OFFICE OF MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

Monday, October 26, from 5:00-7:00 pm in the Multicultural Resource Center
Film and Discussion: "Unnatural Causes – Becoming American"

The film/documentary, Becoming American looks at the “Latino Paradox” in America. Latino immigrants have lower rates of death, heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses, despite being less educated, earning less and having the stress of adapting to a new country and a new language. But as they are here longer, their health advantage erodes. After five years or more in the US, they are 1.5 times more likely to have high blood pressure – and be obese – than when they arrived. Within one generation, their health is as poor as other Americans of similar income status. This short film discusses how that economic mobility and health are intertwined and how strong social networks and hopefulness may promote better health, not only in immigrant communities but for all of us.

Sponsored by the student organization Health and Social Justice and the Center for Health of Vulnerable Populations.

Tuesday, October 27 at 3:00 pm in the Multicultural Resource Center
"Tribal Sovereignty"
Dr. Clara Sue Kidwell, Director of American Indian Center at UNC-Chapel Hill

Tribal Sovereignty is a widely used but often vaguely understood term in American Indian communities. It has two dimensions, internal self-government, and recognition by other governments of the rights of communities to govern themselves. This lecture will discuss what rights communities can exercise and the legal and political constraints on sovereignty that currently exist.

Sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs in partnership with the Native American Students Association.

Wednesday, October 28 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the Moore Nursing Building Auditorium
"Human Rights Issues from the Perspective of a Community Partner"
Rev. William Barber, President of NC State Conference of the NAACP

Rev. Barber will discuss labor movement and other human rights issues related to North Carolina's history.

Sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Thursday, October 29, 2009 from 4:00 to 5:30 in the Multicultural Resource Center
"Slavery Still Exists — and you might be surprised where it is — The Trafficking of Humans for Sex and Labor"

A panel of experts working on the front lines of this battle in North Carolina will discuss the nature, extent and causes of the problem and what needs to be done to stop it.

• What is human trafficking?
• How do we recognize it?
• The economics of modern slave trafficking
• The role of power, greed, oppression and desperation
• What it looks like in NC and the Triad
• What is being done to combat it?

Panelists:
Danielle Mitchell, Executive Director, Triad Ladder of Hope
Heather Blackerby, Anti-trafficking Case Manager, World Relief Corp.
Rachel Braver, Paralegal, Battered Immigrant Project, Legal Aid of North Carolina

Friday,October 30, 2009 from 11:30 am to 12:45 pm in the Multicultural Resource Center
"Know Your Rights — and Lack Thereof: LGBT Equality in Our State"
Presenter: Rebecca Mann, Director of Community Organizing and Outreach with Equality North Carolina

This will be a discussion about the state of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in North Carolina, including where we've been and goals for the future. Topics covered will include the School Violence Prevention Act, employment non-discrimination, and the Marriage Discrimination Amendment, among others.

Equality NC is a statewide group dedicated to securing equal rights and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. They work toward that goal by effectively lobbying the North Carolina General Assembly, executive branch, and local governments on issues like inclusive anti-bullying policies, employment discrimination, hate violence, privacy rights, sexuality education, adoption, domestic partnership, HIV/AIDS, and more. They also work to engage North Carolinians with educational programming and outreach efforts.

2008 Human Rights Event

UNCG Brings Maria Echaveste for 2008 Human Rights Event
“Working Toward a World Community”

Tuesday, October 14, 2008, at 7:00 pm
Elliott University Center Auditorium

Maria Echaveste is an attorney and former U.S. presidential advisor to Bill Clinton and White House Deputy Chief of Staff under the second Clinton administration. She is one of the highest-ranking Latinas to have served in a presidential administration. She is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a co-founder of the Nueva Vista Group, a policy, legislative strategy and advocacy group working with non-profit and corporate clients. Maria is a frequent guest on PBS “To the Contrary.”

Echaveste was raised in Texas, as one of seven children born to Mexican immigrants. The family later moved to California, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Stanford University in 1976 and a law degree from UC Berkeley's Boalt Law School in 1980. Following her graduation from Boalt, Echaveste specialized in corporate litigation at the former Los Angeles firm Wyman Bautzer and at Rosenman & Colin in New York.

From 1993 to 1997 Echaveste served as the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. In that role, she was responsible for the management and policy direction of programs related to a variety of Federal laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act (including minimum wage, overtime and child labor) and federal contracting laws. Under her leadership, Wage and Hour initiated an anti-sweatshop initiative which received a 1996 Innovations in American Government Award.

Echaveste left the Department of Labor to become Director of Public Liaison at the White House from February 1997 to May 1998 where she also developed communications, legislative and public outreach strategies. From 1998 to 2001, she served as both Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton. Echaveste managed Clinton's domestic policy initiatives on education, civil rights, immigration and bankruptcy reform. She also coordinated relief efforts within the White House for foreign and domestic disasters, and specialized in international issues related to Latin America including the Caribbean Basin Initiative and Africa Growth Opportunity Act and Plan Colombia, a federal effort to assist Colombia in its anti-drug campaign. At the end of the Clinton administration, she had responsibility for the management of the White House preparations for the millennium celebrations and the 2000 Presidential transition.

After leaving the White House, Echaveste co-founded the Nueva Vista Group, a strategic and policy consulting group that works with nonprofit organizations, associations and corporations on such issues as immigration, health care, telecommunications, labor and finances. She is a part time lecturer at Boalt Hall at the University of California Berkeley School of Law. She currently resides in both California and WashingtonD.C. and works as a consultant. Her clients include AOL Time Warner and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Echaveste is a commentator on the PBS television show “To the Contrary.” During the 2004 Democratic primaries, she advised Howard Dean and frequently spoke for him on talk shows. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee, a member of the Board of Directors of People for the American Way, the Children's Law Center of Washington, D.C., and CARE, a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty.