Fresh news & articles http://www.newcomm.org Thu, 17 May 2012 01:25:10 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2155&Itemid= FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Chicago, IL, February 13, 2012 - The Center for New Community (CNC) Board of Directors today announced that the organization’s Executive Director of seventeen years, The Reverend David Ostendorf, is stepping aside as of March 1. Ostendorf, who co-founded the organization in 1995, will remain involved with the Center as Senior Advisor. “We are deeply grateful for Dave’s vision and commitment to the Center,” said The Reverend Kazi Joshua, Board Chair. “He built this organization entirely from the ground up, and his leadership leaves us well-positioned for the challenges of the next decade.” The Center for New Community is recognized nationally and internationally for its work to counter racism and organized bigotry. Through its community organizing initiatives across rural America it has strengthened the voices and capacities of low-wage workers, religious and civic leaders, and communities addressing racial and economic injustice. The Center recently mobilized a national, multiracial student delegation to Atlanta in support of local efforts to curb the impact of Georgia’s draconian anti-immigrant laws. In rural Missouri, the organization has opened a Health Action Center to secure better health care programs and plant safety for low-wage packinghouse workers. “Much remains to be done to build toward the vision of community, justice, and equality that has always driven the Center, “Ostendorf said. “Its strong and diverse Board of Directors, staff, and leadership base across the country will assure that its work continues to grow, deepen, and expand.” The Board of Directors has begun a national search for a new Executive Director, and plans to have a new leader in place by late summer. The Board just named Catherine Brown as the Center’s Interim Executive Director. “All of us at the Center are pleased to welcome Catherine,” Joshua announced. “Brown brings the organization years of experience with the McCormick Foundation’s Communities Program, and as a Chicago-based consultant to non-profits. She is a great addition to our staff leadership.” “We wish Dave the best as he moves... Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:11:19 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2154&Itemid=108 Today, the Center for New Community released an updated map of the anti-immigrant movement in America (click here for a PDF) (images/stories/ATB/tanton_2011_final.pdf) and its most influential leader, white nationalist John Tanton. In 2009, the Center released a similar report on the John Tanton Network and the anti-immigrant movement. At the time, few recognized the name John Tanton or knew of his 30-year mission to build a nativist empire of organizations consisting of lobbyists, lawyers, legislators, and experts that have permeated the very depths of social and political debate. Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:46:51 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2153&Itemid=124 The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization, released a satirical tabloid today titled, The Borderline. The publication mocks attempts by anti-immigrant groups to lure environmentalists into scapegoating immigrants, challenging the manufactured facts that the anti-immigrant movement uses to promote US population stabilization and control. Click here (images/stories/ATB/cnc_tabloid.pdf) to download a PDF of the tabloid. Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:45:21 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2152&Itemid=124 The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization, today released a report entitled “Race, Migration and the Environment.” The report comes amid Earth Day celebrations, and counters the false notions that immigrants are a cause of environmental degradation in the United States. (images/stories/ATB/rme_paper_final.pdf) Click here (images/stories/ATB/rme_paper_final.pdf) to download a PDF of the report. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:33:42 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2151&Itemid=92 MARCH 2, 2011 The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization, today released a report entitled Storm Warning. The report chronicles the arc of hatred that spanned the last decade in idyllic Suffolk County, New York, and ended in the tragic murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero. here (images/stories/feature/storm_warning_report.pdf) for a pdf version of the report. “For communities now on the front lines of the immigration debate, Storm Warning is a grave reminder of the trouble that follows the influence of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR),” according to The Reverend David Ostendorf, Executive Director of the Center for New Community. “FAIR is an anti-immigrant organization that was instrumental in the burgeoning of hate in Suffolk County” Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:19:10 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2150&Itemid=91 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2, 2011 For more information contact Jill Garvey 312-266-0319 or visit www.newcomm.org Chicago – The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization, today released a report entitled Storm Warning. The report chronicles the arc of hatred that spanned the last decade in idyllic Suffolk County, New York, and ended in the tragic murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero. “For communities now on the front lines of the immigration debate, Storm Warning is a grave reminder of the trouble that follows the influence of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR),” according to The Reverend David Ostendorf, Executive Director of the Center for New Community. “FAIR is an anti-immigrant organization that was instrumental in the burgeoning of hate in Suffolk County” Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:23:49 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2149&Itemid=124 The Center for New Community recently released a map titled, “The Anti-Immigrant Movement Environmentalism.” This map tracks the anti-immigrant movement’s attempts to inject itself into discussions on population and the environment. The map folds out and is a tool for environmentalists who are taking a stand (content/view/2144/123/) against bigotry by identifying anti-immigrant groups that promote hate. (images/stories/enviro_map_updated_122910.pdf) Click here (images/stories/enviro_map_updated_122910.pdf) to see the full document in PDF The map includes a short introduction of the anti-immigrant movement. It also highlights the role that white nationalist John Tanton (content/view/2131/108/) played in promoting a shared agenda between the environmental movement and those attempting to restrict immigration to the U.S. Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:15:32 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2146&Itemid=91 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2010 For more information contact Jill Garvey 312-266-0319 CHICAGO – Today’s hostage situation at the Discovery Channel’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland indicates an alarming re-emergence of racially-tinged population control arguments. An irate statement posted on a website called SaveThePlanetProtest.com, which is believed to have been written by the alleged attacker James Lee, repeatedly refers to humans as filth and demands that the Discovery Channel stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants. The author of the statement specifically demands that the Discovery Channel “Develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences about how food production leads to the overpopulation of the Human race. Talk about Evolution. Talk about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks into the stupid people's brains until they get it!!” Neo-Malthusian theory was born when Thomas Malthus published “An Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798” in which he stated that the discrepancy between the rate of population and the rate of food growth would lead to a permanent food shortage for humans. Malthus’ works gained influence in 19th Century England and was used to justify ideologies that essentially blamed the victims of early industrial development — a development that swallowed up, displaced and destroyed populations, and which was itself highly artificial and environmentally destructive — for their own misfortune. “Ironically, this attack comes amid a renewed commitment and common declaration by environmentalists to build a democratic and diverse environmental movement,” said Rebecca Poswolsky, field organizer at the Center for New Community. This commitment comes in the form of a pledge (content/view/2144/123/) that acknowledges that immigrants and refugees are also spearheading movements for ecological and economic renewal, and are allies rather than adversaries in the fight for environmental sustainability. In a recent report called, Apply the Brakes (content/view/2138/120/), and a subsequent film titled, The Green War on Immigrants (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxQTnMgJ94w), the Center for New Community raised red flags about neo-Malthusian ideas... Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:25:10 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2144&Itemid=123 Click below to download a copy of the American Bigfoot Environmental Pledge. (images/stories/ATB/enviro_pledge_v3.pdf) Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:21:27 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2143&Itemid=122 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:36:54 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2142&Itemid=91 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 13, 2010 For more information contact Jill Garvey 312-266-0319 Advertisers Should Pull Support after Dr. Laura’s Racist Rant CHICAGO – Laura Schlessinger, commonly referred to as “Dr. Laura,” used the n word on her radio show 11 times while speaking with a caller who identified herself as black. Dr. Laura initially suggested that the woman, who was calling for advice about how to deal with racist remarks, was “hypersensitive.” When the caller asked about use of the “N-word,” Schlessinger said, “Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO, listen to a black comic, and all you hear is n*****, n*****, n*****.” When the caller criticized Schlessinger for fully articulating the “n” word, an argument ensued and Schlessinger stated: “If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race. If you're going to marry out of your race, people are going to say, OK, what do blacks think? What do whites think? What do Jews think? What do Catholics think? Of course there isn't a one-think per se. But in general there's think. And what I just heard from Jade is a lot of what I hear from black-think -- and it's really distressting [sic] and disturbing. And to put it in its context, she said the N-word, and I said, on HBO, listening to black comics, you hear n*****, n*****, n*****. I didn't call anybody a n*****. Nice try, Jade. Actually, sucky try.” In light of her statements, the Center for New Community joins with other civil rights and... Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:21:05 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2141&Itemid=91 Click on the cover and read a copy of Imagine 2050's annual magazine - an entire issue dedicated to articles on migration, race, the environment. (images/stories/ATB/imagine2050_noapx.pdf) For two years the writers at Imagine 2050 have visited and revisited issues related to migration, race, and the environment. The newest issue of the magazine compiles our favorite “green” articles from the past year. The magazine includes in-depth commentary on topics such as the controversial activities of anti-immigrant groups from within the environmental movement, and the interconnectedness of climate change and structural racism. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:17:29 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2140&Itemid=118 Click on the cover and read a copy of Imagine 2050's annual magazine - an entire issue dedicated to articles on migration, race, the environment. (images/stories/ATB/imagine2050_green_issue.pdf) Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:04:54 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2139&Itemid=91 (images/stories/ATB/atb_shortreport.pdf) Chicago – The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization, today released a report titled, Apply the Brakes: Anti-immigrant Co-optation of the Environmental Movement. The Center’s report explicitly reveals how anti-immigrant forces have corrupted the dialogue on population and the environment. In 2009, an article in the Population Special Issue of the Earth Island Journal mentioned a new organization and website named Apply the Brakes (ATB). A few months later, the Center for Immigration Studies — an anti-immigrant organization group founded by white nationalist John Tanton — cited ATB in a memorandum denouncing Sierra Club leadership for not addressing the issue of immigration. These and other signals illustrate ATB’s mission to legitimize discussions about “domestic population growth” that have a pronounced anti-immigration focus. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:46:49 +0100 http://www.newcomm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2138&Itemid=120 Apply the Brakes: A Report on Anti-immigrant Co-optation and the Environmental Movement By The Center for New Community View the entire report in pdf format by clicking here. (images/stories/ATB/atb_shortreport.pdf) This report is intended to explore how anti-immigrant forces have corrupted the dialogue on population and the environment, and will examine the anti-immigrant environmentalist network that has influenced the environmental movement for the last 14 years. In 2009, an article in the Population Special Issue of the Earth Island Journal1 mentioned a new organization and website named Apply the Brakes (ATB hereafter). A few months later, the Center for Immigration Studies2 — an anti-immigrant organization known to trade in racism — cited ATB in a memorandum denouncing Sierra Club leadership for not addressing the issue of immigration. At a time when more people of color, labor and human rights organizations are engaging in environmental concerns such as climate change and “green jobs,” ATB could very well threaten those fragile coalitions. An Ecological Philosophy of Bigotry Allegedly the “result of a meeting of long-time conservationists held in Western Oregon in the spring of 2006,”3 ATB has kept a very low public presence outside of environmental circles, but its mission is clear: ATB concerns itself with “domestic population growth”4 and has a pronounced anti-immigration focus. The discussion that ATB seeks to broadcast is essentially neo-Malthusian. The theory was born when Thomas Malthus published “An Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798” in which he stated that the discrepancy between the rate of population and the rate of food growth would lead to a permanent food shortage for humans. Malthus’ works gained influence in rapidly-transforming 19th Century England and, combined with later Social Darwinism, were used to justify ideologies that essentially blamed the victims of early industrial development — a... Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:34:46 +0100