When a group of more than 200 hundred graduating seniors from Washington University in St. Louis headed to Chicago a night of fun, they didn’t expect to file complaints with the Chicago Human Rights Commission, the Illinois Attorney General, or the U.S. Department of Justice when they returned.

At least six African-American students were denied entry into the Original Mother’s bar for what security personnel deemed as inappropriate dress.

Okay, that happens from time to time. However when a black student switched pants with his white friend and still wasn’t admitted, many in the group thought that race played a larger role in the situation than attire.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law legislation that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual based on sexual preference or gender identity.

While not advocating the taunting or murder of gay or transgendered people, some ministers are concerned their opinions on homosexuality may be considered hate speech.

Four Boys Charged with Sexually Assaulting 8-year-old
Phoenix Police have charged four boys, all children of Liberian immigrants, with sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, whom they allegedly lured into a vacant storage shed with chewing gum. Police say that the suspects – ages 9, 10, 13 and 14 – restrained the girl and sexually assaulted her on July 16. The boys all live in the same apartment complex, police said. The 14-year-old is being charged as an adult. The girl has been placed in the custody of Phoenix Child Protective Services because of her parents’ attitude toward her, police said.

Judge Says NYC Fire Dept. Discriminates
Because of discrimination within New York City’s Fire Department, Blacks and Hispanics account for only 10 percent of its workforce, despite the fact that most residents are minorities, a judge ruled Wednesday. “These numbers stand in stark contrast to some of the nation’s other large cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston, where minority firefighters have been represented in significantly higher percentages,” U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis wrote, agreeing with U.S. Department of Justice and a fraternal order of Black firefighters. Justice and the Black firefighters group found that disparities among those taking firefighter recruitment exams in 1999 and 2002 were so wide that no trial was needed to rule against the city. The city used the exams to appoint more than 5,300 entry-level firefighters between 1999 and 2007, “cheating at least 1,000 minority firefighters of chances to join a force of roughly 11,000 at the Fire Department of New York,” The Associated Press reported. Some 3,100 exam candidates were Black and 4,200 were Hispanic; still, the city appointed only 184 Black firefighters and 461 Hispanic firefighters, he said. “Black and Hispanic applicants had disproportionately failed the written examinations and those who passed were placed disproportionately lower down the hiring lists than Whites.” He said he must now consider remedies.

Black Women Don’t Stick with Law Firms
Three in four Black women lawyers will leave their firms within five years after slamming into the proverbial glass ceiling, a new study has found. “Those who leave often report experiencing institutional discrimination and unwanted and or unfair critical attention, which combine to create an exclusionary and challenging workplace,” according to the report by Catalyst, a women’s research group. Citing earlier studies, Catalyst noted that employers pay dearly when they lose an attorney. In fact, the group said, the cost is equal to or greater than the departing lawyer’s annual salary and benefits. Among the challenges unique to non-White women, according to Catalyst, are limited growth opportunities and a heightened sense of “outsider status;” more racial and gender stereotyping and experiences of sexism; lack of access to high-profile client assignments; and missed opportunities for candid feedback, the report said.

French cosmetics giant L’Oréal discriminated against Blacks, Asians and Arab women by telling its beauty products arm to keep the sales and promotion team all White, the French high court ruled this week.  L’Oréal didn’t want Garnier to allow women of color to sell its Fructis shampoo. The temp agency, Adecco, whose Districom division hired the hostesses, was also found guilty of racial discrimination. L’Oréal expressed “disappointment” over the judgment, which ends three years of legal wrangling over the discrimination claims. Samuel Thomas, the vice-chairman of SOS Racisme, the anti-racist campaign group, described the ruling as a “very great victory.” The court was told that a Disticom executive had sent a fax in 2000 saying that Garnier’s hostesses should be aged 18 to 22, wear size 38 to 42 clothes and be “BBR”.

