Hi Dawn,


Love your site and your posts!!




Re: Blacks in business, well it's tough because we Blacks have tried to skip over some steps in our development. Don't most groups depend on their own initially for patronage and support of their entrepreneurial/business aspirations? We, Blacks, can't do that because of our lack of anything appproaching "oneness" or cohesiveness in our thinking. Dr. Barbara Sizemore (who used to be at the Univ. of Pittsburgh) hit it on the head when she pointed out that all other ethnic groups used their cultural base as a launchpad to launch themselves in the USA. This is critical and unavoidable, she says. Since African-Americans don't have the usual cultural base, we don't identify with each other beyond surface appearance and thus the bulk of us don't feel a sense of loyalty and unity with others alike ourselves. This is much to our detriment and is guaranteed to continue to seriously hinder our progress. Thus the white person/company who deals with us has to only deal with us individually, for the most part. They are keenly aware that many of us will fuss, but no action like withholding our money from them as a group will take place, which is the only way we can hurt them.




Well, just wanted to respond and keep on doing what you're doing.




Sharol

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Replying to:

Going to start this forum with some topics that I would like to discuss. I have seen several instances of very qualified minority firms or employees being passed over time and time again. In many cases, they do find qualified candidates, but then I will see these same firms publish in their corporate literature their desire to create and promote a diverse workforce. I think that often when the person in the decision making seat looking at a "diverse candidate" they are really thinking, I might have to interact with this person, and I really do not have anything in common with them, and that will make me have to think a lot more...hmmmm. And then the people that look like him (sexist, but it ususally is a "white him" making the ultimate decision in positions of consequence...) show up and he says "whew, I'll get them. They will fit into the status quo just fine.




Meanwhile, we go home, knowing that we have made a good presentation, an honest and fair bid for our services, and daydream about the line of bull that we just got until we get the "we selected another firm/candidate" letter. Now is it just me, or is this familiar?