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You need to quit playing the race card. Can we have just have ONE city in America that is not saturated with that attitude 24 hours a day...??? PLEASE....??? Get over yourself and grow up.. you're not at war, 'fighting for your whole race of people' here. If you use a little common sense and look around you, you will see that EVERYONE is having a hard time finding & keeping work right now. And if you are so convinced that everyone's picking on you and a city like Austin is 'racist as hell'.... (Austin...??? really...??!) then you maybe you should take YOUR racist attitude back to Detroit where you will fit right in.
Even if there is some grain of truth to what you say, if you came into interviews with the ASSUMPTION that people are already discriminating against you 'because of your race', maybe the fact is they can sense that and it makes them uneasy. However, (reality check-).. just about EVERYONE who goes into job interviews has insecurities about themselves, for some reason or another... especially these days.
Perhaps you are just one of those people who is more comfortable around your 'own community' (just using the terms blacks so often use that term to segregate themselves).. so maybe that's where you should go, if that choice would make you more happy. No one's keeping you here by force.
Ever seen how Austin forcibly segregated itself in the 1930's? The fact is this action in the 1930's basically ensured the city was segregated right up until the modern day. I can promise you that the majority of people who never have interactions with minorities are going to either be uncomfortable with the prospect or racist.
Its an issue in Austin whether we want to admit it or not. Is it something that can be overcome on an individual basis? Yes but that doesnt make it a non-issue and it certainly doesnt entitle someone to swing the other way and use the entire issue as a weapon to smack minorities around with. Thats just not very nice. If you lived a full month as a minority then I think you would have a better understanding of daily trials that minorities deal with that whites simply do not deal with.
I am a young Black professional from Detroit. I moved to Austin July 2010 and its September 2010 and I have gotten a job offer yet. You probably think thats not a long time and that I should keep trying right ? The issue is that I have been on 12 interviews and I apply for 30-40 jobs a week. I have two degrees in Criminal Justice and Im in my final year of graduate school majoring in Public Administration. I have 3 years of case management/ social service experience and those are the types of jobs I apply to every day. I also have experience as I job coach so I know how to format a resume and cover letter for a particular job... I believe that Austin is racist as HELL even more racist than the North because I've lived both places... I believe that all of the white people who interviewed me found a reason not to hire me instead of finding a reason to hire me. That reason had soley to do with the color of my skin. I dont have an Ethnic name but in person you can tell that Im very much black... Im ready to pack upand move to a town that has more blacks and is more racially diverse, but in doing so, what am I really accomplishing? Yes Im looking out for me and my family but what will my defeat do for a whole race of people? NOTHING... If you dont have a job offer before you move to Austin, I suggest that you move somewhere else that would allow you to compete based on your qualifications and not disqualify you because of your race...
Out of curiosity, can you be a bit more specific about what you're basing your assumption that it is the fact that you are black that made you not get those jobs? I assume there must be clues, actions, words said, etc that made you come to that conclusion. I have a feeling that a lot of people would be interested in getting a better understanding of what types of things folks do to tip someone off that they are having these types of thoughts?
You are far better off staying in Dallas. There are plenty of tech companies in Dallas and many more oppportunities overall. There are many black professional in that area as opposed to down here.
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Originally Posted by semperubisububi
I'm considering a move to Austin from Dallas, and I think it might be a good place for young professionals, because of the tech companies.
But how good of a place is is for a young black professional? I'm trying to get an idea of how strong the support stucture is and do young black professionals usually stay or leave the area after a few years?
I'm not expecting it to have a strong black professional network like DC, but I would at least expect it to be better than Phoenix, which has about 5% blacks, while Austin has 10% blacks, population wise. From what I found online, the network doesnt seem to be very organized here, whereas Phoenix is.
Curious where your numerous academic credentials are from? You take the dozen interviews you've been on and your perception of them along with 6 responses on a message board from anonymous posters as enough evidence to declare widespread systematic race bias? Oh, and your grammar is atrocious.
Please - I have seen atrocious grammar in this forum, and this is not it! Debate the issue if you like, but don't make personal attacks based on nothing.
