The Front Porch : Ask a white guy anything.....

[CreativeGrl]

Absent racism, black unemployment is over twice that of whites because black folks either do not possess the skills needed to succeed in today's work force, or they are unwilling to relocate to where the jobs are.
One of my clients was relocated out here when the levees broke in New Orleans and his family was flooded out. He had been on welfare for years in NO, in a high crime neighborhood, his kids were being victimized or recruited by gangs: it was a bad situation.
Two years later he was approached by whatever agency it was that had relocated him here, and offered a return to NO. He refused. He had a good job (landscaping) that offered him all the overtime he wanted, he was living in a good neighborhood, his kids were doing well and being treated well in non violent schools.
He told me that he had grown up in NO, that neighborhood was all he knew, and he had been afraid to move out into the unknown. It was the flooding that forced him out of his comfort zone, and he was happier than he had been in years.
To succeed, a person of ANY race needs the proper education, and must be willing to move to where the jobs are.
No one has ever offered me a cushy job with great pay just because I was white: I have spent the better part of my life learning, keeping up to date in my field.

Hi CraigK,
Unlike some here, I have no problem conversing with white people, or people of any race. I don't believe that loving myself somehow means that I need to hate white people. I also don't believe that lumping all white people in the same category is any more logical than doing the same to black people, seeing as no racial group is monolithic.

That being said, I have to agree AND disagree with your reasoning as to why there is a discrepancy between black and white employment. Yes, there is an education gap, but I don't agree that this is the sole reason. There's a long list of reasons, a few of which I list below...

1) The education gap is just a symptom, it's not the underlying cause of the problem. The problem lies in what creates that gap. There is an entire socio-economic system that exists in our society that makes it next to impossible to have a level playing field when it comes to education, starting from a very early age. Poor black kids are much more likely than wealthier white kids to live in a less than stable home environment. Some go to school hungry, or are victims of domestic abuse, have no heat or electricity at home, live in areas that are crime and gang ridden, attend schools that have antiquated textbooks and computers, no heat or air conditioning, crumbling buildings, asbestos, etc., some have to get an after school job to help support their family, and these kids are expected to focus, learn, and make the same grades as wealthier white kids who more than likely don't have these issues?

2) There's also access. Even middle class black kids fall behind because they still tend to live in poorer school districts with higher teacher to student ratios, and with poorer quality teachers. And most are lower middle class, meaning their parents don't have the extra money to afford quality tutors, or to send them to private schools or to be stay at home parents. Many live in single parent households, so their parent doesn't have as much time to devote to helping their kids with homework because they're working to keep food on the table.

3) Let's look at the opportunities for whites & blacks with equal amounts of education. Studies have shown that a black person with a Masters degree has roughly the same chance of getting a job as a white person with only a Bachelors, a black person with a Bachelors has the same chance of getting a job as a white person with only a high school diploma, and a black person with only a HS diploma has the same chance of getting a job as a white person with no HS diploma, proving that the element of racism still exists and plays a sizeable role in the job market.

4) And then there's the issue of connections. Most of my white friends got their jobs because they knew someone who knew someone who's uncle worked at "____ Company" and got them an internship, which led to a paying job. Most blacks don't have this same privilege. We don't have the same access to people in positions of power in our chosen fields. That's not to say that my white friends didn't work hard in school, but having that extra help gave them an advantage, thus the reason black people know that we have to work twice as hard as a white person just to get our foot in the door.

 

[Kadijah]

Hi CraigK,
Unlike some here, I have no problem conversing with white people, or people of any race.

Who are these people? Name names so the rest of us won't become infected by them.

 

[CreativeGrl]

Who are these people? Name names so the rest of us won't become infected by them.

Read back a few pages. You'll see who says they "don't usually talk to white people"

 

[Kadijah]

Read back a few pages. You'll see who says they "don't usually talk to white people"

Why the coyness, the hesitation, the timidity? You came out clear and bold with your pronouncement of being "unlike" some others here in your bid to distinguish yourself from those you feel don't share your sentiments about white people. Put your money where your mouth's at and continue in that fearless mode, i.e., name names.

You never know. You "might" have misunderstood some of those "others." By calling them out, you give them a chance to repair any false impressions they may have made. You went to bat for the white race. Surely you can do the same for your own?

 

[CreativeGrl]

Why the coyness, the hesitation, the timidity? You came out clear and bold with your pronouncement of being "unlike" some others here in your bid to distinguish yourself from those you feel don't share your sentiments about white people. Put your money where your mouth's at and continue in that fearless mode, i.e., name names.

You never know. You "might" have misunderstood some of those "others." By calling them out, you give them a chance to repair any false impressions they may have made. You went to bat for the white race. Surely you can do the same for your own?

I read the entire thread. I don't need any clarification, thank you. That person made themselves perfectly clear.

So because I don't agree with another black person's point of view, that means I "went to bat for the white race"? Are you SERIOUS? Did you even read past my 1st statement? Of course you didn't. Too busy trying to bait me into some petty argument that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. If that's all you got out of my post then I can't help you understand much of anything else. SMH