Update III (2/5): New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin got his wish. Chocolate City has returned. From NYT: “Most of the violence involves black men killing other black men. Out of the 161 homicide victims last year, 131 were black men. Most of the suspects were also black men.”
You’ll have to read between the lines in this story about crime in Minneapolis. Once again, they blame rising crime rates on “poverty” instead the actual cause. Law-abiding poor people everywhere ought to be highly offended by the characterization.
Young, black, fatherless boys living directionless and meandering lives make life very unpleasant for others. But they’re “poor” and America is “racist.” They can’t control themselves…
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Here’s an excerpt of my Washington Examiner column:
“The man who laid the foundation for Black History Month was an educator and historian named Carter G. Woodson. Noticing the absence of a history of black Americans in textbooks, Woodson created Negro History Week in 1926. He believed the omission was intentional and set out to highlight the achievements of blacks in America.
“Woodson chose the second week in February to acknowledge the birthdays of former slave Frederick Douglass and emancipator Abraham Lincoln. Negro History Week gained mass appeal in the 1960s, and was expanded into Black History Month in 1976.
“Woodson accomplished great things despite living in an era of government-mandated racial discrimination and oppression. What would he think of black America today, given the eradication of Jim Crow and the ever-widening landscape of opportunities available to blacks with the courage to seize them? Let’s speculate. ”
Want to know what I think Woodson would think of black America today? Read the column.
Side note — Every once in awhile, every writer has to deal with this: A typo was introduced into my column by the editor. I sent clean copy – “received an M.A. from…” – and it turned into – “received an master’s from…”
The editor forgot to change an to a after changing M.A. to master’s. Happened to me once before with an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. You spend time proofreading until your eyes glaze over before you send out your work, but there’s nothing you can do about an inserted typo. Very frustrating, but there you go. 
Hope you enjoy the column anyway! 
Update: More black-on-black crime news.
Blacks are 4.5 percent of the population in Minnesota, but the state ranks #8 in the black homicide victim rate. Based on what we know about the nature of homicides, it’s likely that mosly all of the victims were killed by other blacks.
This is what I’d like to see: People who criticize me for reporting the news asking murderous thugs why they murder and offer suggestions and unsolicited advice on what they ought to do about their murderous ways.
In vain I’ll wait to see or hear about that. It’s easier, not to mention safer, to sit at a computer complaining about a blogger. 
Update II: Findings from a new study (emphasis added) – “The report from the University of Chicago covering a wide range of social issues from sex to entertainment also found young blacks think rap music and videos are riddled with too much sex and mistreatment of women, even though they are the biggest consumers of that entertainment“.
Too much sex and misogyny, yet they consume it anyway. It’s sort of like this blog, I guess. People who hate me and/or my views consume those views on a daily or weekly basis nonetheless. I’ll let the shrinks deal with that one…
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I did enjoy it, excellent keep up your great work.
Lashawn, check out http://www.amazinggracemovie.com! It’s about William Wilberforce.
If you want to do your part concerning Black men being fathers, why not blog about the Black people/groups trying to change things?
At some point the, “that’s not my focus” response, like the “it’s racist” response, gets tired.
I have no “part” to do. The responsibility for fatherless children lies with the men who sire the children. Here’s a suggestion, DS: Why don’t you stop reading and commenting on this blog? That would free up your time to develop your own and cover topics the way you think they should be covered. If my topics are “tired,” you should rest from them. Take a break and focus on developing your own voice and stop giving me suggestions and unsolicited advice on how and what to write. Just a few ideas… – Admin
A fine article, La Shawn.
“Woodson would be ashamed, I’d imagine, to see blacks advocating race preferences and fighting to maintain the position that blacks cannot be expected to compete with people of other races.”
Hasn’t this gone global now, what with Africans constantly needing ‘help’, such as Bill Clinton has highlighted? Debts to some African countries are constantly “forgiven”, they can’t feed themselves without our help, Bono’s help, Bob Geldorf’s help;aren’t the poor nations of Africa being treated as if they ‘cannot compete with people of other races’?
I am a Christian, surviving by the compassion of God, and I fully understand about mercy and helping the poor. I just don’t see it as ‘helping’ the poor to treat them as sad, helpless dears who can’t stand on their own without our help.
Just a little thought on Black History Month (BHM), which I think at this point is a caricature of what it started out to be. It has obviously not acheived its goal of educating the uneducated masses. Most Black people don’t even know how it began or who to credit it to. Let me give you an example: “Black History Month, man that’s messed up. “They” (and you know who’m talkin’ bout) give us the shortest coldest month of the year. That’s messed up.” I know you’ve heard this from everybody comedians, teachers, preachers etc.
I also want to give a little shout out to two new BHM pioneers. Since sports stars and entertainers are now the rock stars of BHM here is going to be their piece de resistance: There are two Black coaches going head to head in the SuperBowl. This is historic and barrier breaking. This will lead to more doors opening for other Blacks as NFL coaches, you know why because we know for sure a Black man will win. Keep fighting the good fight.
Excellent essay. The truth hurts (and hits too close to home for a lot of folks).
Too many parents, like my own siblings, are hell bent on a fantasy existence built around shopping, hair/nail service, and being “sexy” for whomever is the man du jour.
What’s sad is the heat I get from my own siblings to my warnings that black folks will answer for rejecting the educational opportunities that the rest of the world is stampeding here to get.
And yes, we WILL answer for it… and we’re not going to like it.
I don’t know much to say. I guess I don’t know or cannot relate to the type of Black people that are I guess the focal point of these posts. Everyone I know have children in wedlock and want their kids to do well. I guess there are bad apples in every bunch. I just find it disheartening to champion this fictional Black character who is “less than” supported by “statistics” when there is good and bad in every race. What would Lincoln think of today’s whites????
We’re talking proportionality, Nicole. Blacks do destructive things to themselves and society disproportionate to their number in the general population. Out-of-wedlock birth and criminal statistics aren’t some meaningless abstraction unworthy of criticism or discussion. Actual people are behind them, committing crimes, siring fatherless children, refusing to be responsible citizens who obey the law, take care of their babies, etc.
Unstable families cause untold number of problems and exacerbate others: low achievement, perpetuation of illegitimacy – I know plenty of hardworking, morally upstanding blacks, too, but that doesn’t negate the fact that the black family’s collapse is the single most pressing issue. I write about these things because neither mainstream media nor black liberals will write about them openly and honestly. My blog is my forum, and I write about what I think is important, whether it pleases people or not, whether they believe what I write about is worthy or not.
I’ve been round and round with black commenters over this. You’re a new reader, so you’ve just realized what this blog is all about. Perhaps if you take the time to read posts in the archives, you’ll understand where I’m coming from and why I started this blog in the first place. I hate having to repeat myself, so if you have questions or wonder why I cover issues the way I do, do searches on the blog to see if you can find the answer and/or go back to 2004 and start reading from there. Just a suggestion.
Good article, though I think that the part about “bad art” and “bad poetry” was unnecessary.
I have no “part†to do.
So do you not consider facilitating discussions on your blog as playing a part in positive social change?
If it happens, good, but I blog primarily to share my opinions, and people who read it obviously want to read my opinions. Positive social change? A bit lofty for me. – Admin
I think it’s about time all of this “black-this” and “black-that” comes to a screeching halt. First, holidays, celebrations and recognitions such as “black history month” promotes a liberal separatist agenda. Second, as a white American, I have no historic connection to “African” heritage. Truthfully, most blacks in this country cannot successfully trace their ancestry “directly” to the African continent.
Why should white Americans be subjected to, or even asked to recognize a person, figure or event that has no bearing on the past, nor furthering the future of American society or western culture? Perhaps Carter Woodson was a brilliant man, but as an American he has made “no” viable contribution to America or western culture. So why should I celebrate his “invented” holiday?
What’s worse is having white children (in those god awful government public schools) sing this “Lift Every Voice And Sing” anthem. Personally I find the song offensive and threatening to America as a whole.
[Gratuituous and false statement deleted] I read the article and frankly I believe it validates for whites every negative stereotype they’ve created about Black people. First, nothing is what is seems, its not as cut and dry as you put things. Blacks are the way we are for a reason. The focus is never on who it should be on.
And I don’t believe we advocate for Affirmative-Action ‘because we don’t expect to compete with people of other races’, we’re rightfully aware and concerned we wouldn’t be given the same opportunities are others. Its proven daily. Look at the attitudes of all of you, if I didn’t know any Black people, reading your blog and comments I would think Blacks are the worse people on the planet hated by all but that was the plan of the white race, divide and conquer, create the idea of self-hate, and its worked thus far. And you wonder why we need affirmative action??? What about ‘white privilege’, look at George Bush, president of the United States, do you honestly think or believe he made it to where he is without being given special opportunities because of the race? A ‘C’ student, come on. I’m sure his father and other members of his race gave him opportunities he wouldn’t have normally be able to achieve, he was given quite a few shoulder boosts I’m sure. Him and a ton of others from the white race. Isn’t white privilege somewhat the same as Affirmative Action (those given opportunities, such as housing, loans, jobs, businesses, etc., that wouldn’t be given without considering their race)? I’m sure they wouldn’t want that taken away from them, but oops, I forgot we’re not suppose to talk about them, my bad, lets keep all the negative and hateful comments for the Blacks. Affirmative Action is needed to even the playing field, so to speak. There were experiments conducted on hiring discrimination and resume tampering completed to prove this very thing. Anyway, I could go on but that would be a waist of time, but if you get a chance with an open mind, please read Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Joy DeGruy Leary, Ph.D. It’s very educational, informative and insightful, its filled with facts and explains in detail some of the issues discussed here and where your attitudes about Black people come from and why Blacks are the way we are today.
The opposite of EXclusion would be INclusion. The best remedy for the oversights of the past is to make sure the oversights don’t happen any more. In other words, focus on American history, and on all Americans.
