Scary unemployment rate for African Americans

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reply to post by dude69


I wasn't aware German, Italina, Dutch or French names had negative connotations imposed upon them by the same people complaining about realizing them for what they are, or wish to portray themselves to be. When you put yourself out there in a certain way, expect certain results........btw, rad the T&C please.

reply to post by adifferentbreed


Im German...Im assuming you're American...We think you Americans are stupid as sh!t over here, which you're kind of proving by the way.
So according to your logic it would be ok for me to dismiss your application based on this stereotype alone huh?
I don't think so...I'd think you'd start crying about how a great injustice has been done to you, cause you caught the #ty end of the stick for once.

Your name says alot about you when an employer is looking at your resume deciding if you are worth calling for an interview.


Racism works all different ways, black HR reps will certainly favor those with African sounding names.
I sat with my last boss as he clicked thru resumes, DeShawn, LeVandre, LaVelle were some of the names I saw that were deleted as soon as they were opened.

Its always going to be a part of human culture to favor your own race.

reply to post by dude69


People don't have to hire anyone for a miriade of reasons, just as people dont need to name their children a name that would be gauranteed to help hold them back.........it's really simple. You don't have to like it, but it's a fact. As an aside, stupidity is subjective.......just saying.

reply to post by adifferentbreed


Huh?...No...a simple golden rule in life is: Treat others they way you would want to be treated.
Im assuming you wouldn't want to be denied your job because of your name, something you had and have absolutely no control over...I wouldn't want that done to me, so Im not gonna do it to other people. Simple as that.

I was just watching MCNBC and Zthey had Micheal Eric Dyson who I think is a black radio host. And He and and his mind set and the people that still have his mind set are part of the factor why I think black people are stuck if you will. He still has the blame the white person mentality. I don;t know ianyone can find the interview or not it just happened. But why do these types still have a place to voice there rhetoric when it clearly has not worked?

reply to post by SheeplFlavoredAgain

I'm quite aware. I'm one of them.

-B

Originally posted by dude69
What does the name have to do with the value of an applicant?

Because the applicants with those ridiculous names always come from impoverished neighborhoods with it's own set of values and culture. So by dismissing the application, an employer is saving time because those names don't fall in line with the type of worker he wants to hire.

Is it stereotyping? Well, you can call it that, but it's factually based and is really no different than assuming that someone who went to Harvard is going to be intelligent and a hard worker. Employers should be able to look at every possible factor they can when deciding whether to hire or not hire a person. Where you grow up does have a big effect on you as a person, so using names to determine that is just another factor to consider.

Is it morally right? Nope. Everyone should be given an equal opportunity regardless of where they were born. Nobody chooses what name they're born with, so it's very likely that there will be people that are more qualified for a job than anyone else and not even get a chance because of their parents mistake. Although by recognizing their disadvantage, they can get it legally changed when they're 18, so they aren't entirely helpless.

At the end of the day, it's just good business.

reply to post by Epiphron


A lot of the comments in this thread remind me of the time my company and I were sued over polo and rugby shirts.

In the 80's I was working for a very conservative, large financial services firm in NYC. It was a suit and tie, polished wing-tip kind of place.

They decided to adopt a casual day on specific days a year. Friday after Thanksgiving, the day before 4th of July, if it did not fall on a weekend, Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, about 5 in all. We had a dress code for those days that specified that men needed to wear a collared shirt on those casual days. No t-shirts no jeans.

A gent comes in wearing a T-shirt and jeans on one of these days and I pull him aside and tell him that he can't wear that. Its OK today and I'm guessing that he forgot, but the next time he needs to abide by the code.

The next casual day rolls around. A couple of days prior, I send out a note with the dress code attached. The day comes and he wears a t-shirt and jeans again. I pull him aside and ask him if he did not understand the code and tell him that he would have to leave the office for the day, since it was the second time and he had been reminded specifically about the code. He was a salaried employee, so he essentially was going to get a free day off.

He tells me that the code is racist. That where he lives folks don't wear collared shirts and by having that code, I was forcing a "preppy, white man's world" on him and that its not fair to force him to go out and pay for a shirt when all of the white and asian folks have those shirts already and don't have to spend more money to comply with the code. I tell him that the code is the code and that he is more than welcome to wear a suit on those days and not spend any money. I also tell him that he is welcome to wear a work shirt and a pair of slacks, no jacket and no tie and that's cool as well, which a bunch of folks did anyway.

A week later I get the notice that I'm being sued. That I was enforcing a policy that compromised racial identity and was forcing conformance to a policy that was counter to this gent's "group identity".

The settlement was that the casual day was eliminated. 8,000 folks not allowed to have a couple of casual days because this dude found collars objectionable.

