The United States has a problem with race. It is real. It is discreet and it is indiscreet. Depending on who you are you can feel it, see it, hear it, but you can’t deny it. In fact, denying that racism exists is the new racism: if we pretend it doesn’t exist we can ignore the pain it causes and the role nearly every one of us plays. Those in a position to ignore the pain get to keep the benefits. Those not continue to pay the price.One of this group's recommendations is to add more diversity to the boards of local nonprofits. I have already stated how I feel, but want to give Jennings a final opportunity to tell me I'm full of shit. I'll give him the final word, and owe him that and more.
Help me to understand this: many of the most prominent organizations in the region do not have a single person of color on their decision-making bodies (all but one foundation ...). The task force that points this out is a rare group that is entirely made up of people of color and THAT's racist?
Don't you think it's important for people on the margins to get a voice once in a while? I cannot be the lone voice speaking up around here - I'm trying to give folks a chance to speak up. I'm not going to be able to do this as long as I had hoped, so I'm trying to pass the baton. Shouldn't our folks be at the same table as their white counterparts?
25 comments:
So, can we all agree that affirmative action policies are almost always necessary?
There is no question racism still exists in this country. Laws will never change that fact. Overt racism like the KKK and hate groups are easy to spot. The covert racism that exists in our subconscious has been nurtured for centuries.
Also in order to avoid this tough issue we just claim everyone has equal opportunity so that is that's. Yet if one is born and raised in a culture of race, they will react differently than someone who has not encountered that issue.
Time to get deeper than the slogans and easy comments.
one last time - we don't care
it is actually prudent business sense to have different voices and points of view in the board room.
Organizations that do not do this are actually hurting themselves in the long term.
That being said, there needs to be more qualifications for these people other than them being X color or from Y background.
"I'm not going to be able to do this as long as I had hoped, so I'm trying to pass the baton."
????
The United States has a problem with race. It is real. It is discreet and it is indiscreet. "Depending on who you are you can feel it, see it, hear it, but you can’t deny it. In fact, denying that racism exists is the new racism: if we pretend it doesn’t exist we can ignore the pain it causes and the role nearly every one of us plays. Those in a position to ignore the pain get to keep the benefits. Those not continue to pay the price."
All this does is flame the so called race game. Without groups making comments like this, there would be nothing to talk about. That comment, above, is offensive and does not do anything to help any situation. The report that yields that statement will simply sit on a shelf here in the Lehigh Valley and collect dust.
9:04 your right. We should all deny that the problem exists and congratulate our selves on how far we have come.
@9:04,
You are somewhat correct. As long as long as any group demands to be included in anything, for reasons based more on its diversity versus its merits, there will be bias and racism.
"I'm not going to be able to do this as long as I had hoped, so I'm trying to pass the baton."
Monkey Momma, Alan has a medical condition. I cannot elaborate without his express m=permission. But when he finally retires, there is going to be a huge vacuum in the Lehigh Valley. Funny. He and I have been on the opposite end of important issues, but I really admire and respect him. And he has continued to engage me, even after i have criticized him. Not many left like Alan.
"Without groups making comments like this, there would be nothing to talk about. That comment, above, is offensive and does not do anything to help any situation. The report that yields that statement will simply sit on a shelf here in the Lehigh Valley and collect dust. "
I thought that statement was offensive.
"it is actually prudent business sense to have different voices and points of view in the board room."
I completely agree, assuming they are all qualified. But seriously, I doubt the composition of a non-profit board has a damn thing to do with wealth disparity.
I'm confused...do you think that someone should have ensured that a white person was on the task force so that every race that the study examined/served was represented (i.e. affirmative action)? Or do you think that the task force should have been formed based on merit alone, even if that meant it was made up entirely of people of color? Perhaps it's hard to believe that the top dozen people who were interested in the study AND qualified for the job were people of color?
I don't think you're confused at all. You are simply being argumentative. I find it impossible to believe that the only people qualified to speak about wealth disparity are persons of color, and not just that, but persons of color who just happen to have the same views. This is a task force set up to arrive at a pre-determined conclusion.
I agree with you; the task force should have been more diverse and the organizers should have been sure that all populations were represented.
I also find it hard to believe that even when income is controlled for, race is still an indicator of loan acceptance rates: "Even in the case where all three have the same income, bank loans are approved about 70 percent of the time for whites, compared to 52 for blacks and 53 for Latinos." -from a morning call article, pointing out just 1 way in which racism contributes to income inequality.