Nice piece. You made some very relevant points regarding the black family.
Black history month is no longer reflective of what it was intended to be. However, Neolibertarian’s statements prove a point. The only people who contributed to American history were not all white. We have a museum in Baltimore called the Great Blacks in Wax Museum. Many inventions that we take for granted today were invented by blacks, some of the inventions that were credited to whites also had black developers and apprentices who worked on them.
I hate that black history month now focuses on singers, athletes etc. but black people have made contributions that most of us don’t know about. Even if you don’t want the month don’t discredit the achievements as having nothing to do with America’s past or present.
Hey Shebelle_Slave Descendant-
Adopted White Male Christian who doesn’t know where he came from here:
Mix in a paragraph or two in your post…gives you more credibility and makes for easier reading.
Oh and you spelled Descendant wrong.
Other than that, everything else you wrote was nonsense, but I’ll leave that to others.
The Local Baltimore NAACP branch is callling out for 1000 Black men, by April, to mentor youth in Baltimore. By the end of the year, they want 5000 men.
If you are interested, call 410-366-3300.
“If it happens, good, but I blog primarily to share my opinions, and people who read it obviously want to read my opinions. Positive social change? A bit lofty for me. – Admin ”
Sorry La Shawn no Charles Barkley like ducking of responsibility. You do have a voice and you are an agent for social change. Your example is what Black people need. A positive Black woman that lives up to the principles to which she blogs. Your eventual marriage and children serve as a powerful message to the Black community. Like Spike said, Do The Right Thing“. Social change isn’t lofty, you serve as a sounding board for the rest of Black America that agrees with you. Your voice will become louder and drown out the nauseating tone of Jesse and Al. La Shawn, you are a role model.
SheBelle wrote
…but that was the plan of the white race, divide and conquer, create the idea of self-hate, and its worked thus far.
This is what I’m most tired of. This perception that all white people got together one day and came up with this plan to “divide and conquer, create the idea of self-hate.” I’m white, and I can tell you there was no such meeting.
Everything’s so easy for white people? Do I really need to list all the white people who’ve struggled a million ways to make it to where they are? How about my sister who went to nursing school when she had two small children, commuting an hour and half each way, getting up at 4 in the morning so she could make it to 6 am clinicals, living on loans and what little she could scrape together.
Do you think she got any advantages because of her race? No. She went to a historically black university and the awards and scholarships went to black students even though she needed them every bit as much as they did and performed better than they did.
As convenient as it might be to think otherwise, white people have to work damn hard. Nothing is handed out, not to anyone. “White privilege” is a myth.
In response to comment 10: Unbelievable! How can you find “Lift Every Voice and Sing” offensive and threatening?? The song is all about liberty and freedom, and you find that threatening? As for ‘invented’ holidays, aren’t all holidays invented or created by someone? Let’s get rid of Columbus Day, is you want to talk about bogus, useless, ‘invented’ holidays, please. That slave-trader didn’t discover anything. You because Blacks cant trace our heritage back to Africa is the intention of your ancestors, your people are the ones that stole millions of Africans from their land, their heritage, their culture, their way of life, brought them overseas in ships packed like sardines, to a foreign land to enslaved, torture daily, rape daily, murder daily, humiliate, divide families, sole as property, brutalize for centuries, traumatize, use for experimentation, etc. But you make it sound like that’s our fault that some of us are unable trace our ancestors and our heritage. Maybe its due to being separated from our families, children be sold, fathers being used to breed babies, separating tribal members so we couldn’t communicate with one another, your people’s poor recording keeping, etc. Oops, I forgot, we’re not supposed to talk about chattel slavery, we’re supposed to be ashamed of that right?!? NO!! YOU and your white counterparts should be ashamed of it, not us. Your fear is evdient.
You feel whites shouldn’t be subjected to Black history well we’ve been subjected to white his-story everyday, every time we blink we’re subjected to your people but what…. that’s different somehow. Your people aren’t the owners and the only contributors of this country, just because you slaughtered, murdered and brutalized the Native Americans to steal the land from them.
Wake up people, more and more lately I’ve been hearing very offensive, blatant statements against Black people from blogs to mainstream media, politics, etc, There’s no one respects anymore the worst thing is we hate each other more than anybody hates us (but that’s we’ve been taught).
If it happens, good, but I blog primarily to share my opinions, and people who read it obviously want to read my opinions. Positive social change? A bit lofty for me
Yet, from a public post by Cobb, you engaged him to try to turn him from his view of abortion. And, you have written about your salvation and becoming born again. That is seeking positive social change as you define it.
Jen In NC -
That’s interesting that your sister went to an HBCU and didn’t get scholarships. I went to an HBCU and all the white students I knew there (although there were few) were on scholarships that were set up for non-black students.
Shebelle_Slave Descendant, you are delusional. There is no secret plan by whites to separate blacks or cause self hate among them. That is a ridiculous notion. That type of thinking is what keeps many blacks in the dark and struggling rather than flourishing within their own communities, and this Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome crap has got to go! Give me a break! Anything to justify getting undeserved handouts without accepting accountability for your own actions. Amazing!
Yes, George Bush has had a privileged life and so has many others, black and white. I have a cousin who I used to be so jealous of because his parents were filthy rich. I remember for his 10 b-day, which happened to be a couple of days after mine, he got a lake installed on their estate! Ducks, fish, a boat and small island in the middle to boot! The boy was spoiled! What did I get? A bike, not just any bike but a hand me down bike that was spray painted black to look like new! I loved that bike though.
I eventually came to understand that his being better off than me financially did not have any baring on whether or not he was a good person, or if I was. Our parents raised us both with the same moral convictions regarding God, right and wrong. To this day we share the same ideals about love, faith and God. I am sure he would agree with me on this one, there is no excuse for failure in a country such as this. There is simply too much opportunity for everyone to succeed for someone to say that the so called “playing field” needs to be leveled. Well guess what, its been leveled for the last 40 something years! Black people need to get a clue, stop whining, and take advantage of it.
As a disclaimer, yes I am a black man, my cousin is a black man who grew up in the South. His parents built there business and became quite wealthy while living in the South. If they can make it in the South and become millionaires surely anybody, black or white can do the same anywhere in this free country!
Black people have to start focusing on integration into the American mainstream rather than always participating in separatist activities like BHM, Kwanzaa and other so called Black pride activities. All it serves to do is stoke the flames of anger, self-pity, and unwarranted attitudes of entitlement which breeds lethargy on a mass scale. We are retarding ourselves and it is sad.
Living a lie rather than facing the truth is hard for some. Blaming others for your troubles is a way of life for many. It does get old. I have no respect for victim-minded racists who refuse to see or take responsibility for their own hardships because they’ve done nothing to better themselves. It’s much easier to blame someone else, especially Whitie..
An excerpt from Morgan Freeman from one of La Shawn’s former posts:
“I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history…â€
The notion of a special month for black history may be hurting rather than helping efforts for racial equality, Freeman believes. When Wallace wonders whether racist attitudes may be harder to eradicate without the education that Black History Month provides, Freeman retorts: “How are we going to get rid of racism? Stop talking about it!â€
Source: Morgan Freeman: Black History Month is “ridiculousâ€
http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/category/rants/
And, Hair Like Wool Beauty (aka Shebelle_Slave Descendent), you should remember that many of your own people sold you to slavery and were slaveowners…
See the following link: http://www.americancivilwar.com/authors/black_slaveowners.htm
The reference above comes from yet another La Shawn Barber post: â€What in the Fallen World?…â€
http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/category/lunacy/page/2/
Shebelle, I know that you feel like the fact that your ancestors were slaves entitles you to be angry. Maybe it does, it would upset me if I knew that 150 years ago, my great great great great great grandfather was a slave. No, actually I guess I would consider that ancient history.
But the truth is, it is your anger that is holding you back now. Your ancestors were freed, but you have chosen to be a slave to hate.
Is there prejudice in the world? You bet (by the way, you have quite a lot of it yourself, so you are feeding the monster). Does it mean that you cannot succeed? Absolutely not. You may have to work harder as a result of it, but those of us who have had to overcome obstacles have found strength there.
But you will never overcome through anger. No one does, no one ever does. Anger destroys, it does not build up.
And I can tell you that not knowing your lineage back to Africa is not a handicap. I can’t trace mine two generations, but have never had to when applying for a job.
To Jerry – I can certainly support your statements but have to disagree with you in the notion that BHM and other black organizations or traditions are bad and promote separatism. Why is everything black people do FOR black people is bad??
I’ll give a brief example: I am a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, the second oldest black sorority in the country. We were founded in 1913, during a time when black women didn’t have options for joining a sorority. I chose to join a black organization that is focused on tackling the societal ills in the black community. I suppose I could have applied to a predominately white women’s org but there was none on my campus. And quite frankly the focus of of some of the other fraternal organzations was not service oriented.
So how is that wrong?
La Shawn
I, as i’m sure you know from my previous post am a black liberal.(also married with son of 3 yrs) I read what you had to say in the update about rap videos, black on black crime, and how it negatively impacts “our” community and I couldn’t agree more. Recently we all have seen the videos and clips of Students in Blackface throwing there parties with Malt Liquor and Fried Chicken and honestly at first I was very upset…
Then I about it..I thought long and hard about who these people are really trying to portray when they dress up like there favorite stereotypes on what I consider a very important and necessary holiday, and believe it or not…I was no longer mad….
I came to the conclusion that we are victims of our selves. By allowing such negative themes to constantly air on MTV, BET, VH1 , ABC, NBC, you name it. Where was public outcry from our community when people like Flavor Flav got put on television and set us back 50 yrs every time he opened his mouth? When OJ got off (and black folk lets not kid ourselves on this one) where was the public outcry when he was found not guilty for a crime in which he had the audacity to try to write a book about?
