A Lifetime Disadvantage

In America, success is viewed as both a personal choice, and a personal accomplishment. If you want to accomplish something in life, it is up to you to do so. With determination, motivation, and hard work – you will be able to succeed and reach your goal. That is the impression that is portrayed to the population, but how true is that assumption? What if the color of your skin or the name you are given dictated whether or not you received an employment position? In America’s perception – none of that matters, as stated before, hard work will guide you to success. Unfortunately, within society that statement is un-true. Race is in fact, an issue in regards to employment - especially within hiring. Now if that were the only issue at hand, it would be easier to overcome but sadly the racism faced within the workplace revolves in a cycle with crime as well. It should be no surprise that minorities are the main suspects in the event of a crime. This is a form of racial profiling that in turn affects the employment of those minorities that may or may not have been convicted of a crime throughout their lifetime.

In Rethinking the Color Line, Gallagher analyzes an article that focuses on the lifetime effect a criminal record can have on a person. The main comparison was made between white males and African-American males both with and without criminal records. The results were undeniably shocking. It was found that a white male with a criminal record was more likely to be called for an interview in comparison to an African-American without any type of criminal record whatsoever. “Only 14 percent of black men without criminal records were called back, a proportion equal to or less than even than the number of whites with a criminal background” (233). Now how are we to say that hard work and determination will lead to success when race, something that we have no control over whatsoever, may be what determines an individual’s success. A white criminal will be given a chance over a minority with a perfect record, how fair is this?

An article on the Dayton Daily News Website coincides with this information. This article stated how a college-educated black male is twice as likely to be unemployed in comparison to a college-educated white male. In this case, the judgment was made based on the names on the applications, or resumes. “The resumes with the names of white applicants were 50 percent more likely to be contacted for job interviews than those with black names, the research found.” (Tucker, Randy).

I find this inequality to be completely un-fair and I feel that this continues to show how race continues to play an enormous part in a person’s life. As much as people want to state that we are living in a time where minorities have equal rights and opportunities – it is time to open our eyes and realize that racism is a real and current issue.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/workplace-equality-for-blacks-remains-elusive/nMnQn/