'This so-called post-racialism is a figment of our imagination.'
Bernadette Pruitt, an associate professor of history at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Tex., who has written about Southern racial history and can’t stop thinking of Trayvon Martin and his family. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trayvon-martins-killing-galvanizes-florida-community-civil-rights-groups/2012/03/21/gIQAbQslSS_story.html
If I could make that bolded part 100X bigger, I would. Because THIS is the reality of the situation and has been ever since this country came into existence.
But the allure of "post racialism" was not a figment of OUR imagination. I have yet to meet a single black person that thought for even one second that Obama's presidency automatically ushered in an era of "post racialism." 400 years of history, brutality and oppression are not easily overcome.
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the word delusion, or maybe lie, would be more correct than imagination.
the only people i ever hear claiming this is "post racialism" are the same ones who are always in denial about racism; and always deny their own racism.
thank you for posting that, and your great comment, Number23! 
But the allure of "post racialism" was not a figment of OUR imagination. I have yet to meet a single black person that thought for even one second that Obama's presidency automatically ushered in an era of "post racialism." 400 years of history, brutality and oppression are not easily overcome.
YES YES YES.
"400 years of history, brutality and oppression are not easily overcome"
and won't even start to be if people still refuse to look at the facts of that. i had an argument with someone at Whole Foods because they featured lady auschwi ... uh ... antebellum's cd at the checkout.
"yeah, right, antebellum: a reeeeeeal proud period of u.s. ATROCITY.... !"
next time i was there, the cd was no longer featured there.
thing is, so many will not look at it, at all, much less with true recognition of the history we must face if this world is ever to overcome it. and those who will not look at it, are not honoring those who suffered in those CENTURIES of crimes against humanity ... and those who are STILL SUFFERING TODAY'S!!!
I am immensely proud of being black. So when someone (and let's be real - it is ALWAYS a "well meaning" white person that says this) says "they don't see color," I not only view this as 100% unbelievable but I also view this as someone willfully choosing to not recognize a very important way in which I see myself. I WANT you to see that I am black. What I don't want is a whole bunch on nonsense "she must be x/y/z BECAUSE she is black" on top of it.
YES!!! brilliant!!! i think that is THE point about "color blind"!!
we don't need to be "color blind," we need be color cherishing, color celebrating , color adoring!!!
we need EQUALITY!!
we need to end PREJUDICE!!
- to end white privilege
thank you so very much for your kind words, dear Number23
black woman was in HR 
unfortunately it went downhill from there 
i met the east indian male CFO, who literally seemed at a loss for words upon seeing me. sat down to talk with the chinese male accountant, and he kept asking me , in a condescending tone, if i knew quickbooks. he asked me so many times, that i responded in frustration: "quickbooks is the most simple software...ever. i've worked on just about every accounting software imaginable, so YES i know quickbooks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" then he wanted me to do a test in quickbooks, which i passed with flying colors. then he looks at my resume again...and looks at me, as if he could not reconcile my work experience with my black, female self.
then the CFO comes over and says they are still interviewing...blah. blah, blah. i left KNOWING i did not get the job...because i a black female, and i am smart. i do not fit their stereotype of a black female. i had more skills than the accountant and CFO combined, and they felt totally intimidated. i am sure they were looking for a female who would not make them feel insecure or challenge their sense of superiority. i am sure they hired a meek, asian female...certain of it, in fact.
i not only have to deal with racism, but racist sexism also.
Last edited Fri Mar 23, 2012, 09:00 PM - Edit history (1)
I am so sorry you had to go through that. And people have the NERVE to wonder why so many black women seem to literally SEETHE with quiet rage lurking just beneath our surfaces.
then he wanted me to do a test in quickbooks, which i passed with flying colors. then he looks at my resume again...and looks at me, as if he could not reconcile my work experience with my black, female self.
Been there. Lord, I've been there so many times I could write a book. I swear, it wasn't until I ventured out from beyond the 50 states of our "great nation" that things got better for me in that regard. I have a girlfriend who is applying for a job in Dubai because she has had a literal GUTFULL of the crap that gets tossed around in the States. She has three kids too. I told her I understood and supported her 100%. Actually, it's more like 412%.
i not only have to deal with racism, but racist sexism also.
Yep. Sexist assholes still want a woman who "knows her place" and black women are perceived as being too uppity and feisty. This will not do for sexist assholes. Conversely, I know we've talked about this on AAIG so you know I've said this before but some of the most easily threatened, bigoted, racist people who have EVER made my life a living hell were white WOMEN. So much for sisterhood, eh? 
We get it coming AND damn going.
the infamous "fetching" comment was made by a white woman. i really cannot even go there right now because my legal issue is finally being investigated by the EEOC, and it is ALL about that. yeah...is it any wonder that we are pissed off? 
i tried to put on my best mask, but there is only so much i am willing to deal with, especially considering the shit i have already been through. well meaning white friends always try to say: "that guy/woman is just an asshole," but after you've experienced it for the umpteenth time, you realize it is not about individuals...it is about a system, and a mindset that perpetuates the system. i am always supposed to be grateful in this system/mindset, but never an equal or a colleague, and never too competent as to disturb the perceived superiority of others. and white women are the worst...you are right about that. white men are either openly hostile or supportive. asian men, in my experience at least, seem to feel threatened by black women, and feel the need to put me in my designated place. black men...well i've only worked for one black man, and he is gay, so he was (mostly) supportive. my last supervisor was a white female who i am still friends with today. she totally supported me, as a worker and a person, and she respected me as a person and a competent accountant. and she got fucked over by the white women in charge too...i think she was perceived as a "n" lover. we have to voice this stuff and refuse to "go along" with it. it is a poison that is impeding our growth as individuals, and as a nation.
it took over a year for the EEOC to assign an investigator to the case...it's been over two years since i was fired. it has been a long process, and i am not sure the reward can make up for that. however, in this economy, i felt i had no choice because: i still haven't found a job. honestly, if i could have moved on, i probably would have, just to be done with it. but i really feel i did not have a choice, i need to be compensated, not only for what actually happened, but also what has not happened since their illegal action. if they had given me severance, i might have passed on the lawsuit. but they tossed me into the street without any regard for the GREAT work i did there. that's the fng rub. it pisses me off to no end that incompetents are still working there while i was fired for reasons other than competence.
i am not sure what is going to happen. the investigator needs to talk to witnesses in order to prove my claim, and i could only get two to cooperate. i think my retaliation claim is solid, but the discrimination case is shakier. i don't think i will get what i deserve, but i will recoup something. however, i am very happy i brought the feds into their little plantation. nothing like shining the light on roaches and watching them scurry 
as for your situation...if it was meant to happen, it would have. and if it happens again, by all means do it.
investigation. if you are ever in a predicament again, i would suggest you go for the right to sue route. my supervisor did that, and her case was settled last year. i might get more compensation via the EEOC, but the time it took to get the investigation started was way too long. i am totally discouraged, and i know that's exactly what they hoped for...well, they got it. still, siccing the feds on them gives me some satisfaction knowing they are scrambling to hide facts and try to bullshit their way out of this gives me some comfort.
i can bank on one thing: their hubris. they truly believe they are above the law and can do whatever the choose. the investigator told me they were not providing the information she requested in a timely manner. if they keep that up, i may win by default. please keep your good wishes and thoughts coming for me...i need it. my former supervisor told me that the judge in her case was so turned off by their attitude that they actually helped her case. hopefully they will continue to be assholes in my case.
Karen. and my last name is not Jackson, Washington, Jefferson, or Johnson. and apparently, i do not "sound black" on the phone 
whatever that means.