In both cases it was no where to be found. In fact many began to idolize such sycophants and even were t-shirts in support of them.. It has got to stop. So to answer your question, there’s no doubt in my mind that if Woodson, Dr. King and Malcolm(I’ll throw them all in) were alive today, i’m pretty sure they’d ll take a look at the current state of affairs in the Black Community as a whole and wander where they went wrong.
I still don’t share you same feelings when it comes to affirmative action, but on crime and etc. I agree
Shebelle_Slave Descendent, I could trot out my family tree, if you like. We could compare injustices done to our ancestors. Some of mine were treated quite horribly. You would probably win the “my ancestors were treated worse than yours” contest, but what would that victory gain you, other than the ability to go on being miserable?
“YOU and your white counterparts should be ashamed of it, not us. Your fear is evdient.”
I live in a mixed (race and income) neghiborhood. I don’t fear the black family two houses down. Thier house is the nicest one on the street. Kids are great, they go to a church that my church has joint worship with every couple of months. I do how every fear the house next door. That one is a single-mother household where the police were there everyweek. The police stopped coming when the teenager was sent to jail for selling drugs.
And also I’m not going to be ashamed about the historical wrongs done during slavery. That happened well before my ancestors came to this country.
Carter G. Woodson represents the “losing” camp of black intellectuals that stressed self-help, education, family, and hard work.
Sad to say, the “winning side” including the Hallowed Saint Martin Luther King Jr., bear heavy responsibility for embracing socialist, big government solutions to all black problems. The notion that government agencies would provide all basic needs, that free programs and entitlements would uplift the race, and that any criticism of matters like black crime, the early phases of the disintegration of the black family was deemed “RACIST” and off-limits from criticism.
The 60s marked the US civil rights movement becoming deeply imbued with socialist values (NAACP was led by Jewish Marxists from 1909 to the late 60s with black figureheads up front before blacks ended Jewish control, MLK was surounded by communists and embraced many socialist solutions.) In addition the 60s saw post-colonial African, Caribbean countries gravitate to either being socialist states or kleptocratic dictatorships.
In America, and overseas these decisions by blacks and their powerful and wealthy mentors – white liberals, Jewish Marxists, the Soviet Union, the admiration of Castro’s Cuba experiment has only brought disaster 40 years later to the black family and black social structure here and abroad.
We instictively realize that black society will come apart in a natural disaster like Katrina or Gilbert in the Caribbean into whining victims crying for Governmant manna or raging looters. That natural disasters in Africa like droughts or floods or any other loss of goverment control will cause near instant fighting between factions and mass pillaging.
Similarly we expect that floods in Mumbai India, a Tsumani, a major earthquake in a place like Tangshan China or Kobe Japan will be met by calm people who do no looting (the 2005 Monsoon flood in Mumbai affected 11 times the people of NOLA – no Federal help. no masses of cops and social workers coming to rescue, hundreds dead. Yet only 6 reported instances of looting – all car radios snatched from flooded cars).
The social disaster of underclass black communities is just a slower process than the instant collapse of black social structure in a natural catastrophe.
The solutions are more complex because for 40 years blacks have been encouraged to go in the wrong direction – which the people like Carter G. Woodson lost the argument to. Sadly much of what MLK wanted – as Holy and above reproach and all-knowing as his acolytes have tried to make him – is wrong. His socialist big government philosphy, racial set-asides, special race preferences, approval of quotas – have failed. If “Saint Martin” had only marched with a “We Shall Overcome” based on overcoming black family breakdown, dependency on government, against black crime…instead of seeing laws and government aid as the end state.
We can credit the civil rights movement and the battalions of lawyers with some positive changes – but for 40 years, the heirs of the civil rights movement have demanded that the mistakes and wrong directions from that era be “undiscussible”. It’s time for more Cosbys, Barbers, Juan Williams, Harold Fords, and hopefully Obamas to start a new era in black intellectial thought and break from Saint Martin reverence, dumb black militancy, and the frozen minds and beliefs of the old “bulls” of the civil rights era still clinging to power and presumption to speak for all blacks (hear me, Jesse??)
And time for the US to wake up and get serious about Africa.
The US should aid not with welfare or filling Swiss Bank accounts – but with aid to encourage growth of African industry and trade (ending discriminatory anti-African tariffs)- and no more overlooking corruption and enriching only a small elite. We have plenty of room in our foreign aid budget. 60% of our foreign aid goes to wealthy Israel and to adjacent nations the Israel lobby has the US give money to. It is long past time to stop giving most of our foreign aid money to wealthy Israel, and co-demanders Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, and oil-rich Iraq.
“Nothing is handed out, not to anyone. “White privilege†is a myth. ”
White privilege is no more a hand out than affirmative action or diversity initiatives–it’s just something that provides initial access to opportunity in many places. What you do once there is up to you, though, so I agree that there are no handouts.
This is what I’d like to see: People who criticize me for reporting the news asking murderous thugs why they murder and offer suggestions and unsolicited advice on what they ought to do about their murderous ways.
Wouldn’t a better comparison be to go to a liberal site and criticize the people who enable murderous thugs by making excuses for and defending them? That’s what I do. And when I worked in the schools, I let the developing teenage thugs know exactly what I thought of them, despite the routine cursing out that I received in response.
Plus, the average thug who is available for such a conversation (most likely an inmate) will most likely acknowledge his or her faults and proclaim the desire to change (not to say that such a change will actually happen). Thus, you have no real debate.
I have to take issue with the attitude towards Blacks in sports.
1) The groundbreaking was done decades ago
2) Constantly harping on Blacks role in different echelons of the sports world is tired. So, so tired.
The matriculation of Blacks through the NFL has gone through the natural process. There is nothing astounding or groundbreaking about two qualified successful coaches, that happen to be black, coaching in the Super Bowl. The people that point to number of head coaches versus the number of players seem to think the head coaching candidate pool is comprised of NFL player rosters, it isn’t.
There is nothing astounding or groundbreaking about two qualified successful coaches, that happen to be black, coaching in the Superbowl. Sean Salsbury’s pontificating about hey give these guys a “chance” is just a little condescending. Do qualified candidates need a “chance”. Was the hiring of Mike Shanahan a chance? (Mike Shanahan had a good pedigree but not alot of experience when hired, he has since proved to be a quality choice as a head coach but his initial hire was disputed by those that thought a black coach should have been given a chance) The entire idea of giving Black coaches a chance, to me, seems to say Black coachs were overlooked. They weren’t, having two Black coachs in the Superbowl would seem to negate the assumption that Black coachs are being overlooked.
Should anyone have an issue concerning Blacks and football look to Ty Willingham and Notre Dame or possibly Lovie Smiths contract situation. Lovie Smiths contract is a little stretch but it falls into the same pattern as the treatment Ty Willingham received or didn’t receive from Notre Dame.
I have to agree about the slavery issue being ancient history. It never ceases to amaze me that professional victims, who continue to trot out this excuse for bad behavior and entitlements, are selective in their knowledge of history and human suffering.
For example, what about the complicity of Africans in kidnapping and selling their brothers into slavery? What about the approximately 4,000 BLACK slave owners who owned slaves prior to the Civil War? What about the 1-2 million white Europeans and white Americans who were seized off the Barbary Coast of Africa, and sold into slavery in the 1700s and 1800s? Are we going to get reparations from Africa? I guess it’s just convenient, and lazy, to blame ol’ Whitey.
All peoples have suffered at the hands of one another at some point in history. It is intellectually dihonest and morally weak to cherry pick certain wrongs when members of your own race are just as guilty of a particular behavior as members of another.
i heard that the nfl has to interview a minority for every coaching position
“The report from the University of Chicago covering a wide range of social issues from sex to entertainment also found young blacks think rap music and videos are riddled with too much sex and mistreatment of women, even though they are the biggest consumers of that entertainment“.
The reason for this is the same reason why blacks are the biggest consumers of R&B, Soul, The Blues, and Zydeco. It’s considered black music. White youths are the biggest consumers of Heavy Metal, though I’m sure that most white youth will agree that it is full of violence, satanism, necrophilia, etc. And the smaller percentage of whites who listen to rap equate to 60-70% of its consumers.
Too much sex and misogyny, yet they consume it anyway. It’s sort of like this blog, I guess. People who hate me and/or my views consume those views on a daily or weekly basis nonetheless. I’ll let the shrinks deal with that one…
This comparison works only if you equate your blog to sex and misogyny. A well rounded person is abreast to all points of view and debating different views enhances the learning process. There is no shortage of conservatives who frequent and debate on liberal sites.
Consuming sex and misogyny despite knowing that it is wrong is an example of letting your basal instincts override your logic and reasoning. I wouldn’t consider a distracter reading your blog to be succumbing to his or her basal instincts.
I think it’s more a case of the NFL deciding to interview black coaching candidates, as any business can decide to do. But nothing in that policy requires the hiring of anyone based upon race.
Yes the interviewing policy is bogus. I can see NFL GM’s thinking, hey I can not hire the guy I want until I have the token interview.
I just love how Shebelle_Slave Descendent capitalizes “Black”, but leaves “white” in lowercase.
Is there a “transparent” race?
Kevin
Dr. Woodson’s work continues at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which has chosen “From Slavery to Freedom” as its 2007 Black History theme. (Although the theme is introduced in February, activities take place throughout the year.) ASALH continues its educational work through the publication of the Journal of African American History, which can be found in many libraries, as well as the Black History Bulletin, which is a resource for classroom teachers. They also have an annual theme magazine, the Woodson Review, and free multimedia materials such as the Freedom’s Song DVD and curriculum package. Copies of Dr. Woodson’s books are also available from them. More information can be found at http:/www.asalh.org.
