Intentional Inequity

A dear friend and mentor of mine mentioned a couple of weeks ago that during the recent recession/depression, all her Black friends have lost their jobs and have been unable to get back into good employment.  Each and every one of them is still unemployed.  Conversely, only some of her White friends have been downsized but they are all currently employed.  I consider this one hell of an observation considering my friend happens to be White.  Her reflection begs the obvious question - Is this inequity intentional?

This question, if posed to the average person, would be answered typically on the basis of race.  The average White American would say this lack of return to the workforce of Black people comes down to less knowledge of new technologies or that employers are looking for the best candidates and those candidates just happen to be White.  One of my favorite answers is that employers are looking for individuals who can obtain and maintain global business relationships.  What galls is that global markets are almost entirely made up of people of color.  Only in Europe is the average businessperson White.

The average Black American would simply answer that racism is the root cause as to why so many Blacks have been downsized and have not yet rejoined the workforce.  Straight answer, no chaser.

I, too, would agree that racism is the cause of why so many formerly employed Black people are still out of work.  I happen to be one of them.  During the past five years of my unemployment, I have obtained both a BA and an MS from DePaul University.  Yet, although I have achieved what employers say want most in an employee – a combination of education and experience - I still can’t get a job.  Unfortunately my current status is not the exception to the rule but is seemingly the rule itself. 

Earlier this year, I attended a half-day job seminar filled with downsized Black people.  Many of them had never been unemployed and were obviously uncomfortable being at the seminar.  One lady gave a very painful testimony about her most recent job interview.  She had submitted a sterling resume to a business followed up with a productive phone interview.  She was invited to have a face to face interview with her phone interviewer who assured her that her qualifications were first rate and that he had no doubt she would be offered the position.  The face to face was just a formality.  She arrived early for the interview, checked in with the receptionist and eagerly awaited meeting the man she’d spoken to several times.  Shortly a White man came into the reception area, had a whispered conversation with the receptionist and left.  After several minutes, the receptionist informed the woman that her interviewer had an emergency and would be unable to meet with her.  She was asked to call back in a day or two to reschedule.  The lady followed up within 48 hours and was told that the criteria for the job had changed and that she was no longer being considered for the job.  It was clear to her and everyone in the room that she was not given the interview because the man had no idea she was Black until she came for the interview.  This would be merely sad if it were not such a regular business practice.

It would seem that the US government in the form of punitive small business regulations, corporations and our pathetic public education system has decided that Black people will continue to be the undisputed poverty class.  Schools no longer provide an education but instead prepare Black children in droves for the prison industrial complex.  Prisons are using first grade test scores to determine who many people will be in prison with the next 15 years.  This allows them to figure out how many jails will be necessary in the future.  One company in particular, Corrections Corporation of America, manages 45% of all private prison beds in the US.  According to their 2011 letter to shareholders (this is a publicly traded company) “only the Federal Bureau of Prisons and three states operate a system larger than CCA.  At year-end 2011, CCA housed more than 80,000 inmates in 67 facilities.”    Imagine the great loss of potential. 

Corporation and education professionals (not including teachers) are vocal advocates to the charter school system but that system is merely a way to funnel young people into becoming cogs for the business wheel.  This is why so many corporations have invested in charter schools but that same investment is not made to the average public school.  If an influx of money and interest can fund charter schools, why is this not done on a continuous basis to fund the already existing public school system?  What is happening to the funds generating by the many state lotteries that is supposed to support public schools?  Why is school funding tied to property taxes?  Why are the children who need the most given the least?  More importantly, why do we adults continue to elect politicians whose own children do not attend public schools?  In Chicago, a Chicago police officer has to live in Chicago.  A Chicago firefighter has to live in Chicago.  All public officials have to live within the area they serve.  Shouldn’t their children be made to be placed in public schools?  I would imagine if this were the case, the school system would drastically change.

Racism by definition is merely the belief that one race is superior to the other.  The most damaging part of this definition is the institutional racism that has been created to further this belief.  Will we see the end of racism within our lifetime?  I don’t believe so.  This country is as racist now as it has ever been since it was birthed from both racism and violence. 

Can we change this?  I would hope so.  But not until we recognize that all people including Black people and White people are really only one race – human.