Speaking Out Against Minority News Media Attacking Minorities - Double Standards of the Power of the News and Their Guests

I listened this morning to a news broadcast as CNN commentators debated the issues of our Free Speech in the media. Their commentary was regarding the firing of Rick Sanchez due to his misguided, non- humorous remarks about Jon Stewart's ethnics. I am disgusted at how news broadcasters use their double talking profiling standards against each other. . They speak in the news of their opinions as though they are factual. When in fact they speak out both sides of their mouths demeaning their own credibility while downgrading other minorities. How is it that broadcasters have gained more power in what their opinion is rather than telling the truth.

As a Multi-ethnic , mixed race, and American born citizen I was highly offended by the obvious, " them vs us " mentality of these dishonorable discussions. What could be a news worthy debate of how news personalities can support each other as minorities, they choose instead to degrade each other. As this panel on CNN discussed the verbal battle between Rick Sanchez and Jon Stewart they made their editorial opinions quite clear: Fire Sanchez, Coddle Jon Stewart. However, one of the female of color guests made the statement about Sanchez," I do not know what he is upset about...his skin is light and no one would know he is Cuban." How in the world does CNN allow her to say such a bigoted statements. Isn't racism judging someone by the color of their skin? This woman of color guest on CNN made that horrible statement while judging Sanchez who is also a minority. The media and the CNN news commentator agreed with her, why? Who edits these editorial opinions? Who edits her bigoted statement as she ridicules Sanchez or anyone else because they have light skin?

How on earth can we come together as minority Americans and protect Free Speech, respect our immigrant and emigrant ancestors when minorities are quarreling over the depth of skin color. Our citizens must stop making those kinds of comparisons of skin color because it is the same as the horrible Brown Bag Skin comparison used in the past to divide us.. I sure you heard of that horrid comparison; if your skin was lighter than a paper bag you were considered white and if you were darker than a paper bag you were "Coloured". We must self identify whether it is red, brown, brawny, tan, yellow, pink, white, black or other and must never settle for other's identifying us by skin color. Minorities must stop this us vs them identify of each other. Not only is it disgraceful shameful profiling, it is against everything that America stands for in our Freedom. This female of color who stated she was a minority on CNN disgraced the entire world by profiling to discuss Sanchez "Light skin" color while demeaning him for his racist statements. That is not Free Speech; it's bigotry by profiling.

Everyday in the news there are so called professionals who gain some sort of misguided authority on Free Speech by jumping to criticize each other -for what reason; higher ratings. Where is the equality in the news? What is the hidden meaning of all the mud-slinging and profiling of minorities against minorities? Just what change in public opinion are they striving for-more division of Americans. Free Speech is our American right. But when does that right become double standards for the guests and commentators. I tell you when; use the "Brown Bag" statements. Their disparaging words against each other are moving us are separating us not joining us. One Nation Rally, Free Speech, Declaration of Independence, and our Bill of Rights are the meaning of all Americans not just news reporters and their misinformed guests. When a woman of color gets on CNN and criticizes an alleged racist by using profiling racist statements she should also be fired, fined, and confronted on her own stupidity. Profiling by minorities to minorities is way over the line and has nothing to do, "Trust Worthy News."

Why did the CNN commentator not call her on her own profiling statements? Is the News becoming a divide and conquer? Where are the educationally intelligent News stories that are not biased, stereotypical, misleading, and racist? Who monitors our slip shot news stories to insure that retaining integrity rather than harmful finger pointing gets on the news. That is not the American Way. It saddens me that the very ones that throw mud are the same ones who do not even think twice of their disgusting stereotypical descriptive words. This hidden racism is what is destroying our critical news. Why does this kind of reporting go unchallenged?

Perhaps if we show more pride as minorities we will stop allowing this ignorance in the news to stop. Please let us help each other stop this minority against minority for it gives the majority a reason to divide and separate us. As the granddaughter of grandfather's who immigrated to this great land for freedom not profiling as humor. My paternal grandfather came here from Germany in mid 1800's for religious and economic freedom as a promise to his ancestors who were Quakers and Jewish who were all skins colors. My maternal grandfather came here in late 1800's seeking religious, racial, and economic freed as a promise to his ancestors and he was of Jewish, Catholic, Russian and Polish heritage. Both of my grandfather's married women of color of different faiths than they were. As the second generation of people of differing religious convictions and who were people of all colors I am pleading, in their honor for all Americans to keep the news media and everyday citizens accountable for disgraceful profiling and bigotry. Let us stop minority against minority now!