I capitalize Black and leave white in lowercase to underscore a point. How many white people particularly think of themselves as white? Not too many, while most Blacks think of themselves as Black. Which to me makes Black more of a title than white. That is why I do it. Not to demean white folks. *shrug* That’s just my take.
Black people have to start focusing on integration into the American mainstream …
Blacks have done such and will continue to do such and to state otherwise is just a fallacy. I attended National Society of Black Engineer (NSBE) events and belong to IEEE at the same time. I subscribed to Money and Black Enterprise at the same time. I dropped Money and stuck with BE because of the focus. Subscribe to it and you will see. If not, go to the library and read some issues or go to the web site. Check out The Black Wealth Initative.
A few comments:
We are retarding ourselves and it is sad.
Followed by:
But the truth is, it is your anger that is holding you back now. Your ancestors were freed, but you have chosen to be a slave to hate.
Followed by:
Carter G. Woodson represents the “losing†camp of black intellectuals that stressed self-help, education, family, and hard work.
Are all lacking in context. Here’s more for the context that is needed about Blacks in the past 40 years:
All come from the Census web site:
Poverty Rate
Blacks below the poverty level:
2005: 24.7%
1966: 41.8%
1959: 55.1%
Educational Attainment PDF
2005
High school +: 80%
Some college +: 44.7%
Bachelors +: 17.3
Educational Attainment 2 PDF
1966
High school graduate: 28.5%
4 years college: 2.3%
5 years+ college: 1.3%
The following are from Black Informant, who referenced a report put together by SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Market Association):
{The date of this document is 5/2005}
“Most importantly, as revealed in the 1998 landmark study, The Multicultural American Dream index, African-Americans have experienced accelerated growth, and are out pacing the general market by over 300 percent, in four critical measures of success: mortgage originations, median household income, small business ownership and obtaining degrees in higher education.
* Presently, African-Americans have the highest buying power of any minority group, at $532 billion, up 73 percent since 1990.
* African-Americans are obtaining degrees in higher education at three times the rate of the general market.
* With mortgage originations by African-American households indexing at over 330 versus general market households, African-Americans are now a vital component driving the housing market. Currently, almost 50 percent of African-American households own their own homes.
* African-Americans have embraced entrepreneurship. With a growth rate that exceeds that of White Americans by five times, and with the revenues increasing by over 60 percent in the last business census update, small business ownership is a key barometer of continued success for this segment.
* As of 1997, there are approximately 259,000 African-American households with $100,000+ income, which translates to 1 in 6 of all households at this level. overall median household income is increasing 60 percent faster than White households.
* The continued growth in wealth for this segment presents a clear opportunity. With an average portfolio size of $115,000 per household, current available investment dollars are $57,500,000. According to projections, within five years, these investments dollars will increase to $83,375,000 and in ten years, to $115,920,000.â€
Rodney–I’ve been annoyed at this “historical black coaches!!!” media frenzy since the conference championships. I’ve been a Colts fan since 1996 and I know they hired Tony Dungy because their defense under Mora was awful, awful, awful. I knew he was black, but I never thought of him as a “black coach” until CBS shoved it down my face two weeks ago. He was just a coach, like Bellichick or Parcells only better *heee* It feels like they’re trying to lessen his accomplishment by always pointing out the Rooney rule and implying he wouldn’t have gotten the job if he was white. And certainly no one would ever spend half a Bellichick press conference asking about ethnic heritage instead of the Bears defense.
So frustrating to realize that most people don’t really want to judge people by their character instead of their skin color.
Actually, La Shawn, I’m curious what you think of Coach Dungy talking about his faith at press conferences and in interviews. The pastor of his church was quoted in the Indy Star as saying he’ll be able to “reach millions for Christ.” I’m a little skeptical that millions will find Christ while watching a post-game interview. At the same time, I know his testimony has made a difference in my life. Interesting.
Re #8-
Wow! Just stating my opinion…what I thought was the purpose of a blog (share diversified thoughts and ideas).
I don’t remember asking you a question.
Never commented on your “right” to state or post whatever you want. Not my place.
Just a humble servant of the Lord who thought she had found a place where people were going to discuss the real issues without being self-hating in the process. Not saying YOU are self-hating, lest I spawn another post directed at me.
God Bless…
Well, La Shaun, you do have the stats right, but are likely wrong about immorality causing that drop in the 2 parent black family. The welfare rule cuttting payments when a father with no job lived at home was the main cause as Pat Moynihan showed in the 1970’s. Economic incentives have always trumped morality and the last hired first fired still pay the price here. Our hero is Dr. Bunche, raised by his grandmother in Watts after his parents died, then was valedictorian at UCLA before a Harvard PhD and Nobel peace prize. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Bunche)
I appreciate Black History month. I knew basically NO history about black America when I got to college. I had gone to fine prep schools, and graduated from them in 1978 not knowing who W.E.B. Dubois was. That is wrong.
So in college I minored in African American history and learned so much wonderful history. It is my history too, because I am an American. American history is ours, all of it. And until Mary McCleod Bethune and George Washington Carver and Dr. King and the SCLC and Booker T. Washington are taught as part of our collective American history, we need Black History month.
Trey
Another good link, somewhat relevant I think…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/31/AR2007013101326_pf.html
Rodney, I’m wondering if you read the whole post(5)?
That was clearly sarcasm. I think it is ridiculous that this day and age we still have Black firsts. The first Black woman to head the HR division of multicultural shopaholics. The first Black man to head a division 9 automotive traffic light consortium. When does the counting stop. After they reach 5. Maybe when they reach parity with the Black population in their field. My guess is probably not. It gives them something to talk about and remind others of their mistreatment of us.
I just wanted you to know I was making the same point as you, but perhaps not as succinctly as you did.
I’m going to weigh in on Shebelle’s behalf here.
“There were experiments conducted on hiring discrimination and resume tampering completed to prove this very thing.”
Yes, there were. Y’all remember those, right? Identical resumes were sent out, some with names like Jennifer and some like Lakeisha, and the white-name resumes got more calls for interviews. I’m not saying this alone justifies affirmative action, but it is very troubling and something we should not ignore.
Plus, her statement about not being able to trace ancestry due to slavery was a direct response to Neolibertarian’s “Truthfully, most blacks in this country cannot successfully trace their ancestry ‘directly’ to the African continent.” which I thought showed either appalling ignorance or appalling insensitivity. In fact, his/her whole comment put my teeth on edge.
Read your article. I love how well you articulate your very definite opinions. I agree with quite a bit of what you said. I, too am sick and tired of blacks making excuses for not bettering themselves. However, I do disagree with the last sentiment you addressed. I certainly believe that more focus should be put on strengthening the black families. But I think that Black History Month is a wonderful thing, and definitely necessary. As a child Black History month was the only time we learned about black history in school. Our role in history was woefully absent in the history books. Perhaps this has changed in the schools today. I have no children of my own but my fiance does, so I will ask them. Perhaps they are taught sufficiently about black history these days; one can only hope. But regardless I see nothing wrong with Black History Month.
Keep up the good work, you are super awesome. The only blog on my blogroll at the present time, because you are the only one I keep tabs on with any solid regularity. God Bless!
I am so proud of you for writing this. Get ready for the Juan Williams/Bill Cosby blackball treatment.
But I suppose you are used to that by now.
re:#8 We’re talking proportionality, Nicole.
How’s this for proportionality?:
While African-Americans constitute 13% of the nation’s monthly drug users, they represent 35% of those persons arrested for drug possession, 55% of drug possession convictions, and 74% of those sentenced to prison for drug possession.
Or this?:
In 1995, although American crack users were 52% white and 38% African American, blacks accounted for 88% of those sentenced for crack offenses and whites just 4.1%.
source
Hey Leon,
Your source link doesn’t work. Please try again…
Here’s the link to the source for comment #48
http://www.lindesmith.org/library/factsheets/effectivenes/index.cfm#notes
Rodney, comment 33
Well stated. I especially liked:
“The people that point to number of head coaches versus the number of players seem to think the head coaching candidate pool is comprised of NFL player rosters, it isn’t.”
The black coach Super Bowl ‘breakthrough’ could’ve happened in 1990 when Art Shell lost to the Bills in the AFC championship game. Much like Doug Williams ‘breakthrough’ a year prior which hasn’t been followed up with black QBs winning the superbowl, it would’ve at least ended the discussion. Getting to and winning a Super Bowl is very difficult; only 22 coachs have won, only 42 have been, so the media obsession with a black coach getting to it (which requires skill, timing and luck) is beyond me. It’s the orginal breakthrough of Art Shell and the institutional discrimination before ‘88 that’s worth noting.
I wrote a blog post about this on a half-hearted Sports blog my friends and I entertain ourselves with. We have a readership of 6, including the 4 posters. Check it, although you said it much better.
http://sportingnaz.blogspot.com/2007/02/steven-makes-my-day.html
I appreciate Black History month. I knew basically NO history about black America when I got to college. I had gone to fine prep schools, and graduated from them in 1978 not knowing who W.E.B. Dubois was. That is wrong.
So in college I minored in African American history and learned so much wonderful history. It is my history too, because I am an American. American history is ours, all of it. And until Mary McCleod Bethune and George Washington Carver and Dr. King and the SCLC and Booker T. Washington are taught as part of our collective American history, we need Black History month.
Trey
————————————————-
Well put, Trey. That’s how I feel about it too.