I am also leary of the claim of racism, as my son has been looking for a job for 2 years, and has had to compete with 50 or 100 other applicants for jobs. There are probably a million reasons why he was not the one picked - perhaps qualifications, or experience, or not giving the "correct" response to a question, or maybe the way he looked. When there are that many qualified people applying for a job, employers can use truely random reasons for making the decision. Usually there is no way to know. I don't know about the personal experience of the poster, so of course I can't comment of whether racism was a factor. But lots of other people of all races are experiencing the same difficulties, so I have my doubts. I do feel very sad that people of whatever race feel that Austin is not welcoming to them.
Curious where your numerous academic credentials are from? You take the dozen interviews you've been on and your perception of them along with 6 responses on a message board from anonymous posters as enough evidence to declare widespread systematic race bias? Oh, and your grammar is atrocious.
My grammer is not atrocious... I am very well spoken and my credentials speak for themselves... You are crazy as HELL or maybe even one of those racist people that I've had the misfortune to meet... A a matter of fact, I dont see how my grammer differs from what you have written . Further more, I never said anything about a "wide spread systematic racism." Stop being ignorant and over zealous with your assumptions... Part of me thinks I should'nt have responded to you, but hay, whatever...
Out of curiosity, can you be a bit more specific about what you're basing your assumption that it is the fact that you are black that made you not get those jobs? I assume there must be clues, actions, words said, etc that made you come to that conclusion. I have a feeling that a lot of people would be interested in getting a better understanding of what types of things folks do to tip someone off that they are having these types of thoughts?
Austin nerd, in 2010 people dont usually call you the "N" word to your face or tell you they dont like working with blacks, or tell you that you are expendable because you are black. In this situation they usually just dont hire you!!! It is something you will NEVER understand unless you become BLACK! Its a look you get when you smile at your white counter part and the smile they give you back is not like the one they just gave the white person before you. Its the slight hesitation you get when you reach to shake someones hand and that persons body language tells you that they did not want to shake your hand. Its the feeling you get when you walk into a place that has very little minority presence (you began to feel that your presence unwanted)... Once again, you may not be the one that treats people of different races this way, but their are people who do. You will continue to dimiss what I am attempting to say to you and wont understand unless you are BLACK. Being of some other minority group is still not the same as being BLACK in America.
As a black person in Austin, I can definitely relate to the original posters sentiments. There IS an unspoken racism regnant amongst many natives especially in more educated or wealthier settings. People will often and blatantly question your presence - frankly, this never happened in Dallas.
Is Austin a good place for black professionals? No. But that doesn't mean you can't be successful. I for instance, just accepted a very lucrative position with a firm who recently relocated from the East coast. Unforunately, they plan on staying in Austin and I plan on staying with them, so for the time being I'm stuck here.
Austin nerd, in 2010 people dont usually call you the "N" word to your face or tell you they dont like working with blacks, or tell you that you are expendable because you are black. In this situation they usually just dont hire you!!! It is something you will NEVER understand unless you become BLACK! Its a look you get when you smile at your white counter part and the smile they give you back is not like the one they just gave the white person before you. Its the slight hesitation you get when you reach to shake someones hand and that persons body language tells you that they did not want to shake your hand. Its the feeling you get when you walk into a place that has very little minority presence (you began to feel that your presence unwanted)... Once again, you may not be the one that treats people of different races this way, but their are people who do. You will continue to dimiss what I am attempting to say to you and wont understand unless you are BLACK. Being of some other minority group is still not the same as being BLACK in America.
FYI, I am black.
I will never discount anyone else's experiences, I'll simply note that many of the issues/problems that others have reported in regards to race have in general not matched my personal experiences here in Austin. Not that I've _never_ encountered any issues, just not nearly enough for me to worry about or have it affect my lifestyle.
So my answer to the original question is, yes, Austin _can_ be a good place for a black professional. As with all things in life however, YMMV.
