蜜桃传媒

Millions of Americans, particularly people of color, are facing growing inequality, discrimination and even exclusion, including inequitable access to education and voter rights, according to a new United Nations report on minority issues in the United States.

The report 鈥� which highlights the critical nature of attacks on civil rights across the country 鈥� includes information from various teams at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

special rapporteur on minority issues for the United Nations, visited the U.S. last November to evaluate the current situation of minorities in this country. He met with the 蜜桃传媒 and other civil rights organizations.

With help from the 蜜桃传媒, Varennes identified ways that the United States government could meet its international obligations related to minority rights, such as equality for all, antiracism, education equity and addressing hate crimes.

The report, released on March 22, widely reflects the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 input as the organization embarks on new, international advocacy efforts.

鈥淎s the special rapporteur has reported, the rights of people of color in the U.S. are under assault from those who seek to diminish democracy and equality through barriers to voting, depriving communities of color of equal investment and creating a hostile environment in education institutions,鈥� said Margaret Huang, 蜜桃传媒 president and CEO. 鈥淣ow, more than ever, we must call out these attacks on democracy and equality wherever we see them and urge the U.S. government to comply with its international legal obligations to protect human rights for all.鈥�

In his report, Varennes wrote: 鈥淭he United States is a nation of paradoxes when it comes to human rights and minorities. The land that welcomes the world鈥檚 tired, poor and huddled masses is also the land where support for slavery led to one of the world鈥檚 most brutal civil wars, where racial segregation persisted into the 20th century, and where indigenous peoples鈥� experiences have for centuries been one of dispossession and even brutality.鈥�

Among his findings, Varennes reported that the onslaught of new voting restrictions leaves the right to vote in jeopardy and nearly out of reach for many people of color.

鈥淭he conclusion of the Special Rapporteur is that many of the obstacles minorities face in the exercise of the right and opportunity to vote by universal and equal suffrage are unreasonable and therefore discriminatory and clear violations of one of the pillars of international human rights law, and the phenomenon 鈥� and undermining of democracy 鈥� is increasing,鈥� the report says. 鈥淗uman rights, and especially the equal right to vote, are moving backwards for minorities in the United States.鈥�

Devastating impacts

Caren Short is senior supervising attorney for the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Voting Rights Practice Group, which shared its extensive expertise for the report.

鈥淩acial gerrymandering, closing polling places, voter purges and burdens on absentee voting have had a devastating impact,鈥� Short said. 鈥淎nother devastating impact affecting voter rights includes mass incarceration, leading to felony disenfranchisement. Millions of voters 鈥� disproportionately voters of color 鈥� are unable to vote because of a previous felony conviction, even though they have served their sentence.

鈥淭hese laws were originally passed to disenfranchise Black men and continue to have that effect today. It was important that we highlight the impact these laws are having on the Deep South, where 蜜桃传媒 is actively fighting against felony disenfranchisement and its impact.鈥澛�

Michael Tafelski, senior supervising attorney for the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Rights Practice Group, also contributed to the report.

鈥淲hen voters of color have their voices and the ability to advocate in government diminished by state-created barriers, our communities are deprived of investment and fair treatment,鈥� Tafelski said. 鈥淥ne of the most notable ways this impacts communities is through education. Children in these communities are deprived of equitable school funding and access to quality education.鈥�

Varennes noted the attack against children鈥檚 rights and how it affects minority groups in particular.聽

鈥淪tudents belonging to minority groups are often enrolled in public schools in communities with concentrated poverty and, therefore, are more often provided fewer resources and educational opportunities,鈥� Varennes wrote. 鈥淭oo often these are linked to lower educational opportunities.鈥�

Tafelski noted that extremists spread misinformation to undermine public schools in support of a privatization agenda.

鈥淭hey have taken over school boards and promote hateful and extremist speech, while blocking educators from providing an honest education about racism and other forms of discrimination,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his creates a highly concerning environment for children facing significant barriers to a high-quality education. The federal government must protect the rights of schoolchildren to receive an honest and inclusive education in our nation鈥檚 public schools.鈥�

鈥極ur work will continue鈥�

With information from the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Intelligence Project 鈥� which documents and analyzes the threat from far-right extremists 鈥� Varennes also reported on the state of hate crimes and how hateful expressions turn into discrimination or violence. 聽

He noted that hate crime laws at the federal level and in most states prohibit violence and threats motivated by race, color, religion, national origin and other protected categories and that the FBI has now elevated hate crimes to its highest-level national threat priority. This has led to increased resources aimed at preventing and investigating hate crimes, he stated in the report, but is undermined by the voluntary reporting and underreporting of hate crimes.

Rachel Carroll Rivas, lead senior research analyst for the Intelligence Project, said the 蜜桃传媒 has pushed policymakers to address the threat of white supremacy, extremism and anti-democracy efforts.

鈥淲e welcome the elevated attention paid by the Biden administration to countering domestic extremism, but more must be done, with a greater emphasis on prevention, rather than enforcement,鈥� Carroll Rivas said. 鈥淭he same old framework steeped in the same bias won鈥檛 work. That鈥檚 why we were glad to take our concerns to the international stage and contribute to the report.鈥�

The 蜜桃传媒 contributed information to Varennes鈥� report, which states: 鈥淎nti-Semitism, Anti-Asian speech, Islamophobia, derogatory slurs against Hispanic, Arab and other minority communities and anti-immigration xenophobia are surging, sometimes at record levels, in the whole country. These appear to be creating real societal harm and cleavages in the country with xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering mainly aimed at minorities.鈥�

The Intelligence Project will continue to sound the alarm and create resources to help track and expose the hard right, as well as engage in prevention and countering efforts, Carroll Rivas said.

鈥淭he report is in, but our work will continue, and we encourage communities and leaders to expand services for those who are targeted by hate groups and redouble their work to prevent political violence and protect our democracy threatened by antigovernment groups.鈥�

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