Author: Annamarie, Yahoo! Contributor Network 

Faith leaders urge better protection of religious minorities in Europe, vow to establish closer ties

Over 50 leaders of Islamic and Jewish communities from across Europe met in Brussels on Monday for the first Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders to discuss initiatives for better relations between the two communities. The meeting was co-organized by the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the European Jewish Congress (EJC). As part of the gathering, a joint delegation met with the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, who supported the efforts undertaken by the group. They also held a working lunch with representatives of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, at the Commission's Brussels headquarters.

The leaders discussed a common statement which calls for closer cooperation between the two communities in Europe and steps “to ensure that Jews and Muslims are able to practice our respective faiths fully and unimpeded by intrusive, discriminatory and unfair governmental regulations.” It urges “cooperative projects to succor the poor and homeless of all backgrounds, to help protect new immigrants who are threatened by hatred and xenophobia, and to heal the environment, bringing together Muslim and Jewish youth for joint programming.” It also denounces all forms of violence in the name of any religion or ideology.
FFEU President and WJC Vice President Rabbi Marc Schneier called the first Brussels Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish leaders “a promising beginning.” He stated: “Today, we have hopefully kick-started a movement that will spread across Europe. The recipe really is quite simple: our two communities must focus more on what unites us than what separates us. We also must restrain the radicals within our own ranks and make sure they don’t gain the upper hand.”
Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, declared: “I think it is very important that Jews and Muslims start talking more with each other, and less about the other. Pointing the finger at the other side and accuse it of being the root cause of all evil on this planet may be easy and convenient, but most of the time it is wrong – and counter-productive. How are all the disparate nations of Europe going to co-exist if citizens of the same country can’t share neighborhoods? We need to start at the micro level to succeed at the macro level. We need to pay attention to every level of intolerance, hate and xenophobia.”
At the opening session Iman Dr. Abduljalil Sajid (pictured on the right) from Britain spoke prayers, in which he included the victims of the recent fire in Israel and the floods in Pakistan. Senior representatives of both faiths from Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States attended the one-day gathering.
http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/9764

Minorities in Media by Carlos Cort

A Long Way to Go: Minorities and the Media

During the September 18, 1986, televising of The 25,000 Pyramid, a most remarkable exchange occurred. In this popular game show two pairs of contestants compete. For each pair, a series of words appears on a screen in front of one contestant, who gives clues to try to get the partner to identify the correct word.

On that special day, the word gangs' came up on the cluer's screen. Without hesitation, he fired out the first thing that came to his mind: 'They have lots of these in East L.A." (a heavily Mexican-American area of Los Angeles). Responding at once, his guest celebrity partner answered, gangs."

Under competitive pressure, two strangers had immediately and viscerally linked "East LA" with "gangs" Why? What force could have brought these two strangers into such rapid mental communion?

The answer is obvious — the mass media. The entertainment media have displayed a fascination with Latino gangs, while the news media nationwide have given them extensive coverage. In contrast, the entertainment media have offered a comparatively narrow range of other Latino characters, while the news media have provided relatively sparse coverage of other Hispanic topics, except for such problem" issues as immigration and language. The result has been a Latino public image — better yet, a stereotype — in which gangs figure prominently.

Teaching Stereotypes

This singular but significant example has broad, important, even ominous implications for minority and other ethnic groups. First, whether intentionally or unintentionally, both the news and the entertainment media 'teach" the public about minorities, other ethnic groups and societal groups, such as women, gays, and the elderly. Second, this mass media curriculum has a particularly powerful educational impact on people who have little or no direct contact with members of the groups being treated.

Moreover, this special concern — the influence of the mass media on the public image of minorities — is only one of many complex features of the tortuous relationship between minorities and the media. Minorities have long recognized the media's power to influence their lives. And they have struggled to achieve greater influence over their own media destinies.

