Back in the day, schoolchildren celebrated the end of the school year by singing, “No more pencils. No more books. No more teachers’ dirty looks.” With states and cities threatening layoffs, teachers may soon be giving their principals dirty looks. The teachers unions and their congressional allies are pushing for passage of a $23 billion [...]
Continue reading …It’s graduation season. All the grades will soon be in. College acceptance and rejection letters have arrived, and after a year or more of test prep classes, SATs, recommendation letters, financial aid documents, and dozens of college applications and essays, many families can breathe again. While there are still many unanswered questions, at least the [...]
Continue reading …Every week, citizens across the U.S. wait on baited breath as their state law makers’ grapple with the challenges and issues of same-sex marriage. A few months ago, in my home state, the NJ senate rejected a bill designed to legalize same sex marriage. Given the pseudo-liberal political climate in New Jersey, this most likely [...]
Continue reading …An editorial by Indianz.com on Indianz.com asks, “What happens if Congress doesn’t approve the $3.4 billion settlement to the Indian trust fund lawsuit? It answers its own question with, “Nothing. No one gets any money. Litigation will continue at the expense of the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget and Congress will continue to do nothing [...]
Continue reading …An introduction to Mississippi Chicken and the immigration issues it portrays
May 12, 2010 No CommentThis essay first appeared in the Mississippi Chicken DVD insert. Reprinted with permission of the author and filmmaker. By Steve Striffler, Professor of Anthropology and Geography, University of New Orleans Mississippi Chicken is a true gem. By letting us into the lives of immigrant poultry workers in Mississippi, this documentary captures much of what defines [...]
Continue reading …From Special Guest Race-Talk Editor, Angela Stuesse This week the film Mississippi Chicken makes its Ohio premier: Questions of race, workers’ rights and exploitation form the crux of this intriguing documentary about Latin American immigrants living in rural Mississippi, where poultry plants promise jobs but little else. In the 1990s, poultry companies in Mississippi and [...]
Continue reading …By Gavin Kearney, Director, Environmental Justice, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest The 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day is upon us and I have to admit to some ambivalence. On the positive side, Earth Day can provide a useful platform for educating and engaging the public around critical environmental issues. At the [...]
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