Decisions not always based on racial issues
by CL Collins, reporter

    Civil rights and affirmative action mean a great deal to many African-Americans in the business world.

    Affirmative action has allowed everyone access into better schools and jobs.

    In getting better access, African-Americans have stepped on the toes of others who were working hard and deserved compensation for their efforts. But we believe special compensation was owed to us.

    When we do not get the job we want or the grade we want, we analyze the situation to see if it is a racial issue. I have concluded that race is not the issue.

    Businesses and schools want minorities. The problem with many blacks being refused jobs or entrance into various schools lies within the way we come across to others.

    Think of the comedians who give blacks a bad reputation claiming that Clinton is the closest we will ever get to a black president because he smoked marijuana and had an affair with Monica Lewinsky.

    Such humor makes it seem as if we enjoy immorality, but we do not all think that way.

    We are not all baggy dressers, nor do we all speak slang in public, yet rappers and others in the black community portray us that way. Our culture is one that accepts this portrayal and dismisses reality.

    Students from predominantly black schools such as Grambling State University or Southern University do not get recruited for top positions in some companies because corporation bosses think they will have to teach them how to speak correct English or how to conduct themselves in a business atmosphere.

    I know of black-owned businesses that will not hire students from those schools for the same reason. Everything is not about race. The business world has one color on its mind, and that color is green.

    The reality is that money talks, and acting like rappers and slouching about in baggy garments will make companies lose money. Companies do not want someone who appears ignorant or foolish representing them, and no one wants to deal with people like that either.

    Black has become more than an ethnicity. It has become an adjective to describe a manner of acting and dressing, and this manner is not favorable.

    It is a violation of civil rights to deny someone a job on the basis of skin color, but it is not a violation to deny a job on the basis of conduct, dress and grooming. It is like being an actor: if you want the part, look and act the part.

    During Black History month, I will start striving to go the distance and be the best I can be. If I stumble and find a door locked to me because of skin color, I am not going to cry about it or ask that my wound be kissed. I am, however, going to knock louder.

    Let bad habits die. We are only fueling the stereotypes that preceded us. In order to make it in the business world, we need to act like we belong there. Remember: the issue is not always about race.