All things Racist...USA edition (2 Viewers)

[Farb]

I was looking for a place to put this so we could discuss but didn't really find a place that worked so I created this thread so we can all place articles, experiences, videos and examples of racism in the USA.

This is one that happened this week. The lady even called and filed a complaint on the officer. This officer also chose to wear the body cam (apparently, LA doesn't require this yet). This exchange wasn't necessarily racist IMO until she started with the "mexican racist...you will never be white, like you want" garbage. That is when it turned racist IMO

All the murderer and other insults, I think are just a by product of CRT and ACAB rhetoric that is very common on the radical left and sadly is being brought to mainstream in this country.

Another point that I think is worth mentioning is she is a teacher and the sense of entitlement she feels is mind blowing.

https://news.yahoo.com/black-teacher-berates-latino-la-221235341.html

 

[samiam5211]

If Trump is reelected, he will pick Farb as archivist of false reports of hate crimes.

 

[SaintForLife]

“It’s only the media and liberals that make racism a thing”

Racism definitely exists, but we also know that the media and the left use false accusations of racism, white supremacy, antisemites, etc to try to silence their critics.

 

[LA - L.A.]

Racism definitely exists, but we also know that the media and the left use false accusations of racism, white supremacy, antisemites, etc to try to silence their critics.

A little exercise in reductio ad absurdum regarding the cliched assertion of "we know."

We also know that SaintForLife shoots the children in his neighborhood with a a pellet gun and eats out of trash cans.

Saying "we also know" doesn't make something actually true. In fact, when people say any of the variations of "we know" before making a claim, it's usually because they're saying what they believe to be true and not something they can show to be true with credible and accurate information.

 

[bird]

Racism definitely exists, but we also know that the media and the left use false accusations of racism, white supremacy, antisemites, etc to try to silence their critics.

Nah, just in RW world.

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

Racism definitely exists, but we also know that the media and the left use false accusations of racism, white supremacy, antisemites, etc to try to silence their critics.

there are false accusations for a lot of stuff, but it doesn't make the rest of them untrue. Do you automatically assume every woman who is raped to be lying?

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Supreme Court has long held that the Constitution prohibits prosecutors from striking Black people from jury service based on their race.

Yet the practice continues: Nearly every study of jury strikes has revealed that prosecutors disproportionately use their strikes to exclude Black jurors.


Now the court has an opportunity to send a message to prosecutors across the country that this abhorrent practice is unacceptable — and it should not hesitate to do so.


The right to a fair trial before an impartial jury of one’s peers is one of the criminal legal system’s most basic principles. But for many Black people, the promise is illusory.


Black citizens are often completely or substantially underrepresented on juries, especially in death penalty cases. Some are dismissed because they express reservations about capital punishment — often because of its long history of discrimination against Black people.

Then prosecutors use their peremptory strikes, which allow each side to remove a set number of prospective jurors for any reason, against those who remain. As a result, all-White juries are still common in criminal trials, even in communities with substantial minority populations.

The Supreme Court prohibited strikes based on race in its 1986 decision in Batson v. Kentucky. The court held that if there is a pattern of strikes that appears to be based on race, prosecutors must show the strikes were for other, race-neutral reasons.

The court has reaffirmed this in several decisions since then, including a Mississippi case in which the defendant faced the death penalty and a prosecutor had the opportunity to strike 42 Black citizens in six trials of the same case — and struck 41 of them.

And yet prosecutors routinely get away with striking based on race because courts fail to scrutinize their often-flimsy excuses, which include such dubious reasons as alleged low intelligence, lack of eye contact with prosecutor, living in a high-crime neighborhood or showing boredom or inattentiveness.

A Texas judge observed that courts were so willing to accept “any implausible or outlandish reason” for a strike that it rendered the Supreme Court’s decision in Batson “meaningless.”…….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/14/supreme-court-warren-king-black-jurors/

 

[Optimus Prime]

for what it's worth
============

Their quick rise to the top of the listening charts suggests audiences and fans are eating up the two new songs Beyoncé unexpectedly dropped in the middle of the Super Bowl, but radio executives may be harder to convince, as airplay for the much talked-about songs has yet to catch up to their apparent popularity.

“Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” were No. 2 and 3, respectively, on the Apple Music charts as of Wednesday, the former holds a spot on Spotify’s Global Top 100 and on Tuesday Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top the Apple Music Country Chart.

