Tagged: corporate America

“Corporate America’s diversity problems are well-documented. Silicon Valley has been roundly criticized for being mainly white and male, and data show Wall Street hires mostly white and male bankers. Corporate boards, too, lack racial diversity and are overwhelmingly white. That needs to change, too, Parker said, and boards need to be ‘very, very intentional and methodical in succession planning.’ ‘They need to make sure that there are individuals (in the pipeline) who are getting the proper career experiences that will allow them to have the global perspective’ to lead multinational companies, he said.”

These companies are clearly racist, which is why they have a problem hiring and retaining qualified African Americans and people of color. At this stage, we should not be forced to work for companies that segregate occupations by race and maintain work cultures that are defined by racialized lines. These companies need to pay people of African descent for intentionally violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and our nation’s other antidiscrimination laws with malice and/or reckless indifference to our federally protected rights.

Source: Gregory Wallace. “Only 5 Black CEOs At 500 Biggest Companies.” CNN Money. January 29, 2015. http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/29/news/economy/mcdonalds-ceo-diversity/?iid=EL.

“To be a black professional is often to be alone. Most black doctors, lawyers, journalists, and so on — those in white-collar positions that require specialized training and credentialing — work in environments where they are in the racial minority. This comes with challenges. Beyond outright discrimination, which many still face, there are psychological costs to being one of just a few black faces in a predominantly white environment. In a study of black professional workers in a number of different occupations, I found that these employees worked to carefully manage their emotions in ways that reflected the racial landscapes they inhabited. In particular, black professionals had to be very careful to show feelings of conviviality and pleasantness, even — especially — in response to racial issues. They felt that emotions of anger, frustration, and annoyance were discouraged, even when they worked in settings where these emotions were generally welcomed in certain contexts—think litigators interacting with opposing counsel, or financial analysts responding to a stressful day on Wall Street. Interestingly, this often played out at trainings meant to encourage racial sensitivity. Many of the black professionals I interviewed found that diversity trainings — intended to improve the work environment for minorities — actually became a source of emotional stress, as they perceived that their white colleagues could use these trainings to express negative emotions about people of color, but that they were expected not to disclose their own honest emotional reactions to such statements.”

Source: Adia Harvey Wingfield. “Being Black — But Not Too Black — In The Workplace.” The Atlantic. October 14, 2015. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/being-black-work/409990/.

“As a partner and chief diversity officer at Thompson & Knight, Pauline Higgins was not afraid to press the issue of hiring minorities at the 126-year-old Texas law firm. But when she left in 2008, she was replaced by an associate with less influence. Now, current and former partners say, the diversity committee meets less often, and the firm has fewer black lawyers than before. It is a trajectory familiar in many elite realms of American professional life. Even as racial barriers continue to fall, progress for African-Americans over all has remained slow — and in some cases appears to be stalling. ‘You don’t want to be a diversity officer who only buys tables at events and seats people,’ Ms. Higgins said recently. ‘It’s about recruiting and inclusion and training and development, with substantive work assignments.'”

Source: Nelson D. Schwartz and Michael Cooper. “Racial Diversity Efforts Ebb For Elite Careers, Analysis Finds.” New York Times. May 27, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/us/texas-firm-highlights-struggle-for-black-professionals.html?_r=0.

“Employment discrimination law is at a crossroads. A wealth of interdisciplinary research suggests that the problem for the future of workplace equality is subtle and ‘structural’ rather than overt and individual. Race, sex, and other protected group characteristics will continue to factor into employment decisions, but the decisions are more likely to be driven by unconscious biases and stereotypes operating within a facilitating organizational context than by conscious animus operating in isolation. Recognizing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the mainstay of legal prohibition on discrimination in employment, falls short of addressing the problem, legal scholars have begun to formulate a new paradigm of regulation that would impose an obligation on employers—through legal rights or otherwise—to take structural measures to minimize discriminatory bias in workplace decisionmaking. This ‘structural approach’ aims to minimize discriminatory decisionmaking at the individual level and to reduce unequal treatment in the workplace by pushing change at the organizational level in work environments and decisionmaking systems.”

Green said this eight years ago! Now employment discrimination law is on its deathbed, especially when the plaintiff is African American, due to the large number of ideologically conservative, white [male] federal judges that preside over these types of cases!!

Source Tristin K. Green. A Structural Approach as Antidiscrimination Mandate: Locating Employer Wrong. Vanderbilt Law Review. Pg. 850. 2007.

Tired Black Man by Dario Philippe

I’m Tired because the word “tired” and “black man” is already sending mixed message to “some people” without them taking the time to read this entire letter… first!

I’m Tired because I had to write this.

Tired of the weight of being micromanaged and living under the expectation of being EXCEPTIONAL.

Tired of key positions given to white counterparts who were C students with type C personalities, while my type A personality as an A+ student only got me to an unopened door with a “Work Harder” sign on the knob. Tired of the imbalanced grace giving to my white counterparts who have the freedom to make mistakes and can climb corporate ladders while being far less exceptional, and at times, unprofessional.

I told you, I’m Tired…

Tired of taking up the task of proving “I’m not like those other black men” within the workplace because the media shows more images of black men as thugs, drug dealers, angry, lazy, uneducated, and irresponsible.

I’m extremely Tired…

Tired of leaving my true identity and masculinity at the door, because I’ll come off as too “Aggressive” or “Intimidating” when I express my opinions.

Tired of changing my voice to a higher pitch in order to calm your cowardly and overly sensitive emotions

Tired of seeing my white male counterparts sport full bears, flat tops (with the part on the side), and it considered sexy within the work place. Tired of thinking twice before I grow my hair or grow a beard because I might be labeled as too edgy or thuggish for the establishment.

Tired of witnessing my sister’s fear of getting rid of the hair relaxer and embrace a more natural hairstyle.

Tired that its emotionally easier for you to fire me or let me go because you’re only empathetic towards, young white men who remind you of your son and the challenges you faced climbing the ladder.

Tired of forfeiting my independence for the sake of making sure my wife and children have a roof over their heads and food on the table.

Tired of biting my tongue and not fully defending myself verbally when a less than complimentary comment is thrown my direction

Tired of leaving my true identity, my swagger, my personality, my dialect, and who I am at the threshold of opportunity because I feel you want me to be MORE LIKE YOU…

I’m Tired I’m tired of pretending Tired of wearing the mask Tired of suppressing my Royal past I’m Tired I’m Tired I hope this doesn’t get me fired

“Of course, in any large organization, there will be some, perhaps many, instances of discriminatory conduct, whether by supervisors or by co-workers, and [William Morris] has presented [no] evidence that it takes steps to counteract instances of [racial] bias.” — Magistrate Judge James C. Francis, IV

Source: Chen-Oster v. Goldman Sachs, Inc., Case No. 10-6950 (S.D.N.Y.), March 10, 2015 Report and Recommendation.

“black people after work.”

blackpeopleafterwork

LOL!!!!

“In certain industries and trades, Negroes are so systematically excluded that an agreement or concert of action might be inferred. Social and economic discrimination has a direct relationship to monopoly practices in the pursuit of a livelihood….Race discrimination has been used as a means of securing a white workers’ monopoly.”

Source: Philip Marcus. Civil Rights and the Anti-trust Laws. 18 U. Chi. L. Rev. 171, 190 1950-1951.

Based on the pyramid of evidence I’ve presented demonstrating William Morris’ intentional pattern and CONTINUING practice of discriminating against African Americans and people of color in employment spanning 116 years, any “final” decision that doesn’t grant my request for affirmative and permanent injunctive relief, is erroneous as both a matter of law and public policy.