The Struggle of Equality for Blacks in the 21st Century

The Struggle of Equality for Blacks in the 21st Century

On December 29, 2004, Richard Blakey was applying for a job interview at the very prestigious Public Relations firm, Ketchum, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He was the only black man applying for the job. Little did he know that he had no chance of getting the job no matter how qualified he was for the position because he was a black man and his counterparts were white. He went into the interview and gave it everything that he had. The executive director told him that his skills were extraordinary and he was very impressed. Richard left Ketchum with a smile on his face knowing that he made an impression and will be getting a call in about a week. Three weeks passed and Richard finally received a phone call from the Ketchum organization, and the same executive director that gave him the interview told him that he had not received the job. When Richard asked him why, the executive director stated that he was too dark for the public relations firm, and that the job was given to a white man. Richard hung up the phone and began to cry.
Have you ever encountered racism? If your answer is no, you’re either very lucky or very naive. Chances are, you have. Perhaps you’ve never seen someone being denied a job because of the color of their skin, but chances are, you remember the Rodney King beating and the O.J. Simpson trial, or you’ve heard someone comment that black men are better basketball players than their white teammates or that they are more likely to be on welfare than white people are. If so, then you’ve encountered racism. According to The Random House College Dictionary, Racism, or Racialism, is defined as “the theory or idea that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and certain traits of personality, intellect, or culture and, combined with it, the notion that some races are inherently superior to others.” It is found in many forms, and it has profoundly shaped our history as Americans. Most often in our culture, when racism is mentioned, it refers to the relationship between white people, which make up the majority, and black people, which compose a sizable minority
It seems to me, that after all the years of struggling for equality blacks should no longer have to fight for what they want in America, but that is not true. Blacks are still fighting for things that are given to white...

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