The two visualizers—video content that does not have the production of a full music video— released with each song have racked up millions of views on YouTube: "16 Carriages" has been viewed 2.25 million times and "Texas Hold 'Em" had 2.7 million views as of Wednesday afternoon.

But despite the accolades, the songs have lagged behind in radio play—especially in country music.

As of Tuesday, only eight of the 150 stations that report to Billboard’s Country Airplay chart reported having played “Texas Hold ‘Em” in its first day—one station played it twice—and none said they had put the slower “16 Carriages” on the air.

Neither of Beyoncé’s new singles made it onto Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, with the publication reporting that “Texas Hold ‘Em” was played “over 200 times” though mostly on pop stations, while “16 Carriages” didn’t receive much air time at all.

Billboard warns that just because country music stations aren't playing Beyonce en masse yet doesn't mean they won't—Columbia Records serviced “Texas Hold ‘Em” to country radio on Tuesday (meaning it was sent to stations labeled as belonging in the format), which the publication thinks could help move the needle...........

Beyoncé’s New Songs Aren't Getting Played On Country Radio — Despite Streaming Success

Their quick rise to the top of the listening charts suggests audiences and fans are eating up the two new songs Beyonce unexpectedly dropped in the middle of the Super...

www.forbes.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

A small group of neo-Nazis marched in downtown Nashville on Saturday, drawing a few vocal opponents and ultimately leaving following a "challenge," police said.

The demonstrators, all men, wore red, long-sleeve t-shirts and black pants, and some carried black Nazi flags, according to verified social media video from the scene.

"Neo-Nazi demonstrators ... carried flags with swastikas, walked around the Capitol and parts of downtown Saturday afternoon," the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement.

No arrests were reported, and the group left in a U-Haul box truck that ultimately exited greater Nashville, police said, indicating the demonstrators may have been from out of town.

"Some persons on Broadway challenged the group, most of whom wore face coverings," the department said. "The group headed to a U-Haul box truck, got in, and departed Davidson County."

Marchers' red shirts included the words "Blood Tribe," a white supremacist membership organization founded in earnest in 2021 by former U.S. Marine Christopher Pohlhaus, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The men-only organization eschews "softer optics" in favor of loud and showy demonstrations and hardline stances on its notion of white superiority, the ADL said.

The group, which the ADL says emphasizes physical fitness and a warlike mentality, has focused mostly on disrupting events oriented toward the LGBTQ+ community, such as Drag Queen Story Hour readings for children.

"These groups once relegated to the dark corners now feel empowered to spew their noxious ideology out in the open due to our state’s leadership REFUSING to condemn their speech and actions," Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, said on social media platform X.

State Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, a reinstated member of the "Tennessee three" group of lawmakers removed by Republicans for protesting gun violence on the House floor last year, blamed GOP legislators for alleged hate speech that he said appeals to neo-Nazis.

"This is exactly what my Republican colleagues hate speech is fostering and inviting," Jones said on X.

Representatives of the state legislature's two Republican caucuses did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tennessee's Republican governor, Bill Lee, condemned the group in a statement on X. "Nazism and antisemitism should never be tolerated in any form," he said.........

MSN

 

[Optimus Prime]

Wasn't sure were to put this
====================
After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, companies made big pledges about racial equity, hiring teams dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. Now corporate America is pulling back — cutting DEI jobs and outsourcing the work to consultants.

DEI jobs peaked in early 2023 before falling 5 percent that year and shrinking by 8 percent so far in 2024, according to Revelio Labs data shared with The Washington Post. The attrition rate for DEI roles has been about double that of non-DEI jobs, says Revelio, which tracks workforce dynamics.

In recent weeks, Zoom axed its internal DEI team amid broader layoffs, and Snap cut workers who worked on retention and engagement efforts for employees from underrepresented groups. Meta, Tesla, DoorDash, Lyft, Home Depot, Wayfair and X were among major corporations making steep cuts in 2023, slashing the size of their DEI teams by 50 percent or more, Revelio’s data shows.

“The overall number of DEI officers has decreased,” said Lisa Simon, Revelio’s senior economist, “but it’s not enough to destroy all the strides that happened after 2020.”

At Zoom, chief operating officer Aparna Bawa told employees that the company would replace its internal DEI team with DEI consultants who would “champion inclusion by embedding our values … directly into our people programs rather than as a separate initiative,” according to a Jan. 29 memo seen by The Post.