I am a young Black professional from Detroit. I moved to Austin July 2010 and its September 2010 and I have gotten a job offer yet. You probably think thats not a long time and that I should keep trying right ? The issue is that I have been on 12 interviews and I apply for 30-40 jobs a week. I have two degrees in Criminal Justice and Im in my final year of graduate school majoring in Public Administration. I have 3 years of case management/ social service experience and those are the types of jobs I apply to every day. I also have experience as I job coach so I know how to format a resume and cover letter for a particular job... I believe that Austin is racist as HELL even more racist than the North because I've lived both places... I believe that all of the white people who interviewed me found a reason not to hire me instead of finding a reason to hire me. That reason had soley to do with the color of my skin. I dont have an Ethnic name but in person you can tell that Im very much black... Im ready to pack upand move to a town that has more blacks and is more racially diverse, but in doing so, what am I really accomplishing? Yes Im looking out for me and my family but what will my defeat do for a whole race of people? NOTHING... If you dont have a job offer before you move to Austin, I suggest that you move somewhere else that would allow you to compete based on your qualifications and not disqualify you because of your race...
Autae, I TOTALLY agree with your positioning. If you notice, anytime anyone on this forum talks about racism, you will get the native austinites who run and say you are totally imagining it or your playing the race card...UGH ignore them....speaking as another AA (and professional female w/ Bachelors Degree in Business), I have been out of work in Austin for almost 4 months! I did however find a job, but it was low-paying and not in my field and was NOT a professional job. There IS a level of racism in Austin, whether people want to admit it or not. What ringed a bell in my mind is when you said you had been on 12 interviews and not ONE of them hired you. Face to face interviews are suppose to increase your chances of getting a job...
I, like yourself, also moved from michigan, and trust me, your concerns are NOT imagined. The people who are saying that you are playing the race card and "imagining" the racism are NOT black.
A lot of the racism has to do with blacks not having a strong enough network in Austin, Texas. The Hispanics have created their own network based off of their high population. Just go to any store that has a Hispanic manager or boss, and you will see that nearly EVERY employee is also Hispanic. The native austinites are mostly conservative, NOT liberal. Conservative is just another way of saying, they only hang out with people that look and sound like them. I eventually had to start my own business which has been very successful.
If i were you, I would do two things; try to apply for State or Federal jobs where they NEED the help. I'm not for sure, but I think that state and federal jobs are required to hire a certain percentage of minorities. But, trying to get a job in a small business or privately owned business is going to be slim to none unless you know someone who knows someone.
Another option is to completely DITCH austin, which is what I plan to do in a couple of months once I save up a little more money and hit the road to Houston. Every african-american friend I have talked to claimed that Houston is the way to go, they have WAY more job opportunities for blacks and their is a bigger percentage of professional blacks there.
NOTE: and for those that are saying that it is a recession everywhere and this man is imagining racism in Austin, first off, the numbers of unemployed blacks are almost DOUBLE compared to not just whites, but all other races. The current statistic is 16% of unemployed blacks compared to 8% unemployed whites. I don't think this is 100% because of racism, but it IS a mixture of racism and the recession.
and here are some articles Autae that I pulled up on the Internet talking about racism, the working class of African americans and much more. You can check them out down below: some are new, and some are a little outdated.
My grammer is not atrocious... I am very well spoken and my credentials speak for themselves... You are crazy as HELL or maybe even one of those racist people that I've had the misfortune to meet... A a matter of fact, I dont see how my grammer differs from what you have written . Further more, I never said anything about a "wide spread systematic racism." Stop being ignorant and over zealous with your assumptions... Part of me thinks I should'nt have responded to you, but hay, whatever...
Autae, please ignore comments like these....this is what i'm talking about when I bring up how many of the austinites are (not all, but the majority). They are overly defensive about everything and as soon as you bring up race, they go into convulsions. Just don't respond to them. Have you looked into Houston yet? All of my African american friends say they LOVE it (the ones that live there)
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ignore them....speaking as another AA (and professional female w/ Bachelors Degree in Business), I have been out of work in Austin for almost 4 months! I did however find a job, but it was low-paying and not in my field and was NOT a professional job. There IS a level of racism in Austin, whether people want to admit it or not. What ringed a bell in my mind is when you said you had been on 12 interviews and not ONE of them hired you. Face to face interviews are suppose to increase your chances of getting a job...
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