The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

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A “Shameful” Attack on Workers’ Rights. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights condemned the passage of so-called right-to-work laws in the state of Michigan this week. In a statement, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference, said: “By championing this bill, [Michigan] Governor Snyder is telling millions of families that they don’t deserve job security, health care benefits, or wages that support their families and strengthen the middle class. His contempt for Michigan workers is shameful.”

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Slight Drop in Reported Hate Crimes. An annual report recently released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed a 6 percent decrease in the number of hate crimes reported by law enforcement agencies in 2011 to the lowest number of reported hate crimes since 1994.

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Why Is the FCC Blocking Media Diversity? In an op-ed that ran in The National Journal this week, Wade Henderson and Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner, say that the FCC is moving toward approving an order that would increase media consolidation and lead to less diversity in media ownership. “The disparities in media ownership originate in our segregated past. Most broadcast licenses were originally awarded in an era when many minorities could not vote and women could not even obtain department store credit cards, let alone full-power broadcast-station licenses,” write Henderson and Copps.  But instead of taking steps to increase media diversity, they argue that “the FCC is now preparing to vote for an order that would increase consolidation, allowing big media to own even more TV and radio stations and permitting TV stations and newspapers in more cities to combine under a single masthead. The very predictable result will be more shuttered newsrooms and even less diverse ownership.”

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In the News

• ‘School-to-prison pipeline’ hearing puts spotlight on student discipline – The Washington Post

• Census Officials, Citing Increasing Diversity, Say U.S. Will Be a ‘Plurality Nation’ – The New York Times

• Editorial: Judges Needed for Federal Courts – The New York Times

• Limits on Unions Pass in Michigan, Once a Mainstay – The New York Times

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