Also, JEEZ, why are people jumping all over Shebelle for being a racist and hardly anyone’s saying anything to Neolibertarian for HIS racist rant? The guy is talking like a prototype of the “elitist white racist” and it just goes by with hardly a word from anyone (Laurasouthernaxl excluded
)Unless of course, some nasty things have been said to him that La Shawn has had to delete, in which case, I respectfully apologize (to her). I have to say, though, I’ve been reading this blog for awhile, and I enjoy La Shawn’s writing and her Christian viewpoint, (just recently became a commenter) but the one thing that really bothers me is how so much anti-Black sentiment seems to go on in the comments, yet let one Black person say anything about it and they get jumped all over. Why? I’m not trying to start a fight here but seriously, if a black person wants proof of white racism all he/she has to do is get on a conservative blog and read the comments section. This blog is not nearly as bad (by far!!!) than some of the other blogs I’ve read but if we’re all Christians here (and maybe we’re not, I don’t know everyone’s affiliation 
why is it happening? I don’t know if I’m getting too off topic here but it’s really been bothering me. At least here people seem like they care enough to talk about things though; on just about any other blog if I say anything they just shoot back at me by calling me a (gasp) liberal and continue on their merry way.
Griz
Identical resumes were sent out, some with names like Jennifer and some like Lakeisha, and the white-name resumes got more calls for interviews.
“white names”? I deliver mail to a white Lakeisha, so get a grip. Race can vary from what you see in a name. If I were interviewing job applicants I would call the most qualified one whose name I could pronounce. What I saw of that study showed fewest call backs on the hardest to pronounce names.
Laura (southernxyl), where do you live, if you’re exiled from the south? If I’m reading your name right, just curious.
Anyhoo, have you read studies about the name thing? I ask, because everytime this is brought up, I never see any corresponding information about white hillbilly or white hippy names, and how much success the bearers have in getting jobs, especially white collar jobs. I’ve always wondered what studies have addressed that. If the studies haven’t addressed that, then I don’t think they are nearly as insightful as people believe them to be.
The problem as I see it is that we have just about tapped out the financial resources and good will of the middle class which we all know is the major source of funding for government programs.
Most middle class people work hard for their money and get by relatively well, but live in some fear that the rug could be jerked out from under them due to any number of financial castrophies such as loss of a job, unaffordable or unattainable health insurance, illness, etc. In short, the middle class doesn’t feel protected anymore by anyone but themselves. The government doesn’t help them when they lose their job or their insurance. The government doesn’t give them grants to put their kids through college. Pensions are disappearing. Strong unions are disppearing. Blue collar jobs are disappearing overseas. The costs of necessities are rising, such as child care, gasoline, etc. It appears to the middle class that the government just wants their tax money and doesn’t give them anything in return. They’ve watched as low income people have received federal assistance for a myriad of programs over the past several decades and they believe many of them are either too lazy to get up on their own feet or simply don’t try, believing they’re entitled to special treatment for one reason or another. On top of that, they watch as millions of foreign people have entered the country illegally and demand by their very presence free services for health care, education, community services, etc that the middle class pays for via taxes. And, they know the rich are just getting richer.
As a result of the above, the pot is starting to boil. The middle class is getting angry and starting to fight back. Sort of an “enough is enough” attitude. The rich aren’t really affected and the low income class is starting to lose the government assistance they’ve been used to getting on a lot of fronts.
So, folks, as I see it, race may be a factor in the discontent we are all experiencing these days, but I think it’s more a matter of concern to the point of anxiety in a society that is rapidly changing from one of security to one of uncertainty.
Where do we go from here? I really don’t know. But, it appears to me that now more than ever in the past 50 years we are on our own irregardless of our race.
Darkstar #42, my comment “But the truth is, it is your anger that is holding you back now. Your ancestors were freed, but you have chosen to be a slave to hate.” was not a global statement (or at least was not intended as such) it was directed at that particular person based on what she had written on this page. I do not think hate is holding back most black folks, most that I know do not subscribe to hate, white conspiracies, moaning over past sins by white slave owners, etc.
Re#56
I don’t think that being anti-preferences is being anti black. I agree with comment 59. She said it very well. It seems like a income issue. My daughter is having to pay her own way through college because, I make too much to get grants and not enough to pay her tution. If the government is going to pay for college they should pay for everybody.
Genes: You can’t pronounce “Kareem, Tamika, Rasheed, Ebony, Aisha, and Tyrone”? Here.
Also: (1) your knowing one white person named Lakeisha does not mean most people do not perceive that as a black name; and (2) your not being a racist does not mean all white people are not racists. I live in Memphis, TN. If I rejected resumes because the names sounded black, I’d never hire anybody. That doesn’t mean white people elsewhere don’t have the luxury (if you call it that) of not hiring black people.
Tyrian: I’m not exiled. See my blog for explanation.
Also: They can’t encompass every possible variable in a study. These studies were about black names and white names. Throwing in “Jethro” and “Sunshine” would have resulted in uselessly confused data.
No, it would not confuse the data, Laura. If the point of the study is to determine that having a type of name gets you discriminated against, you have to include the different variables of names likely to be discriminated against. I have a hard time believing that Laura will be rejected in favor of Jethro if someone is looking for a stockbroker. Jethro has never been associated with black people, but IS associated with a particular type of white person, and that type has negative associations that can work against them if they try to get certain jobs. BTW, I went to school with an actual Sunshine. I still remember the laughter when her name was announced over the PA system. Nope, a study which does not include her like is simply not that informative.
PS Laura (southernxyl),
I read the explanation for your name. Tres cool!
I recently discriminated against a person because of her cultural and social background. We needed someone to answer phones, among other duties, and she couldn’t speak well at all. Way too much low class dialect, bad grammar, etc. We refused to hire her. So I suppose, by some standards put forth here, that I’m prejudiced against rednecks. But that isn’t the case at all, is it really?
I am going to be a pain here, but
Why is Black History month only about the United States? There have been achievements by people who are black around the world, why don’t we here too much about them?
Why don’t we hear about the Mali defeat of the Moslem’s? Why don’t we hear of ZULU and other African tribe empires? Why don’t we hear of black civil-right leaders in other countries, after all the US was one of the first countries to ban slavery?
Tim, I’d wager that it’s because black Americans want to know about the contributions of black Americans. Usually when Africans are mentioned in BHM it’s in the context of black America. The rest of the time, Africa is usually covered in World History classes, at least in high schools, and you get in-depth info in college.
American history is taught that way in general. In American history classes you will learn about the Greeks and Romans and the Brits, but not so much about, say, Polish. BHM seems modeled on that style: if it’s not about black America and the contributions of black America, it’s just not going to be a focus. People just like to know more about what shaped them and their world.
>>…she couldn’t speak well at all. Way too much low class dialect, bad grammar, etc. We refused to hire her.>>
Having been taken to task for calling my son’s black female friend “well spoken”, and this in context with the “articulate” black implied criticism, I’ve been thinking about this over the past few days and realized that I define some of these terms in a sense of comparatives rather than absolutes. “Well spoken” means to me that a person speaks with correct grammar, and uses a vocabulary that indicates a certain amount of breadth, and probably that the person has only a mild accent – if any – so that they are generally understandable to most people. I reserve the term “articulate” for those people who not only qualified in the above sense, but who show a real capability to use the language as a precise tool to convey specific meaning and frequently humor. The inbetween person, I’d call “a good speaker”. I don’t find Obama “articulate”, personally, but I reserve that accolade for very few. He certainly is a “good speaker” but I think back to hearing a discussion between him and Alan Keyes, and thought he was _way_ outclassed. Obviously, the voters didn’t agree with me, but maybe that’s because an “articulate” speaker often expresses his ideas in a way that just goes over the heads of the average listener. William Buckley is one of those. Rumsfeld is another – whether you agreed with what he said or not. I also think someone can be a _powerful_ speaker without being an “articulate” speaker. Buckley, for example is – in my mind – “articulate”, but not “powerful”. MLK, on the other hand, I think is not particularly “articulate”, but very “powerful” as a speaker.
Anyway…I hadn’t realized that I had established a comparative factor of speech abilities in my mind. Very interesting, the influence and power of speech!
LaShawn, I think Carter G. Woodson would be most disappointed that we still have Black History Month and that Black History was still not well integrated into mainstream primary and secondary education. He would be disappointed that there is so much media time given to those expressing all the negative aspects of Black life today.
He would not be lamenting black on black crime; he would be showcasing those who made it in spite of that.
He would not lament blacks on welfare. He would showcase Oprah Winfrey as the richest woman in entertainment and the only person, black, white, male or female, from the entertainment world on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans (she’s number 242) He would say, you may be from a poor background, but look at Oprah. She did it, so can you.
He would showcase the late Reginald Lewis and TLC Beatrice Int’l Foods.
He would showcase Ephren Taylor , at 24 years old, the youngest African-American CEO of a publicly traded company, City Capital Corporations; a business development firm focusing on making loans and equity investments in developing business enterprises.
“This hip hop generation born self-made multi-millionaire started his historical journey at the age of twelve by rejecting the misconception that young people are powerless. Like most young men, Taylor enjoyed playing videogames; however, his parents lacked the financial means to purchase them. So he began making videogames and later formulated a company to house his operation. By the age of sixteen, Taylor owned his second company, which became a multimillion dollar enterprise GoFerretGo.com. This innovative website connected high school and college students with employers. Today, Ephren is still making connections—he connects individuals, corporations, and churches to wealth. With a diverse client list from Wall Street to South Central, including stock market day traders to Hip Hop icons such as Snoop Dogg, this astounding young man has the Midas touch – yet shares the wealth.” (Quoting from the link below:)
http://www.4thdimensionmngt.com/speakers.php?page=taylor&showCat=5&gclid=CPvt_JSvkIoCFSN5SAodcndpig#bio
He would showcase Asha Tyson:
“Asha Tyson’s own rise from homelessness to prominence deems her an expert on personal success. Although others had given up on her, she didn’t see failure as an option for her life. Having a “D” grade average in high school, being tortured by peers and even repeated beatings and sexual abuse could not steal her hopes and crush her spirit. With no connections, no mentors and only $80 dollars in her pocket, Asha went to college, financed her own education, and obtained both Bachelor and Master degrees in Political Science and Public Administration all in record time. Through persistence and determination, this first generation college graduate immediately launched a professional career as a higher education executive. After leaving the workforce, Asha owned and operated a thriving franchise then retired at the tender age of 26!”
