Engage: Rise in anti-Latino hate crimes; Parents sue after son bullied
Engage with news and opinions from around the web about under-reported, untold stories from undercovered communities.
Two-thirds of 2010 hate crimes based on ethnicity bias targeted Hispanics The FBI released its 2010 Hate Crime Statistics report that showed the number of hate crimes reported were on par with those reported last year. But among hate crimes based on ethnicity, the number targeting Latinos surged from 45% in 2009 to 66% in 2010. - New York Daily News
Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, unlikely hero
"It is not just that Pacquiao is Filipino — and classically, undoubtedly so, all the way down to his shameless adoration for karaoke and tendency to belt out George Benson hits on late-night American talk shows — it is that he is Filipino and he is Great. " - Salon
Is Silicon Valley's meritocracy a myth? Here's your take after 'Black in America'
After "Black in America: The New Promised Land - Silicon Valley" aired Sunday night, viewers took to Twitter, Facebook and CNN.com to react and answer: Is Silicon Valley a meritocracy?
The discussion began even earlier: A partial screening of the documentary in October in New York set the stage for a "war of words" that included Michael Arrington, the influential founder of TechCrunch, a technology industry staple. Additional tech influencers shared their perspectives, including Mitch Kapor and Vivek Wadhwa, two experts featured in the documentary. CNN's Soledad O’ Brien weighed in, along with several of the featured entrepreneurs, and many others.
Here is how you responded:
DerrickmLane said, "If tonight's #BlackInAmerica didn't say anything else, it shows that there is opportunity. Will you take advantage of it?"
Opinion: Soledad O'Brien: Still no job? Don’t give up
Editors Note: This piece has been done in collaboration with Latina magazine . A shorter version appears in the December-January edition of that publication.
By Soledad O'Brien, CNN
The long and bumpy journey to my first paying job in TV is the sort of memory that – when I recall it now – causes me to smile, roll my eyes and shake my head.
I was 20 years old, a junior at Harvard who just dumped pre-med, determined to make it in television news following a local TV internship. The only problem was that I had no idea how to snag the job of my dreams, and my mother, my source for most important information, had no clue either. But as an immigrant who left desperate poverty in Cuba to make her way in this country, she was incredibly tenacious. A lack of contacts or know-how didn’t stop her from cornering a woman with a WNET tote bag on the Long Island Railroad. The ride from Manhattan to Smithtown, New York, where I grew up, is about 90 minutes: plenty of time for a proud Cuban mother to make a pitch for her ambitious daughter and secure a phone number for the woman with the tote, who did indeed work at WNET, the PBS station in New York City.
Mom called the lady a few days later, and asked her to hire me.
About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
Black in America
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