Race Still Matters
A month or so ago, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was the guest on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. If you love or hate politics and haven't watched the show, you're really missing out. Colbert puts on a facade of being a hard core Republican but it is pretty apparent to regular viewers that he's a closet Democrat. Yet he is an equal opportunity offender. Which brings us back to Jesse Jackson.
Colbert greeted Jackson by saying that it was a real honor to have him on the show because he was the first guest to have been as important as Colbert. Very tongue in cheek and Jackson chuckled. Then Colbert hit him with a doozy of a question. Colbert asked Jackson that given that the problems of discrimination were solved, what was Jackson doing with all of his time? Jackson, ever so brilliant, didn't get the deer caught in headlights look that many guests get when asked that question. Instead he acknowledged the mistaken perception and used it as a springboard to talk about why discrimination hasn't been solved and why it needs to be solved. Awesome.
Then earlier today, Kristal Harris, one of our Insights by Candidates Blog authors, posted a distressing entry about the racism that she's suffered in Kentucky. If anyone even for a second believes the tongue in cheek remarks that Colbert made about discrimination being solved, they need to read Kristal's entry.
Why do some employers insist on eliminating such huge portions of the talent pool by discriminating against some because of their race, religion, disabilities, military service, gender, sexual orientation, and any other trait that isn't job related? Are they so awash in talent that they can afford to turn away such stars? Are they trying to guarantee that their firm will be at a competitive disadvantage because its people aren't of the same quality as the firm across the street that simply hires the best regardless of these non-employment related traits?
Perhaps Darwin was right and these ignorant firms will wither and perish. Hopefully Darwin was right. I pray that Darwin was right.
My day is maximizing typical -- hopping from one site to another and Internet access. At least part of the hoppiing doesn't include finding another computer that's accessible.
I read Kristal's post around 10:00 a.m. my time and couldn't respond because I was late for an appointment that was some 40 minutes away. I'll definitely talk with her before the day ends.
What is so interesting is that I have the benefit of seeing the world through many lenses as I am multi-racial. I grew up seeing disparate treatment.
You know, I can't write any more at this moment. There are too many thoughts on this subject that are pummeling me. Until I can articulate any further thoughts, why not read "About Equal Employment and Equal Treatment" at http://portal.recruiting.com/Viva/archive/2006/05/21/18imz5ri9gga4.htm
I truly hope Kristal reads it as well as HR managers, recruiters, and most importantly, employers.
Thanks for being angry, Steven. I knew that about you for a long while. But more importantly, turn that anger into positive action somewhere.