The calls for an additional presidential debate moderated by (and aimed at) minorities escalated on Friday.

Ralph B. Everett, the chief executive of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a research and analysis center that focuses on the socioeconomic status of blacks and other minorities, sent a letter to Janet H. Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. He urged her to reconsider the commission’s rejection of a plea by Univision to stage a presidential debate moderated by its own Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena, or another host of Hispanic origin.

“It has long been the practice of the television industry to avoid placing people of color in front of the camera,” Mr. Everett wrote. He said he hoped the commission would embrace Univision’s proposal “by adding more debates to the calendar.”

Read more at nytimes.com.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies supports AT&T’s campaign against texting and driving. The It Can Wait campaign provides statistics, stories, and experiences to create a clear picture of the consequences of texting behind the wheel. Ultimately, It Can Wait reminds drivers, particularly teenage drivers, that sending or receiving one simple message while driving can forever change their lives and the lives of those around them.

As an organization focused on issues surrounding people of color, we are well aware that African Americans and Latinos are some of the heaviest consumers of mobile technology in America. We believe programs like It Can Wait are crucial to keep these communities abreast of safety concerns involving their devices, especially behind the wheel. We applaud AT&T for its efforts to educate Americans on the dangers of texting and driving.

With the November elections fast approaching, the Joint Center's just-released 2002 National Opinion Poll results on politics reveal both continuity with earlier polls and a few surprises in African American viewpoints.The questions in this survey of 1,647 adults (850 African American) covered a wide range of issues, including domestic politics and party loyalty, the 2002 midterm elections, and policies on education, foreign affairs, and terrorism.

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More blacks than whites believe their local public schools are getting worse, according to the 1999 National Opinion Poll results on education. Overall, both blacks and whites identified education as the most important national problem, but there were differences in views across age, income, and ideological lines. Both blacks and whites supported school vouchers and raising school spending, and both groups reported fewer incidents of violence at their local schools than the previous year. Both groups also supported statewide standards and tests, but more blacks than whites believed that such standards and tests are unfair to minorities.

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With the presidential primary season now in full swing, the significance of the African American vote, particularly in choosing the Democratic nominee, has become increasingly clear. While not particularly significant in the two states that traditionally go first in the process, Iowa and New Hampshire, the black vote will be critical in the primaries in Michigan (Jan. 15), South Carolina (Jan. 26), and Florida (Jan. 29). And on Feb. 5, when voters in states from New York to California cast their ballots, African American voters could determine the victors in several of the races.

The urgent search for solutions to a national crisis.

Retrospective studies have been largely reassuring that fathers play a vital role in the family unit structure.

The unprecendented scale and success of the Harlem Children's Zone Project in the closing achievement gap has elicited curiousity around the world. 

We live in a moment in the United States where civil rights are enshrined in the law and racial epithets are considered especially offensive. Ironically, when the attacks on people of color and low-income citizens are of an environmental nature, they are seldom met with condemnation, or modest redress, like remediation or clean-up, let alone prosecution. This reality comes after a decade of data revealing that race, not income, is the best predictor of exposure to hazardous waste, toxic chemicals and environmental harms in general. Researchers from across the country name the phenomena environmental racism.

As it celebrates is 40th anniversary, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has set an ambitious agenda for the new Congress. With a former member of the CBC serving as the President of the United States and other members serving esteemed roles in Congress, the CBC is in a position to have extraordinary influence on key legislation during hte next two years.