<p>Among recent four-year college graduates ages 22 to 27, the jobless rate for blacks last year was 12.4 percent versus 4.9 percent for whites.</p>
<p>Sad to say it’s an old story. During times of a gangbusters economy, of course it’s better but not perfect. Black alumni have to hustle, network etc. more than the competition. That’s the challenge of life. It’s the “Sidney Portier Conundrum.” As a society, we haven’t gotten over that yet. Want proof? Read Senator Harry Reid’s comments about presidential candidate Barack Obama back in 2008; to paraphrase…‘he’s acceptable because he’s a clean and eloquent Negro.’</p>
<p>Or it could be a lot of other reasons like the choice of majors. A lot of companies go out of their way to hire minorities.</p>
<p>Choice of majors could be an issue…or grades. Some research has suggested that certain names are a hindrance when in the job market. </p>
<p>Also, if there is a reluctance to relocate or seek jobs in other areas, that could be an issue. An AA grad may be reluctant to seek employment in areas where AA population is low.</p>
<p>I agree that many companies go out of their way to hire minorities. </p>
<p>Of course it can be a mix of factors. And several major corporations have a great track record as regards minority-hiring. And yes, the personal preferences of any given candidate will skewer the statistics. An energy company in North Dakota may not receive many applications from Black job seekers because of the location, despite the gangbusters economy in North Dakota. But Like I said, a motivated recent graduate who is a hustler will seek opportunity wherever it may lead.</p>
<p>It’s a fact that a “black-sounding” name is often a hindrance to getting a call after sending a resume. Sure, there are employers interested in hiring minorities but many more who are not. For an average black grad who is not a star, it’s a lot harder than for an average white student who is not a star.</p>
<p>This article didn’t make any comparisons except race. A study would have to compare employment candidates with the same major, college, GPA and work experience to make a valid comparison. </p>
<p>The issue could be with the schools themselves as well. Some HBCUs are known to be managed poorly in comparison to others, and don’t offer students the same opportunities or connections that they’d get at either the top HBCUS or PWIs. Those students have to work harder to make connections or search for intermships, but it’s not like that scenario is completely unique to AA’s. Rumors of issues with the HBCU model have escalated recently, even among the top institutions. </p>
<p>Reading the headline again, does it mean graduates of black colleges or college graduates who are black?</p>
<p>They are speaking of blacks going to college for their statistics, but then use HBCU students for much of their anecdotes. I only posted because there’s considerable overlap between the two categories. </p>
<p>From the article (did you read it?):</p>
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<p>Yes. I read it but it did only use the personal stories of men who graduated from black colleges. </p>
<p>Discrimination in the workplace is wrong, and we all want a solution, but I don’t know of a quick solution. Employers tend to hire people through connections, and it is hard to regulate that. </p>
<p>African American job seekers may have to try harder, but if they suceed, then they are paving the way for the next generation, as when they are employers, they too can hire qualified applicants of all races. We can look at Sydney Poitier and President Obama as people who compromised by conforming to an expectation, or people who succeeded. One way to expand into territories is to have pioneers.</p>
<p>I don’t mean this as something simple, I wish there was a better way, but this article is discouraging and doesn’t offer any solution. If it leads to giving up, then what good does that do? I wish there were more encouraging articles that offered solutions. Until then, I would rather encourage young people to persevere. </p>
<p>Agreed. When I went through grad school for my MAcc there were four non-white students in my class (myself included). I went back to that same university for a recruiting event this fall and it looked about the same.</p>
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<p>The article covers high-demand fields like engineering/STEM, health care, and business and it doesn’t seem to be better.</p>
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<p>When I was in undergrad, one of my instructors was one of the first black men to earn a PhD in accounting in the US. We would talk sometimes, and one time he basically told me that in order to have the same outcomes as a white student I would need to have higher grades and put in longer hours. Things obviously change over time but maybe he had a point then.</p>
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<p>I am really glad that my daughter doesn’t have to be a pioneer.</p>
<p>^^The ‘Sidney Portier Conundrum’ references the situation with that fine actor and the Hollywood of the 1960s. Portier had a couple of Oscar nominations under his belt, appeared in some groundbreaking movies, and I believe was for a time the highest paid actor in Hollywood. But to some critics, the problem was that he was only offered roles which portrayed the perfect and ideal character. It was a bit of well paid condescension from the film studios. I don’t believe Portier ever addressed it publicly, and far-left friends such as Harry Belafonte defended Portier. Much of America was (and remain) very proud of Portier. Justifiably so. He’s a hero. Yet, folks still question and perhaps slightly resent the idea that to be fairly considered for a plumb position, a Black job-seeker must always be a star and therefore much more qualified or appealing than his or her white rivals.</p>
<p>I’m glad I wasn’t a pioneer either, but that was because my dad, the son of poor and less educated immigrants, was, and so were his parents when they moved here. My concern with this article is that it states a problem, but doesn’t offer any solution. The only solution I know of is the one that was role modeled for me. </p>
<p>…but it’s 2014, not 1963, and there are plenty of areas, especially in academia, where being a white male isn’t exactly an advantage.</p>
<p>It’s a news article, reporting the facts, not an analysis offering solutions.</p>
<p>Well, it doesn’t really contain many facts. It’s just a couple of anecdotes and I think most of us know more than a few college grads who can’t find jobs of all races and sexes. So, I agree with whoever it was above that’s it’s pretty meaningless without schools, majors, and GPA since it’s not really comparing apples to apples or even close. And, yeah the movie star stuff from the 60’s left me somewhat baffled, too.</p>