It's almost like when it comes to forming task forces and approving bank loans, we should do something to account for the natural human instinct to emphathize with people to whom we can relate? Sort of like we should give an extra half-point to a college applicant that belongs to a specific group (that has been systematically disenfrancised),so that if that applicant is equally matched to a white applicant, they get an extra half-points' consideration to account for the fact that "it is actually prudent business sense to have different voices and points of view in the board [class] room"...
just because income is the same, there are many other factors that should be considered regarding a loan.
--What is the applicants credit and history of bill paying?
--How long have they been at their current job?
--What size of the loan do they want vs. their income?
using just income as a barometer does not necessarily tell the whole story
Yes, agreed...all if those factors must be considered. What should NOT be a factor is one's race. But as a $335 million settlement paid by Bank of America alludes to, financial institutions STILL engaged in the discriminatory lending practices that played a role in causing the recession in 2008. They paid $335 million to avoid having to answer questions in a court of law about whether or not they were charging people of color higher interest rates and fees than equally qualified white customers. They practically admitted to systematically selling their black and Hispanic customers subprime loans, even though their finances were good enough to qualify for cheaper prime rates. Minorities were targeted by predatory lending practices, and the effects are still being felt.
I'm sorry to hear that Jennings is not well. That is not good news. I trust he would understand that my comments below are completely secondary to my wishes that he returns to good health soon.
I did take a look at the report this group wrote. Nowhere in the entire report is the nuclear family (or lack there-of) mentioned as a variable. Teenaged pregnancy and single motherhood are also not mentioned. At all.
I find this odd. Being a single parent is the surest way into permanent poverty, yet this task force ignores it. It is also the surest way to perpetuate poverty. And this goes across all racial lines, in that, it happens to whites, too.
I think what's missing from the conclusions of this report is a real understanding of what constitutes a true cause and effect relationship. Yes, you see many more minorities living below the poverty line. But why is that? It isn't necessarily because of race. Could it be because mom is working 3 jobs and no father is present in the household? This major social issue is the KEY to solving educational and other disparities in our region - how could this group ignore such a huge part of the problem?
Instead, it just seems to assign blame to those in power who are assumed to be too blind to see past their own racism.
I just do not see the merit in blaming others for wealth disparity, when it is pretty obvious that a breakdown in the family unit itself is a more likely cause of disparity. How can this group expect to be taken seriously when it ignores such a critical component to the problem??
I agree that further study needs to be done regarding the breakdown of the black family, as being raised in a non-nuclear family is one of the biggest predictors of poverty. This report would have benefitted from a mention of how our country's discriminatory criminal justice system leads to mass incarceration of men and women of color, thus creating even more one-parent households. It's tendency to treat young black men as disposable should also be mentioned.
9:18 yes, there are many overlooked variables in the conclusions. I pointed out the family unit. When 1/3 of all black men can expect to go to jail in their lifetimes, I guess incarceration is another variable. There are so many variables - it does seem odd to single out race all by itself, unless, of course, the conclusions were drawn before the study was conducted.
"I just do not see the merit in blaming others for wealth disparity, when it is pretty obvious that a breakdown in the family unit itself is a more likely cause of disparity."
Or wealth disparity could be a cause or major contributor to the breakdown of the family unit. Laws and history make it more advantageouss not to marry. Up until and even with the ACA, it was far easier and less expensive for a single mother to get healthcare for herself and children. Also tax codes and public assistance favored the single mother. Institutional discrimination makes non living wage jobs the norm for some populations. Many, many factors. However, they require analytical thinking skills and not adherence to a preordained tea party dogma.
People are loath to see anything without their world view blinders on. We will never solve our deep seated and historical issues with inequality and race. We would rather listen to information that reinforces our own world view.
We would rather argue over what came first the chicken or the egg as opposed to dealing with both the chicken and the egg. We are a silly and doomed species. We have a brain and have decided not to use it.
Anyone who believes we really live in a merit-first society is not living in reality.
I doubt anyone believs that, but the solution to wealth disparity transcends the racial divide.
I was invited to the Congressional hearing and attended. I brought my laptop computer. I took notes. I shared the notes with people who spoke and asked if I quoted them accurately. It has been over a week and I have not received any corrections. Those notes from that event have been posted to the envisionlehighvalley.com website under "documents."
MY BIG BITCH is and had been discrimination and not adhering to Veteran's Preference. Simple disregard for the people that have served this country at the Federal level. -----HORSESHIT-------
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