Quoting from:
http://kua.successuniversity.com/SpeakersandTrainers.aspx
” ‘Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.’
These are the words of Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, distinguished Black author, editor, publisher, and historian (December 1875 – April 1950). Carter G. Woodson believed that Blacks should know their past in order to participate intelligently in the affairs in our country. He strongly believed that Black history – which others have tried so diligently to erase – is a firm foundation for young Black Americans to build on in order to become productive citizens of our society.” (Quoting from the link below:)
http://www.chipublib.org/002branches/woodson/woodsonbib.html
Here’s how I would hope Mr. Woodson would look at today in regards to Black History Month.
Mr. Woodson began to realize the unimportance of academic achievement and the endless pursuit of financial gain for one’s self when compared to dealing in eternal things.
Mr Woodson began pushing for an eradication of the recognition of Black History Month and pushing for a more universal purpose: being saved and knowing Jesus Christ as the number one mission and goal for all people, not just Black people.
All this while still recognizing deserved accolades and achievments by all races.
Tyrian, I don’t want to beat a dead horse to death.
But when you do a study, you start with a scope. If you ask “why only black- and white-sounding names, why not hippy and country names” then you could go on to add Eastern-European names, Hispanic names, extremely girly names like Bunny and Pansy, boys’ names for girls like Taylor and Hunter, and so on and so on. The people who did these studies did the studies they wanted to do, and quite frankly, I think they were very effective.
Laura, I don’t want to beat a dead horse, either. So I will say, Jethro is a white name. It’s a white American name in the way LaKeisha is a black American name (the Africans I’ve met often have names like Fatima and Jacqueline). It’s a name with negative connotations in a way that Sven and Wolfgang aren’t. The scope, the point of these studies is always to say that LaKeisha is going to have trouble that Laura won’t. Well duh. But if the Jethro scenario is ignored, then insight is lost. I’m beating on this point because the study of names and their meanings are a hobby of mine, and I pay closer attention to how names are perceived. There’s a lot more going on than these studies are saying. They’re just not as helpful or insightful as people think.
The bottom line here seems to be that we don’t end racial segregation by installing other types of segregation, like AA or Black History Month, no matter how benign and well-meaning those schemes might seem to be. We end racial segregation by not doing it any more.
If I’m hurting myself by smoking, the fix is to stop smoking, not to add some other vice in vain hopes of counteracting the smoke.
Tyrian: So you won’t draw conclusions from the study because Wolfgang and Sunshine weren’t included? You think there are no valid conclusions to be drawn?
I think that the only valid conclusion that one can draw from the study is that it is easier to secure an interview if one has a mainstream name. Until one examines studies with Jethro’s, Ida Mae’s, and Sunshine’s on it, one simply cannot infer racial discrimination.
In an age of very necessary information economy, employers simply do not have the time luxury to give thoughtful consideration and research to the many millions of applications that employers receive across the US annually.
They recognize full well that in tossing out a Lakeisha or a Jethro that they may be losing the best employee in the universe, but they must make decisions based upon their experiences, those of their peers, and statistical liklihood.
At the end of the day, businesses are supposed to make money, and time is money.
Jan. Each individual employer doesn’t have to evaluate the millions of applications that employers receive across the US annually.
If an employer knows that in tossing out Lakeisha he may be losing the best employee in the universe, but he goes by statistics rather than just interviewing her (where he would interview Jennifer with the identical resume) that is not only racist but dumb.
And as to experience, and peers’ experience – my buddy hired a black person and that didn’t work out, so now I’m not going to talk to Lakeisha?
Good lord. Are you serious?
We had a lady named Leitisha working for us for about 2 years. We hired her because she answered the help wanted ad, came for an interview, presented her case for employment, and wound up as our first choice out of 4 candidates. She left us only because she found a better opportunity elsewhere.
Pretty boring story, I know, but that’s the point.
I grew up with BHM long before it was a national holiday, and I have no problem with it. I wasn’t “subjected” to anything–I went to school with a lot of black people and had black teachers and principals, and it was good to learn about where they came from. If people don’t support it, I have no problem with that opinion, but I don’t see my education as deficient because we celebrated it every year.
Black history should be taught, of course, but as a part of American history. Why segregate it?
Charles Drew should be celebrated, but since he was responsible for saving countless lives of all races, why keep him in a historical pigeonhole?
Jan partly answered your question, Laura (southernxyl). But yeah, names are often signalling devices. They tell you class: if her name is Alexus, her parents were poor and uneducated, as opposed to if her name is Alexis (the first girl was named for the Lexus car. This was an actual story in our newspaper). They tell you age: If her name is Edith, she’s not under 40. The reason you don’t get the whole story if you only look at LaKeisha but not Jethro is that you’re assuming that race is the sole reason she’s being rejected. However, I’m saying that for certain jobs, Jethro has an equally good chance of being rejected. So is it really the race? Or is it the background? The class? The education level?
The Freakonomics people once noted the incidence of criminals with the middle name of Wayne (all white guys) They speculated that the reason for that is because the parents most likely to use that name are among the lower classes, where you tend to find more criminals.
In certain industries, it doesn’t help to have an ultra-feminine name: Catherine gets taken more seriously than Kristi, for example. That’s the point I’m driving at. LaKeisha’s rejection may not be about her race, but the studies will never reveal that because they’re not looking at all the factors (Jethro, Sunshine, etc.).
So according to you, the same people who wouldn’t interview a black person also wouldn’t interview a redneck. Wouldn’t interview someone out of their class or who is over 40. That’s supposed to give me the warm fuzzies?
You guys are rationalizing black people being discriminated against for no reason other than their race. Rationalizing and excusing and accepting. I’m starting to rethink my opposition to affirmative action.
84. “So according to you, the same people who wouldn’t interview a black person also wouldn’t interview a redneck. Wouldn’t interview someone out of their class or who is over 40. That’s supposed to give me the warm fuzzies?
You guys are rationalizing black people being discriminated against for no reason other than their race. Rationalizing and excusing and accepting. I’m starting to rethink my opposition to affirmative action.”
Actually, everything you just claimed is not only incorrect, but diametrically opposed to what they pointed out.
When the posters above stated that an employer would refuse to hire somebody who was named Jethro or Sunshine just surely as someone named Kareem or LaKeisha, they were pointing out that the basis of a decision not to hire someone because of a name was not made due to race, but rather class.
You claimed that they “wouldn’t interview a black personâ€, which badly misrepresents what was said. What they actually stated was that the employers in question wouldn’t interview a person with a “culturally black†name. If an applicant was a black man named Charles or William or some other non-culturally-specific name, there would be no problem.
Hence, the studies in question do not actually prove any racism in hiring decisions – not that proof of racism would actually justify an equally racist affirmative action program.
So it’s OK to discriminate against a person with a culturally black name? And you’re confident that the employer who, sight unseen, won’t interview Kareem, would interview Charles even if he knew he was black?
We dont ows them anything for slavery and if JEESIE JACKASSON wants to go after any nation how about some of those middle eastern countries that still practice slavery like SUDAN or SYRIA
86. “So it’s OK to discriminate against a person with a culturally black name? And you’re confident that the employer who, sight unseen, won’t interview Kareem, would interview Charles even if he knew he was black?”
Yes and yes. Kareem is a name that indicates parents from a particular culture, just like Jethro, or Billy Bob, or Sunshine, or Flower. An employer who chooses to interview those applicants who have normal names first and fills his job openings before getting to Kareem and Jethro is not being racist. In fact, he probably hired both Charles the black man (from your example) and Robert the white man instead of Kareem and Jethro.
Jan. Each individual employer doesn’t have to evaluate the millions of applications that employers receive across the US annually. – Laura
Duh…
And as to experience, and peers’ experience my buddy hired a black person and that didn’t work out, so now I’m not going to talk to Lakeisha?
- Laura
Most people do not make inferences from one anecdotal accounting from a buddy. Your oversimplification is a bit silly.
If an employer knows that in tossing out Lakeisha he may be losing the best employee in the universe, but he goes by statistics rather than just interviewing her (where he would interview Jennifer with the identical resume) that is not only racist but dumb. -Laura
Employers toss out applications every day of the week for a wide variety of reasons knowing that there is always a possibility of tossing away a great candidate. This is light years away from an employer throwing out an application from Lakeisha knowing that that Lakeisha WILL BE the perfect employee.
“So according to you, the same people who wouldn’t interview a black person…-Laura
If you read my statement, I simply said ” it is easier to secure an interview if one has a mainstream name.” which is a far cry from your distorted “wouldn’t interview a black person.”
Tyrian said it quite well when he said that names are often signalling devices. You accuse others of rationalization discrimination, but it appears to me that you are rationalizing your contention that there is racism under every rock.
It’s a little horrifying to admit, but I actually agree 110% with the article.
Before I clicked over to the article I honestly thought that it was going to be another display of intellectual Barber-ism, where the writer unleashes a tirade against Black folks (as I am guilty of doing myself). But she actually took her time and made some good observations.
And I love the idea of the Black Family Holiday…where family values and reclaiming some sort of dignity, pride and respect could be the focus. That is what’s lacking. This month-long celebration has no practical function for actually doing anything. It’s all empty and symbolic. Why not make it into something that is functional for improving conditions, as you suggest? I think you should actually explore that idea with your Conservative and non-Conservative counterparts…. (seriously).
Black History Month (although it still has some usefulness) has turned into more of a mockery today than anything. It’s like continuing to celebrate on the Titanic, while the ship (in this case Black culture & Black America) is slowly sinking. The irony is hard to miss and hard to understand for me.
Shouldn’t Black folks, and these so-called Black leaders, be more concerned with saving the ship at this point?
