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That's the problem you shouldn't have had to modify how you were born to become employable. The more we continue to accommodate to White comfort, nothing will ever change. White people will continue to be allowed to set these standards for people of color, and we'll continue to bend backwards to fit them, which doesn't change anything
All i did was take a haircut. I didn't normally had a curly afro. I always had a crew-cut.
Also, i would get dirty looks from Black and Hispanic people when i had the curly afro so it wasn't like it was only white people hating.
I was born in Dominican Republic and I have been working professional jobs since i graduated university (Jan 2007 to Present). I worked at a retail store on 5th Ave from 2003 to Dec 2006. I don't act, dress nor speak hood.
I believe the people that are being excluded from professional jobs usually are shooting themselves in the foot in some way.
* I remember Quiksilver didn't interview me because i had a curly afro. ( i am a light skinned Dominican - think Justin Timberlake skin color). I recall being upset about the whole thing but then i decided to cut it off and i got a job at a better store on 5th Ave. Sometimes you have to adapt since the world isn't going to change just for you.
i like big tiddays!
I'd say retail isn't considered professional. Whether someone is "hood" or not isn't the biggest barrier to professional employment. Professional jobs tend to require advanced degrees and really because of the expense of getting them it tends to have disparate impact on "minority" groups.
All i did was take a haircut. I didn't normally had a curly afro. I always had a crew-cut.
Also, i would get dirty looks from Black and Hispanic people when i had the curly afro so it wasn't like it was only white people hating.
Regardless of personal preference, I just think it's problematic that both Black/Hispanic people and White people associate certain physical traits most common with people of African descent like curly/kinky hair and Afros as unprofessional. Black and Hispanic people have internalized much of the anti-Blackness exhibited all throughout American society, which accounts for why they gave you dirty looks. What if there was a guy who preferred to wear his hair that way why should he feel pressured to cut his hair to get a job? While you might be okay with doing so, some people aren't nor should they have to.
It's interesting because an article just came out a couple days ago talking about a Black man's own journey in the "natural hair movement" and how he's choosing to not succumb to societal pressure to keep his hair short here's the link:
I'd say retail isn't considered professional. Whether someone is "hood" or not isn't the biggest barrier to professional employment. Professional jobs tend to require advanced degrees and really because of the expense of getting them it tends to have disparate impact on "minority" groups.
There are retail jobs that are considered professional.
My mom didn't make a lot of money below 40K and she wasn't on welfare or anything of the sort. I received tuition assistance, a partial scholarship and paid the rest out of pocket with my retail job.
The biggest barrier to professional employment is the individual him/herself. A good portion of Black/Hispanics do not take education seriously nor are aware of how they talk and act can impede on employment opportunities and professional network relationships.
There are retail jobs that are considered professional.
My mom didn't make a lot of money below 40K and she wasn't on welfare or anything of the sort. I received tuition assistance, a partial scholarship and paid the rest out of pocket with my retail job.
The biggest barrier to professional employment is the individual him/herself. A good portion of Black/Hispanics do not take education seriously nor are aware of how they talk and act can impede on employment opportunities and professional network relationships.
Retail jobs are not considered professional and trust me the biggest barrier to Blacks and Hispanics advancing socioeconomically has nothing to do with how they talk or act.
And proof that Blacks/Hispanics take education less seriously than whites? It's not like all whites have degrees (or even most).
Retail jobs are rock bottom jobs and in metro NYC you see whites in them at lower percentages as they have access to better jobs. If you are able to move up to corporate management, THEN let me know (the corporate management in retail companies is mostly white, Blacks and Hispanics have the bottom jobs). For the management positions you disproportionately have to have MBA's or other top degrees, have entered executive training programs, etc and there are substantial structural barriers to Blacks and Hispanics going through all these barriers no matter how well behaved one is.
I'm not saying that there are no well off Blacks or Hispanics or that one totally can't advance socioeconomically. Advancement is possible, but there are major hurdles to overcome in that advancement. One is that education costs money and often one can't rely on financial aid alone.
Other barriers to high paying jobs can be that people maybe hiring people they know, so there's nepotism and other factors.
Retail jobs are not considered professional and trust me the biggest barrier to Blacks and Hispanics advancing socioeconomically has nothing to do with how they talk or act.
And proof that Blacks/Hispanics take education less seriously than whites? It's not like all whites have degrees (or even most).
Retail jobs are rock bottom jobs and in metro NYC you see whites in them at lower percentages as they have access to better jobs. If you are able to move up to corporate management, THEN let me know (the corporate management in retail companies is mostly white, Blacks and Hispanics have the bottom jobs). For the management positions you disproportionately have to have MBA's or other top degrees, have entered executive training programs, etc and there are substantial structural barriers to Blacks and Hispanics going through all these barriers no matter how well behaved one is.
So what is the biggest barrier?
Not all retail jobs are rock bottom jobs. There are several retail jobs where you can get good $. If you are good at selling than you can get a good hourly rate with commission.
I didn't see my retail job as rock bottom job but as a resume builder. I was able to go from a stock/sales support to a logistics coordinator for a wholesale company after graduating university. I was able to transition the skills that i learned from my retail job to the logistics coordinator position. From there i moved to bigger companies and more senior positions.
I took out loans to pay my education (21K) along with my tuition assistance, partial scholarship and out of pocket money. If you don't invest in yourself no one will.
Regardless of personal preference, I just think it's problematic that both Black/Hispanic people and White people associate certain physical traits most common with people of African descent like curly/kinky hair and Afros as unprofessional. Black and Hispanic people have internalized much of the anti-Blackness exhibited all throughout American society, which accounts for why they gave you dirty looks. What if there was a guy who preferred to wear his hair that way why should he feel pressured to cut his hair to get a job? While you might be okay with doing so, some people aren't nor should they have to.
It's interesting because an article just came out a couple days ago talking about a Black man's own journey in the "natural hair movement" and how he's choosing to not succumb to societal pressure to keep his hair short here's the link:
to be fair, wouldn't an afro (depending on the size) be the same thing as a white guy having long hair? Long hair on men of any race might not be seen as professional. Although discrimination based on hair texture alone is indeed racist.
to be fair, wouldn't an afro (depending on the size) be the same thing as a white guy having long hair? Long hair on men of any race might not be seen as professional. Although discrimination based on hair texture alone is indeed racist.
It depends on how short the guy had to cut his hair. Some guys with curly hair feel the need to keep their head shaved almost bald and that is indeed because of self hatred and accepting the prejudices of others.
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