because it uses the term 'sexual
orientation' instead of the weaker and narrower term 'lawful sexual
activity' proposed by the previous government," he said.
--
Scottish National Party holds European Parliament seat
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) - The Scottish National Party retained its
seat in the European Parliament in a special election, final returns
showed Friday.
Scottish Nationalist candidate Ian Hudghton won with 57,445 votes,
more than twice as much as Conservative Struan Stevenson and Labor's
Kathleen Walker Shaw. The district includes the cities of Aberdeen
and Dundee.
The election to the open European Parliament seat followed the Aug. 25
death of the incumbent, Allan Macartney.
--
UEFA rejects racist chants protest
England's trip to Stockholm ended in a 2-1 defeat
(BBC) The Football Association has vowed to step up efforts to
stamp racism out of the football after losing an appeal against a
£28,000 fine imposed following England's game in Sweden.
The fine was imposed by European football's governing body, UEFA,
after a section of England supporters were accused of racially
abusing striker Henrik Larsson during the Euro 2000 qualifying
match in Stockholm two months ago.
FA lawyers disputed that there had been any racist chanting, but
UEFA's appeals body rejected an appeal against the fine following
a hearing in Geneva.
A UEFA statement read: "The appeal was rejected following evidence
presented by the referee, Pierluigi Collina, and the UEFA delegate
at the match, Mattieu Sprengers, stressing that on at least eight
occasions during the game English fans had directed racist chants
at the Swedish player, Henrik Larsson."
Football Association lawyer Nick Coward said they were "disappointed"
by the verdict.
"We still believe everything is done within English football to
eradicate racism from the game. This does nothing more than
strengthen our resolve," he added.
--
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