Why is this related to the name business? Because however you view it, conformance is a part of life. If you want to give your a kid a name that identifies him as a part of a group, you are lumping him with that group and you should assume that the attributes of that group will be attributed to them. You are doing them a disservice. You are certainly not, if you give him a traditional name that identifies with an ethnic background. I've hired folks with Celtic names, traditional Asian names and traditional African names. I find those names interesting and I think it is terrific to be proud of your heritage. A name that identifies you with a subculture that, in many cases has values that folks of all stripes find objectionable is not doing your child any favors and to suggest otherwise is immature. To suggest that folks are not going to at least consider the attributes of that subculture when looking at a resume without the benefit of actually meeting the person, is absurd. Being Latino, Korean or African is not a sub culture and I would agree 100% that to disgard a resume with a traditional name that identifies him with a specific race is racist and absolutely objectionable. This is not that. This is the identifcation with a cultural subgroup, the association with is entirely voluntary. There is a fundamental difference.

I have a good friend of mine who is a powerhouse corporate attorney. I've known him for years and he goes by the first name, L.C. After knowing him about 3 years I learn that his real name is LaChantre. I ask him why he goes by L.C. and he laughs and responds "why do you think?". I'm a successful attorney and successful attorneys are not named LaChantre.

Because the applicants with those ridiculous names always come from impoverished neighborhoods with it's own set of values and culture.

reply to post by Epiphron


I think you are generalising way to much even though we all generalize to make our points but you don;t know where that person with the "weird name" comes from. or what there background is. All your judgeing is by the name. you never know the man witht he wierd sounding name could be a famous basketball players son from rodeo drive.

And even if the person that comes from a poor impoverished neighboorhood whats to say that person doesn;t have a good work ethic?

And who made anybody the name police. And furthermore your gonna tell me and jump on a high horse and say this name is better then this name? Come on man!

This is a silly name says who!!! you! someone else might think that name is great.

reply to post by American-philosopher

I think you are generalising way to much even though we all generalize to make our points but you don;t know where that person with the "weird name" comes from. or what there background is. All your judgeing is by the name. you never know the man witht he wierd sounding name could be a famous basketball players son from rodeo drive.

I think it all comes down to the statistics of it. There’s only about a hundred or so famous basketball players, so the chances of having their son LeChandre apply, as opposed to someone with a similar name who is not a famous basketball players son, is very slim. Chances are, the LeChandre that is applying is from a ghetto neighborhood and was raised in that subculture.

And even if the person that comes from a poor impoverished neighboorhood whats to say that person doesn;t have a good work ethic?

That may be so, but the numbers show that the person is likely to not only not have a good work ethic, but to hold values and beliefs that are looked down upon by society.

If someone has spent their whole life in a culture that breeds criminal activity and other less than respectable behaviors, it’s only natural that the person will retain some of those beliefs.

Now, obviously I’m not saying that’s going to be the case with everyone, but it will for most. The thing about stereotypes is that they are stereotypes for a reason, and for an employer who needs to use time as efficiently as possible, it’s logical, and actually imperative, that he make generalizations about people. It simply isn’t possible to give every single person a chance in hopes that LaQuinisha will be of that 1% that doesn’t fit the stereotype of people with similar names.

And who made anybody the name police. And furthermore your gonna tell me and jump on a high horse and say this name is better then this name? Come on man!

This is a silly name says who!!! you! someone else might think that name is great.

Lol, fair enough. I actually do like the sound of most ‘black’ names. Originality is a good thing, and names like Tom and Joe are way too common. So I take back my use of the word ‘ridiculous’. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any name, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that those names make a person less likely to be given a chance by potential employers.

It has nothing to do with the name, but the culture and class that the person with that name likely belongs to.

reply to post by Epiphron


I am sorry I didnt rerad your whole thing yet but by your thinking there should be no female police officers or female firefighters statistically speaking right because statisitically men are stronger faster right statistically speaking.

reply to post by American-philosopher


or that we should judge people by what statistics they falll under. Do you understand the point that I am trying to make??

reply to post by DZAG Wright


Your "at times" the best at physical sports....care to guess why? You probably better not think about it to much, you may get offended lol

"the african american unemployment rate is twice the rate of whites"



the main reasons given are "prejudice and discrimination in the job market".

we need to acknowledge it and encourage employers to work against the stereotypes and bias.

reply to post by BiggerPicture


I believe this.

I have seen an application thrown in the trash after the black guy interviewed.


I have also seen a supervisor deny an applicant on his first name alone.

It was something like Davarion or Lavarion.

In the trash it went.

I know of a black girl named Placenta.

For real.

Placenta.

I think it mostly comes down to the first name.

It's like we all know a Tyrell, Davontray, JayRon or a LaQueeshanita.

But we just don't work with them.