USA

Ukrainian court remands two juveniles into custody for murderous pogrom against Roma, Canada and USA condemn the racist violence

26.6.2018 19:18 Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported today that a Ukrainian court has remanded two juveniles into custody on suspicion of participating in last weekend's attack on a Romani camp near Lviv. The murderous attack, which the media ascribe to a little-known neo-Nazi youth organization, sparked concern over the rise of racial violence in the country.
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USA: Organizer of last year's fatal ultra-right march plans a reprise in the nation's capital

25.6.2018 14:24 Jason Kessler, the organizer of last year's ultra-right demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, which turned fatally violent, is planning to hold another such event in August in Washington, D.C. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported the news on 21 June, adding that he has acquired the preliminary consent of the authorities to hold the event  full story

Disgraced former Trump adviser to debate 2016 election with Democratic Party supporter in the Czech capital

15.5.2018 10:38 Steve Bannon, the former strategic adviser to US President Donald Trump, will visit the Czech Republic next week. He will participate in a debate about the 2016 US presidential elections that will be held by the Prague Centre for Transatlantic Relations of the CEVRO Institute.  full story

U.S. diplomats discuss situation of Romani people in Europe during Czech visit

8.5.2018 9:19 Representatives of nine U.S. embassies from the Central and East European region, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Helsinki Commission met in Prague and Brno in April to discuss the current situation of Roma in the region. The representatives shared best practices, policies and projects that help to successfully integrate Roma people into majority societies and to empower them.  full story

US Ambassador hangs the Romani flag at the US Embassy in Prague

10.4.2018 18:58 As in previous years, the Embassy of the United States of America in Prague hung the Romani flag on its building to mark International Romani Day (8 April). US Ambassador Stephen King hung the flag from the window of the Embassy on the afternoon of Monday, 9 April.  full story

Margareta Matache and Cornel West on the common struggle of African Americans and Roma against white normativity

26.2.2018 7:57 Margareta Matache, a Roma rights activist and scholar who directs the Roma Program at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, and Cornel West, an American author and civil rights activist who is currently Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard, have co-authored an analysis for The Guardian newspaper in the UK on the commonalities between the struggles of African Americans and Romani people for equality. The piece notes that the history of African Americans and Romani people bear similarities with respect to the way "white policymakers" have employed similar tactics against members of both groups in order to maintain "white normativity, social power, and privilege".  full story

USA: Pianist Tomáš Kačo performs solo at Carnegie Hall - "There is no box for this music"

26.2.2018 6:55 The pianist Tomáš Kačo is one of 12 siblings from a very modest background who has worked his way up through self-instruction to become one of the best jazz piano students at the prestigious Berklee College in Boston, of which he is a graduate. On 22 February yet another dream of his came true - performing at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York.  full story

Czech MP spreads disinformation alleging that Florida school shooter was an Antifa member

21.2.2018 8:08 A week ago today, Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old racist, shot and killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, USA. Cruz attacked a school that he had been expelled from the year before for disciplinary reasons.  full story

Czech Republic: Assembly to honor the victim of the neo-Nazi terror attack in the USA

15.8.2017 12:31 About 100 people assembled on Monday evening near a small monument to those who fell during the liberation of Prague at the end of WWII in order to honor the memory of 32-year-old minority rights defender Heather Heyer, who died after being hit by a car driven by a neo-Nazi during Saturday's protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. James Alex Fields, age 20, drove the vehicle and has been charged with murdering Heyer and injuring 19 other people.  full story

USA: Neo-Nazi website shut down after insulting Charlottesville murder victim

15.8.2017 11:53 The American neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer is experiencing problems after insulting the woman who was killed during Saturday's protests against the white racist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia. GoDaddy, administrator of the web domain, has cancelled its contract and the Google firm subsequently cancelled its registration with them.  full story

USA: Politicians and public pressure Trump to condemn white racists behind Saturday's deadly violence

