Wal-Mart's support of the Voting Rights Act's renewal is important, given that when the Congressional Black Caucus first visited our president to discuss the VRA, he didn't even know what it was. But let's hope this shrewd public relations move doesn't convince too many people that Wal-Mart is a friend of civil rights, and that the CBC, the NAACP and other black organizations taking Wal-Mart's money don't turn a blind eye to the company's racism.
-
Andy Stern: Savior or Sellout?
Liza Featherstone: SEIU President Andy Stern heads one of the strongest unions in the country. Why is he so cozy with corporations?
-
Surge for Peace
Liza Featherstone: Thanks to the efforts of the peace movement and a significant shift in public opinion, we can stop this war. But it's not going to be easy.
-
Chávez's Citizen Diplomacy
Liza Featherstone: Venezuela's controversial program to provide heating oil to impoverished American communities exposes the inability of the richest nation on earth to meet the needs of its poor.
-
Chávez's Citizen Diplomacy
Liza Featherstone: Venezuela's controversial program to provide heating oil to impoverished American communities exposes the inability of the richest nation on earth to meet the needs of its poor.
-
A Win for Women
Liza Featherstone: Thanks to a thoughtful grassroots campaign, voters in South Dakota rejected a draconian abortion ban.
-
Democracy Worked for SD Abortion Vote
Liza Featherstone: The electoral process worked for pro-choice advocates in South Dakota, overturning an abortion ban with a grassroots appeal to keep the government out of citizens' personal lives.
-
Mean or Green?
Liza Featherstone: Wal-Mart is serious about bringing organic food to the masses, but transportation costs and the retail giant's aggressive competitive ways could end up hurting small farms and the environment.
Armstrong, a trucker with twenty years experience, and a driving record that more than met the company's requirements, began applying to drive Wal-Mart trucks on the road in 1997. His supervisor told him he'd never get the job. After rejecting Armstrong, the company hired several white people for the same position. He kept trying, applying every year for the next six years. According to his complaint, filed in federal court in Helena, Arkansas in June, Armstrong was given vague, ever-changing reasons for his rejection. He wasn't "fleet material." In 2003, the Searcy personnel manager, without reviewing the records, told Armstrong that he had a "gut feeling" that he didn't meet the qualifications. To Wal-Mart, perhaps, experience and driving ability are physically apparent, as obvious as the color of one's skin. We do have a name for these kinds of feelings.
- Get The Nation at home (and online!) for 75 cents a week!
- If you like this article, consider making a donation to The Nation.

Buzzflash
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Newsvine
Reddit