Colleen Rodriguez, the company’s head of global corporate communications, said Zoom “remains committed” to DEI work.

Snap made a similar decision in February, according to reporting from Business Insider. Snap did not respond to a request for comment.

Corporate America’s retreat from DEI has coincided with increased legal risk and political animosity toward systemic efforts to boost racial equity. State legislators have introduced at least 65 anti-DEI bills since 2023, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The resignation of Claudine Gay, Harvard University’s first Black president, amid plagiarism allegations in January was billed as “the beginning of the end for DEI in America’s institutions” by the conservative activist who led the campaign to oust her. Mentions of DEI on corporate earnings calls have plunged in the past year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

For companies that were never really committed, “this is the perfect air cover for backing off diversity,” said Joelle Emerson, CEO of DEI consultancy Paradigm.

Not all companies downsizing teams are giving up on the work, Emerson said, noting that some employers overhired when they established their DEI teams.

“I don’t know that it ever made sense to have a 25-person diversity team sitting to the side of a core business function,” Emerson said. “Companies should be able to say, ‘We’ve tried this, it didn’t have an impact, we’re going to try something different.’”...........

MSN

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/20/corporate-diversity-job-cuts/

 

[Optimus Prime]

A judge will hear arguments on Thursday about whether a Texas school district can continue punishing a Black teen for refusing to change his hairstyle.

Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, about 30 miles from Houston, has been in in-school suspension or at an off-site disciplinary program for most of the school year. School officials said in August that George’s hair — which he wears in dreadlocks twisted neatly on top of his head, away from his face and neck — violates a district dress code regulating the length of boys’ hair. According to the student handbook, male students’ hair cannot extend past the eyebrows or ear lobes.

George has received letters and messages from people encouraging him and supporting his decision to not cut his hair, the family’s attorney, Allie Booker, said. The 18-year-old has said the support has made all the difference amid the headline-making controversy.

“I just want them to know that I hear them and appreciate everything and I’ma keep fighting,” he told Booker in a text message shared with NBC News. “This fight has been a struggle on me, but with their words, it keeps me pushing.”

George’s family says his punishment violates the state’s newly implemented CROWN Act. The district filed a lawsuit in September, requesting that a judge clarify whether that’s the case. Last month, State District Judge Chap Cain III in Anahuac ordered the case to go to trial, which is slated for Thursday.

“The Texas CROWN Act protects hair texture and the wearing of braids, twists, and locs. Those with agendas wish to make the CROWN Act a blanket allowance of student expression. Again, we look forward to this issue being legally resolved,” Barbers Hill Independent School District Superintendent Greg Poole said in a statement shared with NBC News. ............

What to know about the Texas trial involving a Black teen punished over his dreadlocks

Darryl George, 18, has been out of his regular classroom for most of the school year, after his high school suspended him for wearing his hair in long dreadlocks.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

February is supposed to be a time to celebrate Black history. But in recent years, that history has come under attack by extreme Republican lawmakers in state legislatures across the country. In the past year, politicians in 30 states attempted to curtail the teaching of Black history.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time this battle has been waged. In fact, a pattern has been playing on repeat since the end of the Civil War: African American gains, followed by a state-sanctioned backlash and rewriting of history. Recognizing this pattern allows us to put the present attacks on Black history in their proper context and reorient our fight where we should: the state level.

We see this pattern distinctly in the aftermath of the Civil War. With the ratification of the 13th Amendment, newly freed Black people hoped that they could finally begin to live lives of freedom. But any hope of true liberation was shattered as states began to pass Black codes. These laws hampered Black people’s economic freedom, placing restrictions on the property they could own and requirements on the jobs they could hold. True to the pattern, the “leaders” who wrote these laws immediately tried to rewrite history by claiming the laws were necessary to curtail vagrancy and protect communities.

As the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments ushered in a new era of Reconstruction, Black people throughout the South gained real political power. Black men, who gained suffrage through the 15th Amendment, transformed state legislatures across the South by voting and by running for office themselves. More than a dozen Black men — including Hiram Revels and Joseph Rainey — were elected to Congress. Hundreds were elected to state legislatures, allowing them to repeal many racist laws. This progress would not have been possible without Black women, who despite still being barred from the ballot box, played instrumental advocacy roles — including through organized labor.

But again, a violent backlash ensued.

In massacres throughout the South, white mobs killed hundreds of Black people attempting to participate in the political process — some simply standing in line to vote. The end of Reconstruction allowed states to reenact racist laws, including ones to suppress the Black vote.

