> James Jacobsen wrote: > >Not too many convenience stores and other > businesses > >aren't looking for help. You (anybody) first have > to > >adopt a conscientious (look it up in dictionary, or > >ask an older person) attitude about doing what you > >are to get paid for, like showing up for work, > doing > >what the job requires, etc. Nothing and nobody is > >going to get rid of poverty for you but yourself, > and > >by honest means.
Hmm... It seems to me that I recall reading in the African American Men's study that there was stunningly high unemployment(by definintion those ACTIVELY seeking to participate in the workforce) in some neighborhoods in Mpls for young african american men. That doesn't include those who are underemployed or simply not looking for work. Why might this be? Having lived in MI, TX, and NY before moving to MN I'd have to say I've never witnessed as much blatent racial discrimination as I have since moving to the twin cities. Granted, in entry level jobs, much of what I witnessed was in the suburbs not in the city proper, but I've been struck by how pervasive it is. The twin cities is easily the most racist place I've ever lived though much of it seems to come from discomfort on the part of people who are simply not use to working with people whose race, economic background, or culture is different than their own. It's very different from the crass and blatent expressions of racial hatred you see elsewhere and seemingly more socially acceptable. I find I have to remind myself frequently that as recently as 1990 MN was the second whitest state in the U.S. and that it's growing diversity is a relatively recent phenomenon. I have had coworkers ask me questions that from my perspective of having lived the vast majority of my life in more integrated communities with diverse populations seem stunningly ignorant. One office coworker asked me why a black coworker and so many black people on tv always wore their hair permed. At first I thought it was the intro to somekind of joke in poor taste but I found I had to explain to a capable 30 year old that most african american people's hair was that way naturally. Just the other day, a young woman told me a supervisor at the office where she works went through a stream of temps looking for an assistant who all seemed great for the job until she confided in some coworkers that she wasn't comfortable with any of the temps because they were all too different and that made her uncomfortable and unable to work with them. The young woman noted that the only thing she could see in common among them or all that different about them was that they were all people of color. I have seen employees at stores take applications from people of color and slip them immediately into the trash after the person left. I have asked why when I've seen this done and had employees tell me that their boss would never the hire the person who came in. I know after witnessing this a few times before I moved to MPLS while living in Plymouth and working in Downtown, I made a point of driving to stores on Lake Street or Broadway Ave N. to do my shopping where I could see employers hired diverse employees as my own personal way of protesting this after numerous discussions with supervisors of the aforementioned employees seemed to illicit dismissive or even snide remarks as opposed to any reassurance or action. When I worked in Eden Praire, I had a coworker who smoked Newport cigarettes and they would always give me money to pick some up for them if I was going out for lunch. The place I stopped to pickup the cigarettes for them was always running out of Newports. When I asked why, the clerk behind the counter asked "You know who smokes those mostly don't you? We don't want to encourage those kind of people to come in here." Having worked in convenience stores and gas stations during college, I knew right away who "those kind of people" were that she was refering too. I wrote the stores headquarters and let them know that, needless to say, they had lost my business though they were the closest and most convenient store to the office. So yes, something that could be done and dealt with more seriously on the local level to address some of these problems is to invigorate the city civil rights department on both the municipal and state level. I think there is plenty of evidence that there is some pretty persuasive evidence- both statistical as well as anecdotal, that racial discrimination plays a large part in the economic disenfranchisement of minority members in our community and of young african american men imparticular. We as a community ought not tolerate it. David Strand Loring Park __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs http://www.hotjobs.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