For the last few weeks, I’ve been doing some research for black history month for a presentation within our church. I began with the intent of doing something different this year by focusing on the African American Christian’s history. Though I grew up in a town whose history was quite notorious for racism, it didn’t cause me a lot of bitterness because by the time I came along, for the most part blacks and whites were living and attending school together as if it was as natural as breathing.
I was blessed to have had a great grandmother who had lived to see the ripe old age of 117. Even with all that she and her family had gone through-slavery, segretation, inequality and even beatings, she taught five generations the love of Christ for our fellow man instead of the bitterness and hatred that not only divides the races, but for those of us who claim to be Christians, makes us hypocrites. The bible says love your neighbor, not love only those of your race. WWJD?
I’ve spoken to many who are bitter and angry about the history of our people and how we came to be in this country. Yet, even if you purchased a ticket for them to go back to the country where their ancestors were from, they would give every excuse in the world to remain here in the country where they feel so oppressed. Many of the people who blog here appear to be well educated, fluent individuals. I think this is because of God and the sacrifices and struggles of those we revere during this month of cultural reflection. It would be a slap in the face to those who have gone through so much to give us the opportunities we have now to know that many of us are voluntarily segregating ourselves and whining about what our ancestors fought to overcome for the sake of us…their future. Yes, black history month has a very important purpose, and that purpose should begin with you taking the time to find out and share every useful fact you can to pass down to future generations. Tell them where we as a people have come from and let them know who made it possible. I’m sure you are able to do and have more than what your grandmother or grandfather was able to do as a US citizen. But don’t let those important facts be tainted with anger, hatred and the foolishness that separates instead of bringing unity within our race and those we share this country with. Focus on the blessing that God has given us to even have the ability and opportunity to share our heritage with our children.
There is no perfect nation and we’re powerless to change history. What we DO have the power to do is learn from the past by breaking the cycle of destruction. That cycle is broken one person at a time, one decision at a time. Love doesn’t have a color and neither does racism.
We have soldiers of all races wearing a uniform of one or another branch of the US military, fighting side by side in a war at this very moment. Do you think they care about the color of the man or woman who has his or her back? But they represent ONE country. They’re thinking about protecting what’s dear to them: their families and their multi-racial, multi-religious, democratic and as close-as-you-can-get-to being free country. We complain about this country, but what other country would you rather live in?
I don’t deny there’s racism or the fact that in my lifetime, I’ve been subjected to it. I just refuse to let it cripple me. If I didn’t listen to a doctor who told me I would never be able to learn, or ever be able to walk, or have children, why would I listen to someone telling me I’m less than them because of my race? Who I am was dictated by God even before my birth. I have don’t have time for the “Somebody done did me wrong” song. I teach my children about our culture and all that I possibly can about the contributions our people have made to the prosperity of this country. But I also teach them that these strong, intelligent black people accomplished what they did with God’s favor and their own determination to advance our quality of life and establish our rights not only as a race of people but as part of a greater nation.
Besides, Jesus’ own people did not accept him, yet they did not deter him from his purpose. He held no malice or hate toward them nor did he whine about it. I realize we’re not perfect as Christ is. But, like it or not, this is your home. Not everyone is going to accept you or value everything you hold as important. What is relevant is this: What am I going to do with what I’ve received, with what my parents and grandparents fought, suffered, sacrificed and died for me to have? Am I going to sit around and bemoan everything else I don’t have or am I going to take the opportunities given to me to make a difference like those before me?
Keshia, that was a beautiful post, coming, I suspect, from a beautiful heart.
You are guessing about the class distinctions because you can’t stand to admit that there is still white-on-black racism in this country. Speculating without a bit of evidence.
And how do y’all think “La Shawn” would fare with these nonracist, class-discriminating-only employers you are dreaming up?
Laura, of course there is still racism in this country. Where did you see anyone deny that? The point is that it’s less of a problem today than it was yesterday, and will be even less of a problem tomorrow. But it isn’t being eliminated through holding grudges and focusing on the negatives.
As for La Shawn, she would fare quite well in any job interview setting. How do you think she has had all the successes she has enjoyed so far? Talent, drive, self-confidence, and hard work, just like every other successful person of any race. I’d hire her in a heartbeat, but I couldn’t afford her.
>>You are guessing about the class distinctions because you can’t stand to admit that there is still white-on-black racism in this country. Speculating without a bit of evidence.>>
Maybe. The more I think about it, though, the more I think the whole issue is at least 50% about class – maybe even moreso.
What does “class” mean to you?
To me, it’s a combination of how you speak, how you behave, use of good manners and courtesy. It’s education as demonstrated by your speech and ability to demonstrate your knowledge in many fields… It’s dressing appropriately in any particular circumstance.
Think about the terms “lady” and “gentleman”. They’re almost obsolete today…doesn’t that say something?
Blacks aren’t going to be accepted in white society until they themselves accept white society. If they prefer to segregate themselves to maintain their own culture and society, that’s their right, but it seems to me that it’s also their own choice.
“As for La Shawn, she would fare quite well in any job interview setting.”
#94 – Redbeard, I think (Laura please correct me if I’m wrong) the point was that some here are saying that discrimination against ‘culturally black’ names was not only the norm, but acceptable and understandable in CONSIDERING an applicant for interview. So the fact that Lashawn might fair well in an interview is a moot point, as it would be ‘acceptable’ for a prospective employer not to consider her because of her name.
Read back:
Q: (Laura) 86. “So it’s OK to discriminate against a person with a culturally black name? And you’re confident that the employer who, sight unseen, won’t interview Kareem, would interview Charles even if he knew he was black?â€
A: (Kendrick) “Yes and yes. Kareem is a name that indicates parents from a particular culture, just like Jethro, or Billy Bob, or Sunshine, or Flower. An employer who chooses to interview those applicants who have normal (sic) names first”
‘Normal’ first names? Pursuit of employment can be about merit, not about what name your parents chose, or whether or not it sounds ‘white’ or not.
Of course, kids, if your parents didn’t name you white enough, you can always change it by deed poll to make it OK with those ‘normal’ people
ANd in pursuit of equality, kids, if your parents screwed up and named you arab/hippie/native american/backwoods/old testament/’black’/ – style (delete as abominable) then you too can chage your legal name to be like the normal folks and quit whining.
Freud’s erratum:
“So the fact that Lashawn might fair well in an interview”
Should have been ‘fare’ well, of course.
JohnD;
Kendrick’s position was stronger than mine, in point of fact. I was merely making an observation about the study and the conclusion that I drew from it. That is a far cry from stating that discriminating based on names alone is the preferable way to go, which is not what I think. Laura just seems to have a difficult time grasping the import of comments and extrapolates them to mean more than is said. As a mind reader, she is quite inadequate.
I contend that she cannot know from the study whether the motivation is racial discrimination or whether it can be attributed to assumptions based upon class. Quite simply, the study provides far too little info to go where she insists on going.
While employers cannot interview everyone who sends an application, I believe that they would be well served to give all applications more than a cursory glance to determine whether the applicant has the requisite qualifications. This is as much for their own benefit as it is for the applicant.
A recent study asked whether women or non-Caucasian minorities have trouble winning tenure at U.S. law schools? The study results suggests that, at least in terms of hiring, women and minorities enjoy significant advantages.
When this study was posted on one site, black commenters argued that one could not conclude that minorities enjoy significant advantages and gave any number of reasons why this was the case. Many were bending themselves into pretzels to make their case and very few were even-handed (kudos to those that attempted to get at the truth).
I see an enormous inconsistency in the way studies are viewed. Relating to a study purely on emotional grounds is such a flawed approach to arriving at valid conclusions. Studies are supposed to be tested and treated with skepticism. They are not supposed to be props for our collective angst.
http://agoraphilia.blogspot.com/2007/01/law-prof-diversity-hiring-and-tenure.html
Keshia,
Your post was beautiful. It made me feel good. Thank you for sharing your heart-felt thoughts. We need more forward-thinking people like you in this world…
#99. “JohnD; Kendrick’s position was stronger than mine, in point of fact. I was merely making an observation about the study and the conclusion that I drew from it. ”
Sorry Jan, I didn’t read your post, my response was to #94 & #88.
JohnD;
no problem…
JohnD, you are exactly right. That’s what I’m saying – that people who have black-sounding names can’t even get their foot in the door with some employers. And it seems that some commenters here don’t see racism there.
Suek, so culturally black people aren’t ladies and gentlemen?
I just wonder if some of y’all live on the same planet I do.
>>Suek, so culturally black people aren’t ladies and gentlemen?>>
Wholey moley, no! I said that the concept of being a lady or a gentleman is almost obsolete nowadays. It’s a behavior, in _no_ way linked to a person’s skin color.
I _do_ think that what is promoted as “black culture” today is low class, and no, there are probably very few – if any – in that particular culture that I’d consider for the appelation of “lady” or “gentleman”. The unfortunate truth is that there aren’t very many whites in the under 30 or so age group that I’d consider in that group either.
I just wonder if some of y’all live on the same planet I do. – Laura
I certainly hope not!
I prefer to live on a planet where people listen to one another and to what is actually said rather than reacting to a distorted view of comments which buttress one’s own hostility.
I’m still confused as to what “culturally black” means. Or “culturally white” for that matter.
redbeard…
You see _no_ difference between “black” culture, and “white” culture in the United States(limiting to the US – it’s a big enough issue without going into other countries and cultures!)?
“Blacks aren’t going to be accepted in white society until they themselves accept white society.”
OK, I’ll bite, what is ‘white society’ and where aren’t blacks accepting it??
Hi, Laura. Please be aware that in spite of your attempt to put words in my mouth, and impugn my character, I am going to respond to you as politely as possible. At first I wondered, when I read your response, if I wasn’t making myself clear. But, as everyone else seems to get it, I’m going to have to conclude it’s just you.