That's why Asian Americans protested against Michael Cimino's recent Chinatown-bashing movie Year of the Dragon. mats why black actors have protested against the paucity and lack of diversity of black film roles. That's why Native Americans have established both tribal and pan-Indian newspapers throughout the country. That's why Latinos have so vehemently protested the recent judicial decision to approve the Spanish International Communications Corporation's sale of five major Spanish-language television stations to Anglo-owned Hallmark Corporation, despite the existence of financially equivalent offers from groups with large Hispanic

Most minority media efforts, including protests, have focused on the area of media content. Minorities realize — supported by research — that the media influence not only how others view them, but even how they view themselves. So minorities and other ethnic groups have long attempted to convince industry decision-makers to seek better balance in news coverage of minorities and to reduce the widespread negativism in the fictional treatment of minorities by the entertainment media.

Likewise, they have clamored for the media presentation of better minority role models — in news, in entertainment, even in advertising — both to set standards for minority people and to reduce the deleterious stereotypes too long prevalent in the media. While progress has occurred, the media have not been consistently responsive or sensitive.

Decisionmakers

Part of the reason is that minorities have traditionally had only marginal presence and even less influence within the mainstream media. The national television visibility of Bryant Gumbel, Connie Chung, and Geraldo Rivera are of relatively recent vintage. While these breakthroughs are certainly welcome, the very exceptionality of such featured figures symbolizes the frustration that minorities still feel about the delays and continued slowness of progress within the mainstream news media. For example, currently only about 40 percent of the nation's 1,600 daily newspapers employ any minorities in editorial staff positions.

In the entertainment media, the successes of such stars as Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, and Edward James Olmos, and for that matter even Richard "Cheech" MarIn and Tommy Chong, are cause for satisfaction. Minorities should also applaud the popularity of the movie version of The Color Purple, notwithstanding the controversy that it generated both within and outside of the black community. Likewise, minorities can take pride in the success of Wilson Wang's brilliant shoestring-budget film, Chan is Missing. Gregory Nava's low-budget sleeper, El Norte, a moving portrait of two Guatemalan undocumented immigrants, drew large audiences despite the fact that more than half of the dialogue was in Spanish and a Guatemalan Indian language, with English subtitles.

In heralding these advances, it still must be remembered that in six decades of Academy Awards, only three blacks (Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, and Louis Gossett, Jr.), two Asians (Miyoshi Umeki and Dr. Haing S. Ngor — Ben Kingsley is English of half-Indian ancestry), one Puerto Rican (Rita Moreno), and one Chicano (the half-Irish Anthony Quinn) have won Oscars for acting — Quinn twice. That makes an average of just over one per decade.

But the presence of a few prominent minority news people, television personalities and movie stars is less significant than the broader nature of the minority experience within the media industry. Gaining admission has not been easy, as obstacles to entrance remain.

In recent years minorities have achieved a long overdue media presence. But crucial issues of portrayal and participation remain to be resolved.

And once inside the door, problems continue — personal isolation, difficulty in entering upper-level management, lack of influence, career hazards. Minority journalists often face the dilemma of balancing their social commitment to provide better coverage of minority communities against their fears of being "ghettoized" to the "minority beat" and thereby having their professional careers restricted. Minority actors find themselves caught between the need to find roles in which they can hone their craft and earn a living, and the recognition that many of these roles may contribute to public negative stereotyping.

Imagemaking

Such are the quandaries of marginality and the absence of power. For this reason, some minority people have opted to operate outside of the mainstream and form their own media. In this way, they have sought to select their own themes, express their own views, and influence their own public images. They have established their own newspapers and magazines, set up their own radio and television stations, created their own film production companies, and formed their own advertising agencies, often specializing in helping companies reach a "minority market."

As a result, periodicals now range from Ebony and Essence to Nuestro and Hispanic Business, from China Spring to the American Indian Talking Leaf. Many television and radio stations now provide programming in languages from Spanish to Korean. Ethnic people have been making alternative movies throughout the century, from Oscar Micheaux, the brilliant black director of the silent era to the Yiddish film industry of the 1930s to current minority film efforts.

But the road to media self-determination has not been easy. Most independent minority filmmaking efforts have collapsed due to the lack of financial solidity needed to create consistently high quality productions. Some minority publications have achieved economic success, but even more have had limited longevity. Radio and television stations may broadcast in many languages, but ownership — and therefore control over news and editorial policy — often does not rest in minority hands. Such rousing rhetoric as "minority media self-determination" may foster utopian dreams, but the economic realities of survival and control — the necessary conditions for ongoing media power — are often nightmares for minority media entrepreneurs.