Meanwhile, those in power spun up a dangerous and false narrative. They reframed the violent overthrow of Reconstruction as “reform” needed to clamp down on so-called corruption by the new, diverse political coalition. Black Americans weren’t yet ready for democracy, the new history went, so ending Reconstruction was an appropriate correction.

Fast-forward to the election of former President Obama. Instead of marking our entrance into a “post-racial society,” the ascendance of our first Black president triggered another intense backlash. Besides fueling the rise of former President Trump, Obama’s election prompted states to undertake aggressive efforts to make it harder for Black people to vote. With the Voting Rights Act essentially gutted, extremists have engaged in widespread gerrymandering and enacted restrictive voting laws that they frame as being necessary to remedy (nonexistent) voter fraud.

But beyond just seeking to rewrite the history around these antidemocratic efforts, extreme Republicans have their targets fixed on erasing centuries of American history altogether.

Some of these efforts have already succeeded. In Florida, new curriculum standards will no longer allow students to learn the true history of slavery. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) recently rewrote the history of her own state when she answered that the Civil War was fought over “the role of government.” And just this month, a Republican lawmaker in Colorado came out against Black History Month, asserting that its observance teaches “false history.”

Which brings us back to today. Considering all of this, how should we celebrate Black History Month this year?..............

https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/4473296-black-history-is-under-attack-unfortunately-thats-nothing-new/

 

[Optimus Prime]

ANAHUAC, Texas (AP) — A Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular Houston-area high school classes since Aug. 31 because the district, Barbers Hill, says the length of his hair violates its dress code.

The district filed a lawsuit arguing George’s long hair, which he wears in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates its policy because it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or earlobes when let down. The district has said other students with locs comply with the length policy.

After about three hours of testimony in Anahuac, state District Judge Chap Cain III ruled in favor of the school district, saying its policy is not discriminatory because the CROWN Act does not say that exemptions for long hair can be made for hairstyles that are protected by the law, including locs. And he said courts must not attempt to rewrite legislation.



“Judges should not legislate from the bench and I am not about to start today,” Cain said.

The CROWN Act, which took effect in September, prohibits race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, locs, twists or Bantu knots.

The judge encouraged George to ask the state Legislature or the school board to address the issue.

George’s family has also filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency and a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with the school district, alleging they failed to enforce the CROWN Act. The lawsuit is before a federal judge in Galveston.

Allie Booker, George’s attorney, said she planned to seek an injunction in the federal lawsuit to stop George’s punishment and that she also would appeal Thursday’s decision.


For most of the school year, George, a junior, has either served in-school suspension at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu or spent time at an off-site disciplinary program.

“The Texas legal system has validated our position that the district’s dress code does not violate the CROWN Act and that the CROWN Act does not give students unlimited self-expression,” Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole said in a statement.

The district did not present any witnesses, instead only submitting evidence that included an affidavit from the district’s superintendent defending the dress code policy. Its attorneys argued that the dress code policy does not violate the CROWN Act because the law does not mention or cover hair length.


Before the trial, George and his mother, Darresha George, said they were optimistic.

Wearing locs is “how I feel closer to my people. It’s how I feel closer to my ancestors. It’s just me. It’s how I am,” George said.

After the ruling, George and his mother cried and declined to speak with reporters.

Candice Matthews, a spokesperson for George’s family, said the 18-year-old asked her as he left the courthouse: “All because of my hair? I can’t get my education because of my hair?”

Testifying for George, Democratic state Rep. Ron Reynolds, one of the co-authors of the CROWN Act, said that while the protection of hair length was not specifically mentioned in the CROWN Act, it was inferred.


“Anyone familiar with braids, locs, twists knows it requires a certain amount of length,” Reynolds said.……

Texas school legally punished Black student over hairstyle, judge says

A judge has ruled that a Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law prohibiting race-based hair discrimination.

apnews.com

 

[RobF]

Democratic state Rep. Ron Reynolds, one of the co-authors of the CROWN Act, said that while the protection of hair length was not specifically mentioned in the CROWN Act, it was inferred.


“Anyone familiar with braids, locs, twists knows it requires a certain amount of length,” Reynolds said.……

Right? Surely all the characteristics of the hair styles, including length, have to be protected implicitly. Otherwise what's the protection?

It'd be like having another rule saying a hair style can't rise more than an inch above the head and then claiming that didn't breach restrictions on discrimination against afros on the grounds that someone could still have a teeny tiny afro.