I do not need you to tell me about race in America. You have no lectures to offer me. Maybe we can compare experiences one day, but don’t think you have anything to teach me.
This conversation about names was not an attempt to imagine the world as a fairy tale place. I like to have intelligent conversations, and I especially love the exchange of ideas. I can see that’s not going to happen this time, and I’m sorry about that. I’ll try to keep this simple. Before I go further, I’m going to remind you of your place: It is not your place to say what someone is obliged to think, and I have the distinct impression that if I don’t agree with you, I’m apparently trying to whitewash the world. In your imagination, what is my motive for wanting to do this? Maybe I’m a weak person who can’t handle being black, so I make up whatever I have to in order to survive mentally and emotionally? Is that it? By the way, I hope it’s not a revelation that I’m black. I hope your response wasn’t because you were making yet another assumption.
If you dare to try and tell me that I’m trying to block out the world or whatever your imagination dreams up, know that I’m just going to scroll right past you. I’ve been polite to you this whole time, so you can do the same. You’re no longer young, as you say, but don’t think you’re of an age where you can get away with being rude.
Just so you know, in the last post my reply to you wasn’t intended to provoke emotion. I don’t care if you get the warm and fuzzies. I would only care were I writing fiction, which is not what I was doing here. My reply to you was intended to provoke thought. I’ve failed. I’m sorry.
When people read your name, they don’t doubt your sex. Your race is up in the air. I happen to have an aunt named Laura, so I know it’s not a given that Lauras are white or black, but they’re definitely female. My own name is sexually ambiguous in real life, too. No one knows my age or race or sex and I find that this causes a reaction that the Lauras and Peters of the world never experience. For the record, I have successfully applied for and been interviewed for jobs.
Apropos of nothing, I have a story to share: I once saw a listing for submissions to an anthology of black horror writers. The black author/editor, who had an Irish first name, wanted everyone to include their photos with their stories, I guess because he didn’t want to accidentally toss out a damn good Laura and accept only a mediocre LaKeisha just because he didn’t know Laura’s race. He probably also wanted to make sure no smart aleck tried calling himself LaKeisha if said smart aleck was actually a white guy. Race mattered then, but he obviously knew (I guess from having the Irish first name) that names don’t don’t tell the whole story about identity.
Moving on, if you yourself were trying to get a job with a company that only knew your name, you could get your foot in the door. Once they see you, they might decide you’re too old, if they practice age discrimination. But Ethel? Her application gets tossed by that company. Why? Because in this country, Ethel is an old woman’s name. Laura can be any age. In that instance, LaKeisha might stand the better chance, since I’m pretty sure there aren’t (yet) any old women with that name. You’re not supposed to feel good about poor Ethel. You’re not supposed to think it’s right for her to be discriminated against. I never gave you any reason to believe I want you to feel that way at all. I’m simply telling you what is. You don’t have any evidence of what’s going on if you’re relying on data that ignores that angle.
Next time you wonder about motive? Just ask. Don’t assume.
P.S. about the “LaKeisha” names…they seem to be of recent vintage. I wonder if the position you’ve staked is motivated by a belief that only racist white people think certain things about these names? Or is it generational? I notice that people in my parents’ generation (my mother is turning 50 this year) comment on these names, and shake their heads when hearing some of the more outlandish ones. As a bystander I once listened to an uncle wonder to his nieces and nephews about “what’s up with your names?!?”
The reason I say class is an issue that shouldn’t be ignored is because Anfernee’s mother comes from a different background than Anthony’s does, even though both women are black. One of them had schooling, the other one did not. You cannot tell me that anyone glancing at the two names on applications will not realize this. (Anfernee’s mother, IIRC, actually intended his name to be Anthony, which is the point of comparing the two. Just trying to avoid confusion and pointless assumptions here).
I argue against discrimination, but Dr. Walter Williams points out that discrimination is not necessarily always a bad thing:
_______________________________________
WHAT’S DISCRIMINATION?
There’s so much confusion and emotionalism about discrimination that I thought I’d take a stab at a dispassionate analysis. Discrimination is simply the act of choice. When we choose Bordeaux wine, we discriminate against Burgundy wine. When I married Mrs. Williams, I discriminated against other women. Even though I occasionally think about equal opportunity, Mrs. Williams demands continued discrimination.
You say, “Williams, such discrimination doesn’t harm anyone.” You’re wrong. Discriminating in favor of Bordeaux wine reduces the value of resources held in Burgundy production. Discriminating in favor of Mrs. Williams harmed other women by reducing their opportunity set, assuming I’m a man other women would marry.
Our lives are spent discriminating for or against one thing or another. In other words, choice requires discrimination. When we modify the term with race, sex, height, weight or age, we merely specify the choice criteria.
Imagine how silly, not to mention impossible, life would be if discrimination were outlawed. Imagine engaging in just about any activity where we couldn’t discriminate by race, sex, height, weight, age, mannerisms, college selection, looks or ability; it would turn into a carnival.
I’ve sometimes asked students if they believe in equal opportunity in employment. Invariably, they answer yes. Then I ask them, when they graduate, whether they plan to give every employer an equal opportunity to hire them. Most often they answer no; they plan to discriminate against certain employers. Then I ask them, if they’re not going to give every employer an equal opportunity to hire them, what’s fair about requiring an employer to give them an equal opportunity to be hired?
Sometimes students will argue that certain forms of discrimination are OK but it’s racial discrimination that’s truly offensive. That’s when I confess my own history of racial discrimination. In the late 1950s, whilst selecting a lifelong mate, even though white, Mexican, Indian, Chinese and Japanese women might have been just as qualified as a mate, I gave them no chance whatsoever. It appears that most Americans act identically by racially discriminating in setting up marriage contracts. According to the 1992 Census Bureau, only 2.2 percent of Americans are married to people other than their own race or ethnicity.
You say, “All right, Williams, discrimination in marriage doesn’t have the impact on society that other forms of discrimination have.” You’re wrong again. When there is assortive (non-random) mate selection, it heightens whatever group differences exist in the population. For instance, higher IQ individuals tend toward mates with high IQs. High-income people tend to mate with other high-income people.
It’s the same with education. To the extent there is a racial correlation between these characteristics, racial discrimination in mate selection exaggerates the differences in the society’s intelligence and income distribution. There would be greater equality if there weren’t this kind of discrimination in mate selection.
In other words, if high-IQ people were forced to select low-IQ mates, high-income people forced to select low-income mates, and highly educated people forced to select lowly educated mates, there would be greater social equality. While there would be greater social equality, the divorce rate would soar since gross dissimilarities would make for conflict.
Common sense suggests that not all discrimination should be eliminated, so the question is, what kind of discrimination should be permitted? I’m guessing the answer depends on one’s values for freedom of association, keeping in mind freedom of association implies freedom not to associate.
Walter Williams. Subs for Rush sometimes? Very good guy – I’ve enjoyed listening to him.
The opposite of “discriminate” is “indiscriminate” – which generally does not carry good connotations.
Just tossing that into the mix.
Tyrian, you have it nailed. I’ve interviewed alot of people and shifted through a ton of resumes. Applications get tossed for a variety of reasons, but I can tell you absolutely it isn’t based on some assumption that the name is racially based. In my experience that is, perhaps it happens but lets say these days I think it not as likely as history shows. I do want to point out another thing that hasn’t been noted in this discussion. Alot of Asians change their names to something more familiar with American culture when they are working with Americans. Is that because they think they will be discriminated against? No, it’s because they want to make it easier for Americans to pronounce their names. It happens alot and no one says they are doing it because they will be discriminated against. And by the way, I personally love the name La Shawn. And the local municipality I work for obviously didn’t discriminate against our Director of Human Resources for that name. Oh, and do you know she is black for sure? Probably not. And what does it matter if she is competent.
Hi dd, about the name LaShawn? When I first heard of LaShawn the blogger, I actually did think of another LaShawn, a girl who sat next to me in the first grade. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a husky voice. I mostly remember that she liked to copy off of me when we were doing our work, but then, she copied off of everyone. She was known for that, ha ha ha. For me at least, LaShawn is not fixed as a black woman’s name. I was startled when LaShawn the blogger wasn’t the girl I knew, because I never expected anyone else would have that name. I thought my classmate was the only one. Since you never give your LaShawn’s race, is it possible “your” LaShawn is “my” LaShawn? And she grew up to be competent and stop her cheating ways? Glad to hear it!
Hi Tyrian, I definately have a hard time equating alot of names with race (I guess I don’t really try…???). I think these days when people are so busy trying to come up with unique names it makes it more difficult. I mean, who thinks up the name Apple for a child? But we know people have named their kids that! I don’t think my LaShawn is the same one you grew up with, but the name definately didn’t give me pause for contemplating color when I first saw it. Of course, I don’t do that as a matter of principal anyhow……
My first name is a bit uncommon, and is used by blacks just about as often as by whites. I guess I have an equal opportunity name.
Of course, I can never use my middle name, since it’s the name of a very famous Confederate general, and that would ruin my “bonifides” in the sensitivity arena.
Speaking of black history, here’s a kid dedicated to his studies…….
Florida Technical School Student Angry Over Lack of Black History Classes Stabs 3 With Screwdriver
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249939,00.html
Now there’s a guy with some life issues. The school doesn’t teach history, black or white or multi-hued; it’s a technical school, teaching trades.
Maybe the guy also thinks there should be a Black Air Conditioning Technology course.
In any case, he needs surgery to remove that huge chip from his shoulder, followed by a long rest somewhere.
His parent(s) will probably show up in court with several black leaders in the community and say that he did nothing wrong…
I like what coach Dungey (sp?) said about himself and the Chicago coach. He was excited, not that they were black, but that they were both Christians! Praise God for that! What a testimony.
When we Christians do it right, there is no male/female, no black/white, just all of us as God’s children.
Trey
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