BP’s Dumping Oil-Spill Waste in Communities of Color, Study Finds

Colorlines: “These are communities already pummeled by the a triple-blow of Hurricane Katrina, economic paralysis and racial inequality. Within these populations, the pollution may strike women and children the hardest. Exposures to oil chemicals, such as benzene, along with the mystery cocktail of dispersants, may pose major risks to reproductive and maternal health, though much more research is needed.”

SB1070 is in FULL EFFECT in Tucson, AZ

Alto Arizona: “On August 2, 2010 around 3:15 p.m. Officer Zinn and Officer Koontz of the Tucson Police Department called Border Patrol on a woman during a traffic stop. Border Patrol came and took her into detention.”

Race and Gay Marriage In Perspective

The Atlantic: “Banning interracial marriage meant that most black people could not marry outside of their race. This was morally indefensible, but very different than a total exclusion of gays from the institution of marriage. Throughout much of America, gays are effectively banned from marrying, not simply certain types of people, but any another compatible partner period.”

More than 70 countries make being gay a crime

The Independent: “On a global scale, the nations doing something positive for gay rights are dwarfed by those behaving negatively. While 75 countries will imprison you if you are gay, only 53 have anti-discrimination laws that apply to sexuality.”

Voices from Brooklyn: Racial Profiling’s a Part of Everyday Life Here

Colorlines: “‘It’s too easy to say, Well, that’s where crime is,’ says Fagan of the stops being clumped in black neighborhoods like Brownsville. ‘Once you consider that the stop and frisks are being conducted on so little actual basis of any criminality, you realize it can happen anywhere.'”

A Labor Market Punishing to Mothers

New York Times: “A recent study of business school graduates from the University of Chicago found that in the early years after graduating, men and women had ‘nearly identical labor incomes and weekly hours worked.’ Men and women also paid a similar career price for taking off or working part time. Women, however, were vastly more likely to do so.”