 

[SaintForLife]

 

[Optimus Prime]

I’m surprised Stephen Miller wasn’t involved in this
===========================


A federal judge in Texas ruled on Tuesday that the Minority Business Development Agency, which provides support to businesses owned by people of color, is now barred from providing exclusive assistance to these entities.

The agency must now provide assistance to all businesses and owners, regardless of race, as a result of a lawsuit brought by white business owners who alleged the policies were unconstitutional.

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) was formed under President Nixon as “the only federal agency tasked with promoting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses”, according to the agency’s website. Then known as the Minority Business Enterprise, Nixon used an executive order to address economic disparities and inequalities that resulted from racist policies and lack of access.


“This is not a substitute for the many other efforts that continue to be needed if we are to make headway against the ravages of poverty,” Nixon said of the executive order that established what was to become the MBDA.

“It is a supplement, dealing with a special but vital part of the broader effort to bring the members of our minority groups into full participation in the American society and economy. Its success will be measured by tangible results, not by the volume of studies.”

But, executive orders are not law, and for several decades the MBDA existed in a liminal space as a temporary agency. Over the years, the agency’s continued existence was uncertain.

In 2017, then president Donald Trump proposed eliminating the MBDA. That changed in 2021, when Joe Biden and the Congress enacted the Minority Business Development Act, making the MBDA a permanent agency. MBDA works to connect minority owned businesses with capital, contracts and markets, in addition to promoting said businesses with elected officials, policy makers and other business leaders, according to the organization’s website.

While the agency’s stated goal is to provide specific and targeted assistance to minorities, the three white plaintiffs still attempted to access MBDA’s services. Each plaintiff was told that they were ineligible for assistance because they were not on the agency’s list of qualified minorities, which includes Black Americans, Indigenous Americans, Hasidic Jews, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The ruling, made by US district judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee, acknowledges that minority businesses “are two to three times more likely to be denied a loan” and “receive less funding and pay higher interest rates on loans they do receive”.


“Minorities have less access to loans, get less money when they apply, and have to pay more for it. It’s little wonder ‘[d]isproportionate difficulty accessing commercial capital and credit’ is among the primary concerns voiced by minority entrepreneurs … Nobody can deny that’s a problem,” said Pittman. “But it cannot be a compelling government interest unless the Agency identifies concrete acts of past discrimination that caused it. And the Agency’s cited studies speak only to the phenomenon itself, not contributing factors.”………

Federal agency to develop minority businesses can’t only help minority businesses, Texas judge rules

Three white plaintiffs sued after they were denied services by the agency, whose stated goal is to provide assistance to minorities

www.theguardian.com

 

[cuddlemonkey]

I’m surprised Stephen Miller wasn’t involved in this
===========================


A federal judge in Texas ruled on Tuesday that the Minority Business Development Agency, which provides support to businesses owned by people of color, is now barred from providing exclusive assistance to these entities.

The agency must now provide assistance to all businesses and owners, regardless of race, as a result of a lawsuit brought by white business owners who alleged the policies were unconstitutional.

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) was formed under President Nixon as “the only federal agency tasked with promoting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses”, according to the agency’s website. Then known as the Minority Business Enterprise, Nixon used an executive order to address economic disparities and inequalities that resulted from racist policies and lack of access.


“This is not a substitute for the many other efforts that continue to be needed if we are to make headway against the ravages of poverty,” Nixon said of the executive order that established what was to become the MBDA.

“It is a supplement, dealing with a special but vital part of the broader effort to bring the members of our minority groups into full participation in the American society and economy. Its success will be measured by tangible results, not by the volume of studies.”

But, executive orders are not law, and for several decades the MBDA existed in a liminal space as a temporary agency. Over the years, the agency’s continued existence was uncertain.

In 2017, then president Donald Trump proposed eliminating the MBDA. That changed in 2021, when Joe Biden and the Congress enacted the Minority Business Development Act, making the MBDA a permanent agency. MBDA works to connect minority owned businesses with capital, contracts and markets, in addition to promoting said businesses with elected officials, policy makers and other business leaders, according to the organization’s website.