14.8.2017 15:21 The Associated Press reports that two days after the violence sparked by a rally of white racists in Charlottesville, Virginia, US President Donald Trump is facing strong pressure to condemn the actions of the radical groups that lead to the death of a young woman and the injury of many others. Trump's statement on the violence has just been general and he has demonstrated a cautious approach toward criticizing radical "white nationalists" in the past, leading him to be accused of bias against various ethnic groups.  full story

USA: Charlottesville mayor says Saturday's incident was terrorism, FBI investigating

14.8.2017 12:47

Saturday's incident during which a man drove a car into a crowd of people in Charlottesville, Virginia is being investigated by the FBI. Unrest broke out in the town
that was provoked by two assemblies by white extremists there beginning Friday.

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USA: "White nationalist" rally blamed for three deaths and 19 injuries

13.8.2017 8:58 In Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, unrest was underway yesterday because of what US media are calling a "white nationalist" rally during which a terrorist drove a car into a crowd of anti-racist demonstrators, killing one and injuring 19. The clashes began on Friday, 11 August and more scuffles broke out yesterday.  full story

Alana Telesford Explores Educational Inequity within the Czech Republic

3.7.2017 10:34 Alana Telesford is a graduate student of Lehigh University working with the Campaign for Social Inclusion to promote inclusion of the Roma people. Telesford is residing in the Czech Republic from 5 June 2017 to 29 July 2017 to research inequalities within the education system. Her research will be combined with the research of three other American students and organized into a story map that will be presented to the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic at the end of July 2017.  full story

Lehigh University Students Explore the Problem of Social Housing within the Czech Republic

3.7.2017 10:30 American students from Lehigh University are living in Prague from 5 June 2017 to 29 July 2017. These students are a part of the Campaign for Social Inclusion, a program helping with the social inclusion of the Roma people. The students Maggie Helmes and Jasmine Wung work for the nongovernmental organization Otevrena Spolecnost, focusing on the inequality of social housing within the Czech Republic.  full story

Vicente Rodriguez Speaks About His Vision for the Romani People

26.6.2017 23:40 On 8 June, during the launch of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) in Berlin, the Huffington Post met with activist Vicente Rodríguez, the Romani organizer of the RomaPop alliance. Rodríguez discussed his mission to have Romani people portrayed in a positive light in popular culture.  full story

Commentary: Social Exclusion is a Global Issue

23.6.2017 14:00

The issues the Roma face in Europe are issues that many minorities around the globe face as well. There is unequal distribution of education, employment, and housing.

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videoUnited States: Protestors against Sharia Law Link Muslims to Terrorism

13.6.2017 22:00 US media report that on Saturday, June 10, anti-sharia law demonstrations happened across the United States in which traditional Muslim practices were called a threat to U.S. society. The protests were organized by the conservative group ACT for America, an organization that self-identifies as the "only national security grassroots foundation" within the U.S. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which was created to fulfill the goals of the civil rights movement, analyzes ACT for America as an anti-Muslim hate group.  full story

US Chargé d’Affaires at Roma Holocaust site: I pay tribute to the Czech Government's pledge to solve the problem of the pig farm

16.5.2017 7:01 Chargé d’Affaires Kelly Adams-Smith from the Embassy of the United States of America in Prague reminded those assembled at the Lety Memorial on 13 May for the commemorative ceremony at Lety u Písku of the importance of such ceremonies for honoring the memory of the Romani victims of the Holocaust, adding: cNews server Romea.cz publishes her speech in full here:
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Czech Human Rights Minister responds to US report by asserting Government is addressing Romani issues

7.3.2017 8:06 Czech Human Rights Minister Jan Chvojka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) has emphasized that the Czech Government is doing its best to improve the position of
Romani people and also to eliminate corruption through specific legislative measures. In a statement sent to the Czech News Agency yesterday, Chvojka responded to the US State Department's annual report about the state of human rights in the world, which reproachse the Czech Republic for corruption, the social discrimination of Romani people, and the stigmatization of people infected with HIV.  full story