Latest news with #racialdiscrimination
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
WNBA in fresh racism storm after Dijonai Carrington confronts referee and blasts 'insane' treatment
Dallas star Dijonai Carrington appeared to claim she was the victim of racial discrimination after a WNBA referee called security during a bust-up on the court. In a clip that has now gone viral on social media, Carrington is seen talking to referee Roy Gulbeyan at the end of the Wings' loss against the Chicago Sky on Thursday. The official can then be seen ushering a member of security staff to stand between himself and Carrington. The guard, who sparked controversy last season after leaving Caitlin Clark with a black eye and then clashing with a reporter over the collision, accused Gulbeyan of an 'insane' overreaction. 'Security,' she wrote on social media. 'When I'm literally having a civil conversation is insane. Mind you, he called the 'sEcUrItY' over there… #Mircoagression (sic)' Microaggressions are defined by the American Psychological Association as 'commonly occurring, brief, verbal or nonverbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities that communicate derogatory attitudes or notions toward a different 'other.'' security… , when i'm literally having a civil conversation is insane . mind you , he called the 'sEcUrItY' over there… #Mircoagression — dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) May 30, 2025 According to Merriam-Webster, microaggressions 'express a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority).' The Daily Mail has reached out to the WNBA and Dallas Wings for comment. Carrington did not expand on the hashtag but the WNBA was recently embroiled in a racism saga following the season opener between the Sky and the Indiana Fever, when Clark clashed with rival Angel Reese. Afterwards, the league launched an investigation into claims of racist abuse directed at Reese. Earlier this week, however, the league said it could substantiate claims of racist fan behavior after a probe that included gathering information from fans, team and arena staff, as well as an 'audio and video review of the game.' Carrington found herself at the center of a racism storm following her own clash with Clark last season. After catching the Fever superstar in the eye, Carrington was asked if it was intentional and whether she later laughed about the incident. That sparked a furious statement from the WNBA players association, who branded the line of questioning: 'A blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating in a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol on social media.'
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Tarrant County redistricting plan draws accusations of racial gerrymandering, legal concerns
A coalition of elected leaders is urging Tarrant County commissioners to halt a controversial redistricting process they believe is being rushed through without justification or transparency, and could violate federal law. Congressman Marc Veasey, joined by the county's two Democratic commissioners and several Fort Worth City Council members, called the effort "an illegal power grab" during a press conference held outside the Commissioners Court on Tuesday. "This isn't democracy," Veasey said. "It's a demolition job." The push to redraw the precinct boundary lines is being led by Republican County Judge Tim O'Hare, who brought in a conservative law firm in early April to draft five proposed maps. Redistricting typically follows the decennial U.S. Census, which last occurred in 2020. The next count is not scheduled until 2030. "We have no new census data. None," said Commissioner Alisa Simmons. "So you're redrawing the boundaries based on 2020 census data. It just doesn't make sense." Critics argue the proposed changes disproportionately impact communities of color by shifting Black and Hispanic populations out of Precinct 2, currently represented by a Democrat, and into Precinct 1, also held by a Democrat. Both precincts would see significant changes under the new maps. "Black and Hispanic populations have surged in Tarrant County, but instead of respecting that reality, O'Hare is trying to erase that reality," Veasey said. "This is intentional racial discrimination that's unfolding in real time." Fort Worth City Council member Elizabeth Beck echoed that sentiment, accusing O'Hare of trying to suppress minority voters. "What you see in this redistricting today is nothing more than Tim O'Hare's continued effort to silence the voices of those in Tarrant County who do not believe like him, to silence the voices specifically of Black and brown members of our community," Beck said. Republican commissioners have been open in public comments that their goal is to increase GOP representation on the court. A previous redistricting effort by a Republican-majority court following the 2020 census resulted in no changes to the precinct maps. Critics now question why a mid-decade redistricting is being pursued, especially with no new data, and accuse the court of undermining public trust. The law firm hired for the job has not answered questions about the criteria or data it used to come up with the new boundary lines. Ten Tarrant County mayors, including those representing Fort Worth, Arlington and Grand Prairie, have signed a letter urging commissioners to delay the vote. They warn that the proposed maps may violate non-discrimination standards under the U.S. Voting Rights Act and could be vulnerable to legal challenges. "Their courage and clarity reflect the growing chorus of voices speaking out for justice, fairness, and local representation," said Commissioner Roderick Miles, Jr. The Arlington City Council is expected to vote on a resolution Monday night calling for more public engagement and a more thorough analysis of the redistricting plans. The city councils in Fort Worth and Grand Prairie have already passed resolutions opposing the process. CBS News Texas reached out to Judge O'Hare's office for comment, but has not received a response. The Tarrant County Commissioners Court is scheduled to vote on the redistricting proposal Tuesday, June 3.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Mashpee employee files race-based discrimination complaint against the town
MASHPEE — After experiencing what she calls racial discrimination as a town employee, a woman has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination against the town of Mashpee. Stephanie Coleman, a former administrative secretary for Town Manager Rodney Collins, filed the race, color, and retaliation complaint on March 25. The commission has scheduled an investigative conference with the town and Coleman on Aug. 6. The race specifically identified is African American. Coleman, 39, of Mashpee, identifies as Wampanoag and African American. She alleges she was underpaid compared to a white co-worker and that the town retaliated against her for speaking openly about wages. She resigned from her job Feb. 7. "Mashpee deserves a government that values fairness, integrity, and equal treatment for all employees," Coleman said in an interview with the Times. In an email on April 22 to the Times, Collins said the town strongly denies any discriminatory practices or decisions related to Coleman. The complaint is "filled with factually inaccurate information," he said. The town won't comment any further, while the matter is pending, he said. Coleman has not hired a lawyer related to her complaint against the town, she said. She was not a member of a union, and instead worked under a personnel administration plan, she said. The commission, a state agency, enforces Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws by investigating complaints in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other aspects of everyday life. There is no cost to file a complaint, and no lawyer is needed. The commission first reviews a complaint to see that it falls within its jurisdiction, according to the agency's online guide. An investigator is assigned, and the complaint is then sent to the person filing the complaint and the entity or persons named in the complaint for a response. The complainant can then give an answer to the response. An investigative conference may be held, mediation may lead to a settlement, or an investigation and disposition will be made on whether unlawful discrimination may have occurred. From there, a number of avenues exist to move forward, such as appeal, settlement or a public hearing. In fiscal 2024, the commission recorded 3,553 new complaints, according to the annual report. The top three protected classes in the complaints were retaliation, disability and race. Since 2020, two other complaints were filed with the commission against the town of Mashpee, both against the town school department and school officials, according to information provided by the commission to the Times. One complaint was closed in July 2021, and the second was closed in January 2024. The commission does not confirm or deny the existence of an open complaint filed with the agency, Justine LaVoye, the press secretary for the commission said. Coleman started her work in town hall in 2017 in the town treasurer and tax collector department, and in 2023 she was working in the the four-person town manager and Select Board office with a salary of $60,000, according to the town reports. Coleman's supervisor, the administrative assistant, was making $90,000 in 2023. The four people in the office at that time were Collins, an assistant town manager, an administrative assistant and Coleman. In the 2023 town report, the Select Board describes Coleman and the administrative assistant as "vital intermediaries" with the public. In total, the town paid about 800 people for work in 2023, ranging from $241,168 for a firefighter with overtime to a building department worker for $31, according to the town report. In March 2024, Coleman learned her supervisor — the administrative assistant — was retiring. To prepare for that retirement, Coleman trained for the supervisor's position, according the the complaint. In September 2024, Collins offered another town employee, from the health department, a pay increase to assist with administrative assistant duties for the town manager's office, according to the complaint. Coleman said she learned about the pay increase because in her job she regularly handled salary paperwork. She knew the increase was higher than her pay and that she was working her normal duties and also training to replace her supervisor. She talked to an assistant town manager about it. The town then dropped the other employee's pay increase, according to the complaint. In September 2024 Coleman's supervisor retired, and she was hired in October 2024 to fill the job, at $37 an hour, according to the complaint. In November 2024, the town posted an additional administrative assistant role externally for the town manager's office, and the other town employee, from September, who is white, was hired at $45 per hour, according to the complaint. Because the pay was more than what Coleman was offered she asked Collins to increase her pay so it was comparable. He refused, according to the complaint. In December 2024, Coleman spoke to a town human resource manager about the difference in pay and her claim of discrimination based on race, according to the complaint. At a meeting, then, with Coleman, Collins and the human resource manager, Coleman repeated that she felt the difference in pay was discriminatory. Collins