While the agency’s stated goal is to provide specific and targeted assistance to minorities, the three white plaintiffs still attempted to access MBDA’s services. Each plaintiff was told that they were ineligible for assistance because they were not on the agency’s list of qualified minorities, which includes Black Americans, Indigenous Americans, Hasidic Jews, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The ruling, made by US district judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee, acknowledges that minority businesses “are two to three times more likely to be denied a loan” and “receive less funding and pay higher interest rates on loans they do receive”.


“Minorities have less access to loans, get less money when they apply, and have to pay more for it. It’s little wonder ‘[d]isproportionate difficulty accessing commercial capital and credit’ is among the primary concerns voiced by minority entrepreneurs … Nobody can deny that’s a problem,” said Pittman. “But it cannot be a compelling government interest unless the Agency identifies concrete acts of past discrimination that caused it. And the Agency’s cited studies speak only to the phenomenon itself, not contributing factors.”………

Federal agency to develop minority businesses can’t only help minority businesses, Texas judge rules

Three white plaintiffs sued after they were denied services by the agency, whose stated goal is to provide assistance to minorities

www.theguardian.com

White people ruin everything.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Tyler Lynn, a Spanish instructor in Eagle Point, Ore., says he’s out $192 because a state rebate to renew teaching licenses is not available to him, a White man whose native tongue is English. So he’s suing to open the program to all.


While some teachers get the rebate “by just being of the correct race,” Lynn said in an interview, “I don’t get a dime from the state for my skills or my qualifications.”


Lynn is one of a half-dozen plaintiffs who have launched challenges in recent months against state programs meant to increase racial and ethnic diversity across a range of professions, from teaching to farming to podiatry.

Their lawsuits represent the latest front in a conservative campaign to roll back affirmative action programs in government and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the corporate world since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned race-conscious college admissions last year.


Such programs are ripe targets, legal experts say, in part because nearly every state and locality has one or more that benefit women, minorities and other underrepresented groups. They typically offer financial benefits like Oregon’s teachers rebate, or greater opportunity to pull the levers of power on government boards and commissions.

But now their legal justification — that government has a “compelling interest” to remedy past or ongoing discrimination — is undergoing a radical reexamination in American society……

So far this year, lawsuits filed by White plaintiffs have challenged a Minnesota grant program for women and minority farmers, seats set aside for minorities on a Louisiana medical board and an Alabama real estate board, and the Oregon teachers rebate, which is available to Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans or teachers whose native language is not English.


“We are firing on all cylinders now,” said Joshua P. Thompson, director of equality and opportunity litigation at the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative public interest law firm representing many of the plaintiffs, including Lynn…..

Lance Nistler, a White farmer in Minnesota, sued the state in January over its program for farmland down-payment assistance. He claimed his application was denied because he isn’t a woman or a minority — in violation of his 14th Amendment rights — and is seeking to end the program’s use of such preferences.


Started in 2023, the program awards $15,000 grants to farmers earning less than $250,000 annually. But because too few grants went to underrepresented groups, the program now gives preference to “emerging farmers,” defined as women, veterans, people with disabilities, American Indians, members of a community of color, farmers 35 and younger, as well as farmers from other groups, according to a recent state report.


Nistler contends those distinctions are neither fair nor legal. He said he’s bringing the lawsuit to “give all Minnesotans a fair chance at a difference-making grant program.” Thompson, whose foundation is representing Nistler, described the case as one among many that could change laws allowing race-based programs.

The goal is to “stack wins and wins and wins” until at least one of those cases lands before the Supreme Court, which is dominated by a conservative supermajority, Thompson said…….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/09/affirmative-action-challenges-state-government/

 

[Optimus Prime]

One of France’s biggest music stars, Aya Nakamura, has hit back at far-right groups angry at a suggestion she may sing in front of 300,000 people during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, telling them: “You can be racist but not deaf.”

According to reports in local media, the French-Malian singer had discussed the possibility of performing a song by 20th-century icon Édith Piaf when she met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, last month.

The reports have not been confirmed, but that did not stop them drawing fury from far-right groups. At a campaign rally on Sunday for the Reconquête party, led by far-right former presidential candidate Éric Zemmour, Nakamura’s name drew boos from the crowd.


The 28-year-old singer has become a pop superstar around the world for hits like Djadja, which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone.

A small extremist group calling themselves the Natives hung a banner by the River Seine that read: “There’s no way Aya, this is Paris, not the Bamako market.”……

French star Aya Nakamura’s rumoured Olympics show prompts far-right outrage

The singer, who is of Malian descent, hit back, saying: ‘You can be racist but not deaf’

www.theguardian.com