Quantifying Hate Speech on Commercial Talk Radio: A Pilot Study,
Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA, November, 2011, 46 pp.
This non-peer-reviewed study seeks to develop a "sound, replicable methodology for qualitative content analysis" of hate speech targeting ethnic, racial, religious, or sexual minorities.  Segments of thirty- to forty-minutes were selected from each of three programs broadcast  in the Los Angeles County radio market on July 31, 2008: The Lou Dobbs Show: Mr. Independent, The Savage Nation, and The John & Ken Show. The analysis revealed "a significant incidence of speech that incorporates targeted statements, unsubstantiated claims, divisive language, and indexical terms related to political nativism." The study, however, found no instances of hate speech calling for "immediate unlawful action," the standard used in a 1993 Report to Congress on the role of telecommunications in the commission of hate crimes.  This study includes a lengthy appendix with excerpts from the three shows illustrative of the factors used in the analysis.

All Together Now?  African Americans, Immigrants and the Future of California,
Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, University of Southern California, September, 2011, 62 pp.
This report focuses on neighborhood-level interactions between immigrants and African Americans in California communities. Using an analytical tool called "Black Immigrant Proximity Index," the researchers were able to identify "87 distinct communities that ranked most highly for African-American exposure to immigrants in the year 2000." These 87 communities were further sub-divided into four categories based on whether the Black population was declining, stable, or growing.  Although the report acknowledges some displacement of Blacks by immigrants in occupations such as janitors, many Blacks who retained jobs in industries dominated by immigrants saw significant income growth, suggesting a complementary effect.  The authors argue for an approach to coalition-building "based not in transactions but transformations."  Rather than seeking African-American support for specific policy reforms beneficial to immigrants, perhaps in exchange for immigrant support for a "Black issue," the authors assert that "such coalitions of interest can be both fragile and episodic - and less sustainable than those ties based on shared values, continuing engagement, and social movement organizing."  They then proceed to give numerous examples of how this approach has been applied successfully in specific communities.


Muslim Americans: No Signs of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism,
Pew Research Center, August, 2011, 127 pp
This telephone survey of 1,033 Muslim-Americans, updating an earlier survey conducted by Pew in 2007, finds "no evidence of rising support for Islamic extremism among Muslim Americans."  Interviews were done in English, Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi.  Muslim Americans are far more satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. (56%) than the general public (23%).  More Muslim Americans report themselves to be in "excellent or good shape financially" (46%) than the general public (38%). Support for extremist positions is "negligible" with fully 81% saying that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians are never justified. Nonetheless, significant numbers (28%) report being looked at with suspicion by their neighbors. Most Muslims (70%) either identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party. 72% believe that the Mosque and community center near the World Trade Center should be built.


Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States,
The White House,  August, 2011, 8 pp
With particular attention to al-Qa'ida and its affiliates around the world, this paper outlines the federal government's strategy for preventing radicalization and terrorism in the United States.  More than a year in the making, the document contends that "our security...is inextricably linked to our values: the protection of civil rights and civil liberties and the promotion of an inclusive society." The paper also argues that any kind of "backlash" by the American public against Muslim Americans "would feed al-Qa'ida's propaganda that our country is anti-Muslim and at war against Islam, handing our enemies a strategic victory by turning our communities against one another" and creating a breeding ground for terrorist recruitment in the U.S.  The paper envisions the federal government's role as that of "facilitator, convener, and source of information."  Rather than creating a new architecture of institutions and funding, the paper advocates the ramped-up use of successful models, such as community policing and community engagement in problem-solving on all levels, not just those pertaining to the terrorist threat.