raised his voice at that meeting and said he would not be accused of being a racist, according to the complaint. On Dec. 30, 2024, Coleman formally withdrew any request for an increase in pay, according to the complaint. She became fearful, she said to the Times, that she could lose her job for speaking out. "I felt really alone. I felt no one was listening to me," Coleman said. Throughout January, 2025, Coleman continued working full time. The town gave her back pay for the extra work she performed in September and October, according to the complaint. In or around January, 2025, an anonymous letter was sent to Collins, stating that the town was paying people differently based on race, according to Coleman's complaint filed with the state agency. On Feb. 3, 2025, Collins held a meeting with Coleman and others about the letter, according to the complaint. In that meeting, Coleman denied knowing who wrote the letter. At the meeting, Collins became angry and said the letter was Coleman's fault, for discussing salaries in the office, according to the complaint. In an email Feb. 4, Coleman told an assistant town manger that she was uncomfortable in the office and wouldn't be back to work the next day, according to the complaint. Coleman was placed on paid administrative leave on Feb. 6, and told to attend an administrative hearing on Feb. 11, according to the complaint, due to unprofessional conduct and falsified sick time. Coleman denied these allegations and did not attend the hearing, the complaint stated. "This isn't about me," Coleman said to the Times. "It's about ensuring that no other employee of color faces the same discrimination and retaliation that I have endured." Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @RachaelDevaney. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: A former secretary to Mashpee Town Manager Rodney Collins claims bias
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Trump administration probes elite Virginia high school's admissions policies
May 22 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has launched civil rights investigations into whether an admissions policy aimed at diversifying an elite Virginia high school's student body is racially discriminatory. The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education opened the investigations a year after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a legal challenge alleging that same admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminated against Asian American students. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement on Thursday said the policy appears "contrary to the law and to the fundamental principle that students should be evaluated on their merit, not the color of their skin." Fairfax County Public Schools, the system that oversees the school, in a statement said the matter "has already been fully litigated." The Alexandria-based state-chartered magnet school, known as TJ, often ranks among the best U.S. public high schools. Before 2020, it took most students from a small number of "feeder" middle schools in more affluent parts of Fairfax County. The admissions process at the time produced incoming classes with few Black or Hispanic students. Asian Americans comprised 71.5% of its student body in 2019, and white students accounted for another 19.5%. In 2020, the school board adopted a new admissions policy that eliminated a standardized test from its admissions process, capped the number of students from each of the district's middle schools and guaranteed seats for the top students from each. After the overhaul, the share of Black and Hispanic students increased, but the percentage of admissions offers made to Asian-American students fell to 54% from 73% the year before. A parents group backed by a conservative legal organization sued, arguing the policy was discriminatory. The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, a surprise to some given its 2023 landmark ruling rejecting race-conscious college admissions policies. Following a referral from Virginia's Republican attorney general, Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, in a letter, opens new tab said the department would investigate if the school was unlawfully using race in admission decisions. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights said it also is examining whether Fairfax County Public Schools was violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
NHK
22-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Trump criticizes South Africa's president over alleged persecution of whites
US President Donald Trump has publicly criticized South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, alleging that the white minority is being persecuted in his country. The United States announced a freeze on aid to South Africa after its government introduced a new policy on land expropriation. The Trump administration claims the policy threatens the rights of the white minority and is discriminatory. Trump met Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday. The summit began in a congenial atmosphere, with Ramaphosa expressing hope of mending bilateral relations by promoting trade and investment. But the mood changed when Trump played a video of what he described as people urging others to attack whites. Trump also showed papers that he said were articles that proved whites are being persecuted and even killed. Ramaphosa admitted there are criminal activities in South Africa, but said the majority of those killed are Black. He denied that white people are being racially persecuted. The focus of the summit had been whether the US could improve ties with South Africa, which chairs the G20 this year. But Trump's remarks have only underscored their differences.