Was the city of New Haven, Conn., right to scrap a promotion exam for firefighters because too few people of color could pass it? That’s the question being pondered by the U.S. Supreme Court, which must decide whether the action violates the civil rights of White applicants. Justice Anthony Kennedy seemed uncomfortable with the city’s decision to do away with the exam, saying that it only appeared it did so after realizing that no African Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be promoted based on the results. “It looked at the results and classified successful and unsuccessful applicants by race,” said Kennedy, a regular opponent of racial classifications. The regular crew of conservatives on the court appeared to be clearly on the side of the White applicants, while the more liberal justices said there is absolutely nothing wrong with nixing a test that had a disparate impact on minorities, which violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “You had some applicants who were winners and their promotion was set aside,” said Justice Antonin Scalia, one the most conservative members of the high court. But Justice David Souter said that ruling against New Haven would likely open up the door to a flood of lawsuits from disgruntled White firefighters. Twenty White firefighters, one of whom is also Hispanic, claimed in a lawsuit that the city violated their rights by trashing the exam. But the city argues that it would have risked a lawsuit anyway by maintaining an exam that gave Whites the edge, since Blacks almost always score lower than Whites on standardized tests.

Fancy restaurants in New York apparently see Black wait staff as bad for business. A new study by economist Marc Bendick Jr., came up with the same old results: White job applicants are considerably “more likely to get follow-up interviews, be offered jobs and given information about jobs, and their work histories were less likely to be investigated in detail,” The New York Times reported Tuesday. Read the rest.

Food giant gets slapped with a $200 million racial lawsuit. Kenneth Thompson, a New York attorney and former federal prosecutor, has filed a $200 million racial discrimination lawsuit against Compass Group PLC, a London-based food company that is regarded as the largest in the world of its kind. The class-action suit was filed on behalf of 11 current and former employees working at The Comcast Center in Philadelphia, as well as others who are part of the 100,000 workers Compass employs in the United States. The suit claims that the plaintiffs were victims of multiple acts of racial discrimination by co-workers and company management.  It charges that Black workers were the target of racial slurs, were denied promotions and were forced to work only in the kitchen area, while White workers were brought in to work private events. “This lawsuit has been filed to make sure no other Black employees at Compass or anywhere else are ever called the “N”-word, gorilla, referred to as chimps or denied equal treatment when they are just trying to do their jobs,” Thompson said. “The Compass Group has clear and strong policies that embrace diversity, inclusion and respect in the workplace and prohibit any sort of behavior that is contrary to these values,” the defendant said in a statement issued from its Charlotte, N.C. headquarters, The Philadelphia Daily News reports. “These are hard-working Black people who want to be left alone to do their jobs,” Thompson said. “They are Americans who go out and work hard and just want to be treated right.”

Black workers sue the U.S. Marshals Service. Black employees of the U.S. Marshals Service filed a racial discrimination lawsuit Wednesday, saying they have been denied promotions by managers who belittled them as lazy, reports The Associated Press. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court accuses the federal law enforcement agency of a “good old boys network” that allegedly groomed Whites for leadership positions while passing up and reprimanding Blacks for “trivial mistakes.” “This is the way the agency treats African-American deputies all over the country,” said David Grogan, a deputy U.S. marshal who is filing the lawsuit. “If you’re an African American doing a good job, they’re going to find some loophole or exception to keep you from getting ahead.” In one incident, Grogan said he was taunted and insulted by a manager for using the gym. U.S. Marshals policy allows deputies up to three hours a week of gym time, but the manager said he “set a bad example” because he spent too much time exercising and did not take his job seriously. “In this way, Chief M.G. and several of his White friends attempted to use Mr. Grogan’s physical fitness to reinforce their racial stereotypes of Mr. Grogan as lazy,” the 42-page complaint states. The Marshals Service, a division of the Justice Department, has 4,700 employees and is responsible for apprehending fugitives and protecting federal judges. Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the Marshals Service, said the agency could not comment on specific allegations while the lawsuit is pending. “I can tell you that U.S. Marshals is aware of the allegations contained in the lawsuit, and these allegations do not reflect the culture of this agency or the high standards to which we hold our employees,” he said.

