FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MELINDA SHELTON, 767; JODI MILLER OR YVONNE ROTH, 771
NOW will provide immediate grassroots support in response to findings on racial animosity announced today by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
"The poison of racial hatred seeps into our daily lives from every direction -- from talk radio based in New York, to attempts to yank affirmative action in California, to segregated schools in Alabama," said NOW President Patricia Ireland. "Feminist activists are committed to creating zero tolerance for racism in our ranks and in our communities."
NOW plans to distribute the commission's findings directly to its 600 chapters and will strongly encourage chapter activists to work with others in their communities to foster dialogue and action on race issues.
NOW chapters and field organizers with NOW's Political Action Committee (NOW/PAC) have been doing election organizing in key Southern states -- particularly Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and North Carolina. Activists in California, who are working hard to defeat an anti-affirmative action ballot measure, are responding to a recent church burning in Sacramento.
In addition, NOW will post the commission's findings on its web site and include information about the findings in its weekly action alerts to local chapters.
The commission's three-month study, conducted in response to a sharp rise in the number of arsons at Black churches in the South, found that widespread racial animosity and segregation persist there. The commission conducted forums in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The results show the need for more education, dialogue and political leadership on racial issues throughout the country, according to Commission Chair Mary Frances Berry. Although various investigations have since indicated race is but one of several factors, the fact that Black churches in the South were being torched at rates not seen since the 1960s was first reported in February.
At that time, NOW leaders and coalition allies expressed concern about how racial tensions nationwide have contributed to the local church burnings and called on activists to respond. Their comments came in news conferences and releases, at the Fight the Right March last April in San Francisco and in a newspaper sent to all 250,000 NOW members.