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I finished college with a Bachelors and Masters. After becoming desperate for employment I decided to turn my search over to the "professionals" at the employment office. My first interview I was asked if I owned a lawn mower because there was an old lady who need her lawn mowed. My second interview I was offered a job cleaning up a diner after hours part time. Although I was wearing slacks and a sport coat the interviewer told me to make sure I cleaned up before I went to apply because this diner was particular about who they hired. My third interview I was sent to apply for another cleaning job.
This is what black people have to endure. Not slavery but racism. I would bet everything I have that those two employment professionals would never have expected a young white college grad to mow someones yard. This wasn't the 40's, 50's 60's or 70's it was the 80's. This was not in the south it was the Midwest. I figured I lost about five years during my struggle and of course my college loans went into default.
So lets stop talking about Slavery, unwed mothers, crack dealers, gangsta who are running from the police. Because my story is pretty typical. The one consolation for me after getting through that period quite nicely is 20 years later I had the opportunity to see the employment counselors again. One was in a wheel chair wasting away his mid life by some debilitating disease, and the other I saw sweeping up after hours in my kids school. God punishes my enemies more harshly than I .
I finished college with a Bachelors and Masters. After becoming desperate for employment I decided to turn my search over to the "professionals" at the employment office. My first interview I was asked if I owned a lawn mower because there was an old lady who need her lawn mowed. My second interview I was offered a job cleaning up a diner after hours part time. Although I was wearing slacks and a sport coat the interviewer told me to make sure I cleaned up before I went to apply because this diner was particular about who they hired. My third interview I was sent to apply for another cleaning job.
This is what black people have to endure. Not slavery but racism. I would bet everything I have that those two employment professionals would never have expected a young white college grad to mow someones yard. This wasn't the 40's, 50's 60's or 70's it was the 80's. This was not in the south it was the Midwest. I figured I lost about five years during my struggle and of course my college loans went into default.
So lets stop talking about Slavery, unwed mothers, crack dealers, gangsta who are running from the police. Because my story is pretty typical. The one consolation for me after getting through that period quite nicely is 20 years later I had the opportunity to see the employment counselors again. One was in a wheel chair wasting away his mid life by some debilitating disease, and the other I saw sweeping up after hours in my kids school. God punishes my enemies more harshly than I .
I understand how awful this is, but is reparations the answer?
I finished college with a Bachelors and Masters. After becoming desperate for employment I decided to turn my search over to the "professionals" at the employment office. My first interview I was asked if I owned a lawn mower because there was an old lady who need her lawn mowed. My second interview I was offered a job cleaning up a diner after hours part time. Although I was wearing slacks and a sport coat the interviewer told me to make sure I cleaned up before I went to apply because this diner was particular about who they hired. My third interview I was sent to apply for another cleaning job.
This is what black people have to endure. Not slavery but racism. I would bet everything I have that those two employment professionals would never have expected a young white college grad to mow someones yard. This wasn't the 40's, 50's 60's or 70's it was the 80's. This was not in the south it was the Midwest. I figured I lost about five years during my struggle and of course my college loans went into default.
So lets stop talking about Slavery, unwed mothers, crack dealers, gangsta who are running from the police. Because my story is pretty typical. The one consolation for me after getting through that period quite nicely is 20 years later I had the opportunity to see the employment counselors again. One was in a wheel chair wasting away his mid life by some debilitating disease, and the other I saw sweeping up after hours in my kids school. God punishes my enemies more harshly than I .
In what State? What kind of work history did you have? How old were you? How did you present yourself in the interview?
There are so many variables to any one person's story that you can't just say "racism" was behind whatever perceived injustice you allegedly suffered.
Amen. We have folks here, no doubt many white, on the employment thread with degrees working stuff like retail or fast food jobs.
Simply having degrees does not provide enough info. Were they in marketable fields in the region you lived in (Orig poster question)?
In addition, having lived 17 years in Tn (Nashville metro, Thank God), if the poster you responded to lived in a rural area, there would be few opportunities for any meaningful work for anyone.
In what State? What kind of work history did you have? How old were you? How did you present yourself in the interview?
There are so many variables to any one person's story that you can't just say "racism" was behind whatever perceived injustice you allegedly suffered.
The typical apologist response. What you are insinuating is that although I was more educated than my White peers I was still ignorant. How did I present myself ? Before I even graduated I had had lunch with the Governor of my state. I clean up well.
I was desperate, I wasn't looking a good job, I was looking production work, dock work, I don't think people were racist they were ignorant. They didn't have the intestinal fortitude to hire the "first black" in their work place.
Weren't blacks in America much more likely to be "middle class" many decades ago? A persistent decline in the last 60 years or so - more and more falling into the "lower class".
Which is strange because they certainly didn't have reparations back in the day.
Couldn't have anything to do with out-of-wedlock births, I wonder?
The War on Poverty created multi-generational inner city poverty at levels never before seen.
The typical apologist response. What you are insinuating is that although I was more educated than my White peers I was still ignorant. How did I present myself ? Before I even graduated I had had lunch with the Governor of my state. I clean up well .
Can you simply state what fields were your majors, where you lived (rural or urban regions), what the local unemployment rate was during the 5 years, etc.
Contrary to popular belief, those choices matter.
General Studies majors, even in 2019, often make fine baristas with huge student loan debt.
The typical apologist response. What you are insinuating is that although I was more educated than my White peers I was still ignorant. How did I present myself ? Before I even graduated I had had lunch with the Governor of my state. I clean up well .
That's great. I'm happy for you. I have a bachelor's degree and currently I am working in janitorial. And yes I am white.
This year will be the 100th anniversary of the Elaine Arkansas massacre. IMO, their dependents could qualify for reparations. And the ones of the Oklahoma and Florida massacres.
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