Sack leader Bruce Smith recognized in Buffalo. The NFL’s all-time leader in quarterback sacks is the newest member of Buffalo’s “Wall of Fame.” Retired defensive end Bruce Smith’s name was formally added to the Bills’ revered elite during half-time of Sunday’s game versus Oakland. “In my heart and in my blood, I bleed red, white and blue,” he says. “I am humbled and blessed by this honor.” The No. 1 overall pick from Virginia Tech in 1985 finished his career with 200 sacks. Since retirement he has worked in real estate.

Men were accused of exposing themselves to Black woman. Two NASCAR officials have been fired after a Black former inspector for the racing organization accused them of making lewd jokes and exposing themselves to her. A spokesman declined to say exactly why Tim Knox and Bud Moore were dismissed, but they’d been suspended pending an investigation of Mauricia Grant’s claims and $225 million race and sex discrimination suits. Grant claims she was fired after complaining to bosses about frequent race- and gender-related comments. Her lawsuit cites 23 specific instances of sexual harassment and 34 specific instances of color and gender discrimination. “We’ve talked to dozens of officials and our personnel,” spokesman Ramsey Potson says of NASCAR’s investigation. “That part of it is wrapped up.”

The neighbors say they were shocked by the discovery.
Historic D.C.-area church is defaced. Members of the First Baptist Church of Chesterbrook got the word last Sunday – the “N”-word, spray-painted in bold, block letters right next to the front door. “It was a very upsetting time,” Andre Johnson, a longtime member of the historic African-American church, told The Washington Post, adding that many of the congregants are concerned. “It was very disturbing to the membership” and “to me,” said James R. King, chairman of the board of deacons at the church, which traces its history to the Civil War era, when the neighborhood was known as Lincolnville. “That you would deface a house of worship . . . shocked us more than anything,” King said. It was the first racist incident he could recall in about 30 years – when somebody burned a cross on the front lawn of the edifice. The community has been very supportive, he said. “It’s a sick person who did that, [and] not an indication of what the community around us is like.”

White man files $6 million discrimination suit. Kevin Stevens, a 46-year-old air-conditioning maintenance worker, is suing the school board in Annapolis for $6 million, saying he’s been getting passed over for manager posts because he’s White. Stevens, who has been with the county school system for the past 28 years, says that he has been trying to move up for the past year and a half. “The hiring authority won’t allow me to advance,” Stevens told The Capital newspaper. “You work so hard, and you attain all these licenses and advanced education, and when no one will allow you to move, it’s very frustrating.” Stevens fixes heating and air-conditioning systems in county schools, but a year ago, he sought a post as night quality-control manager, according to his lawsuit. In that capacity, he would have been in charge of supervising night housekeeping crews in the schools. The Black man promoted instead worked under him for the past several years, says Stevens, noting that he has received high ratings on his evaluations and “has more letters of recommendation and more experience than the man who got the job,” the Capital reports. The supervisor of the operations division is also African American, which Stevens says is the reason he was not promoted.

Black weekly ceases printing amid money woes. After 16 years, The Bay View has bottled up the ink. From now on, according to founder Mary Ratcliff, the Oakland-based African-American weekly will be available online only. “This is not a goodbye to you, our beloved readers, though,” she promised her readers. “As the headline suggests, the Bay View’s not dead; we’ll see you on the Web! We’re pouring all our energy into improving our Web site, www.sfbayview.com, which has already recovered from a bad hacking enough to draw over a million hits a month.” She said that the printed version of the newspaper has been “a labor of love and the love,” but she and husband Willie Ratcliff were never able to make it profitable – or even sustainable. “Now we’ve had to face the reality that we’re flat out of funds or any source to tap.”