Minorities have long been aware of the influence of the mass media on their lives and have struggled to increase their own impact on the media. While the results have often been frustrating and depressing, there have been victories and successes to which minorities can point and emulate. With increasing media experience and sophistication, minorities are determined to expand their media influence, as they are expanding their physical presence in our increasingly multiethnic society.

Minorities and right to education

See also the UN Forum on Minorities 2008

©Jenny Matthews/ ActionAid Picture

and the new State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2009


In an epoch of inter-ethnic violence and the resurgence of nationalism, the importance of fostering multicultural, tolerant societies is increasingly clear. The existence of minorities can either be considered societal richness and diversity, or a pretext for division and distrust. Education plays a key role in determining which of these outcomes will prevail. The social good of education is not intrinsic but dependent on its content and form; compulsory education can have either a socially destructive or constructive impact. 
Human rights require education to adapt to minorities in a more fundamental way than simply through the removal of highly offensive stereotypes from textbooks. Issues such as the language of instruction, inclusion, and the equalisation of opportunities require human rights responses. In Europe today, this need is profoundly felt by minorities, notably the Roma.

In many countries linguistic or ethnic minorities are marginalised, and dalits or the ‘untouchable caste’ suffer extreme discrimination. They may live in remote areas and have little access to information or resources, they may be discriminated against through prejudice and denial of cultural rights, and the curriculum offered may not be appropriate to their lives.

Work with such groups involves valuing their language and culture, and looking at how their knowledge, skills and preferences can be integrated into the education system. It may involve arguing for alternative curricula and pedagogy, for specific issues to be integrated into teacher training, or for people from minority communities to be trained as teachers. It could also include looking at issues of funding and resourcing for education as well as bringing issues such as bilingual, or alternative, education models onto the government agenda. It is likely also to include raising awareness and interest in education locally, as many parents and guardians will not be sending their children to school, perhaps because of the prejudice and exclusion they suffer there. However, a likely first step is raising awareness on the right to education. Marginalisation and oppression suffered by these groups may mean that they are unaware of their rights. Building awareness and possibility for action is clearly the first stage in any initiative. 
“The human rights approach has one very strong advantage: minority rights cannot by definition be guaranteed by majoritarian politics, and instead require legal protection of individual (and some would argue group) rights. The principles underpinning these rights promote substantive equality of all which, more than formally equal treatment, is equality in fact, which may actually require differential treatment. This is particularly true in situations of historical inequality, and in order to combat intergenerationally transmitted stereotypes”(p. 6).
“The purpose of education, in the human rights model, is the composition and maintenance of multi- as opposed to mono-cultural societies. It is not the homogenisation of diverse societies but the open recognition of difference and the promotion of diversity. From this perspective it is essential that education be all inclusive and not separate (or segregated) according to language, race, ability, sex or other criteria. Promoting tolerance and respect in homogeneous classrooms has a rather hollow ring. “Curriculum packages that promote tolerance will have little impact if they are delivered within educational structures that are fundamentally intolerant” (p. 9). (Read more: Duncan Wilson: Minority rights in education PDF).
 The Forum, "Minorities and the Right to Education", aimed to provide a platform for dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to people of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.Worldwide, minority children continue to suffer disproportionately from unequal access to quality education, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty by leaving them marginalized from a range of employment opportunities and full participation in society. International frameworks on equal access to quality education for minorities were also discussed at this first Forum.UN Forum on Minorities 2008

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

 The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, drawn up within the Council of Europe by Ad Hoc Committee for the Protection of National Minorities (CAHMIN) under the authority of the Committee of Ministers, was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 10 November 1994 and opened for signature by the member States of the Council of Europe on 1 February 1995. Non-member States may also be invited by the Committee of Ministers to become Party to this instrument.

The Framework was to become active in 1998. The broad aims of the Convention are to ensure that the signatory states respect the rights of national minorities, undertaking to combat discrimination, promote equality, preserve and develop the culture and identity of national minorities, guarantee certain freedoms in relation to access to the media, minority languages and education and encourage the participation of national minorities in public life.

By 2009, 43 member states have signed and 39 ratified this сonvention, but it has come under some criticism. First of all, not all member states of the Council of Europe have signed and ratified it. France has done neither. Luxembourg and Belgium have signed and have yet to ratify.