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Mellie Garcia

Ms. Kacvinsky

AP Lang

13 April 2018

African American Women in America

African American women in today’s society should be given more opportunities for jobs

in order to compensate for the racial prejudice and underestimation dealt with on a day to day

basis. Black women in America shouldn’t be stripped of the value they hold as a whole when

white Americans don’t get that same treatment. To be punished simply for having a different

color of skin is a problem dealt with daily as African American women continue to be oppressed

by the majority. Ever since the Great Recession, college-educated black women (and men) are

being given less employment opportunities full-time. It is not a reach to claim that black women

in today’s society have to work twice as hard to be accepted as an equal in the workforce and

even then, there’s always doubt in their capabilities. Opportunities for jobs and a higher

education should be presented to African American women during high school. Public schools

especially should be more informative during the college application process to students of color

when it comes to minority scholarships. The students should be well aware of the things they can

apply for when they are part of the minority and teachers should encourage the students to apply

so that they can then have a better chance of getting jobs when coming out of highschool or

college Even if society can’t be changed to be less discriminatory or more accepting, women of
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color can still become more aware of what they can get in order to make a change and perhaps

break the seemingly never-ending cycle of old-fashioned societal standards.

Modern discrimination

Minorities often have a hard time trying to avoid discrimination because of the racism

and stereotypes that still exist today. Some don’t even realize that they are stereotyping others,

people such as the majority. This stereotype that African Americans are predisposed to crime

allows the majority to justify the racist views they hold against others. This old-fashioned

concept of social Darwinism must be invalidated as we progress further to eliminate all traces of

these outdated beliefs. The theory that “human groups and races are subject to the same laws of

natural selection” (Britannica) is an idea that has lingered into the 20th century despite claims

that there has been a decline due to the “expanded knowledge of biological, social, and cultural

phenomena.” (Britannica) The real question is, how many white Americans actually understand

that there is more to a person than the color of their skin? How many Americans actually care to

understand that there is more to a person behind the color they are wearing, that there is a

beautiful culture behind the face they are discriminating against and maybe if they weren’t so

busy fearing that culture, they could come to love it. The color of one’s skin shouldn’t be

associated with their level of competence and ability to do a job. More job openings should be

created to allow African American women to get one foot into the door and then start walking on

their own. Even the smallest businesses or startup companies should consider making the

environment welcoming and encourage a place of diversity. Businesses need to show that they

are open to diversity to stop the cycle of black women being discouraged because they believe

it’s useless to apply.

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Many African American women in the workplace deal with discrimination, but it is not

only limited to direct racial slurs and subtle wage discrimination. Many times, women are

sexually harassed by men who believe flirting while including their race should be taken as a

compliment. When comments are made about women of color regarding their skin tone, it is not

flattering but rather biased and hurtful. This is another thing that African American women have

to deal with when working, they have to deal with potentially being fetishized by men who are

uneducated on how to not be offensive. This behavior can be dated back to the colonial era when

“pseudo-scientific investigation suggested the subhuman and inferior sexual nature of black

people.” (Holmes) So-called studies would claim that black people were scientifically ‘“less”

evolved than white Europeans.”’ while justifying the dehumanization of the entire race,

specifically about abuse towards black women. Even Thomas Jefferson implies that black

women have this hyper-sexualized nature and sexual capacity which would justify the rape

culture standard he set. (Holmes) As outrageous as these claims sound, this is still the mindset

being held in society. These women are being discouraged from working because of these factors

that turn them away.

Comparison to the Majority

African American women in particular are faced with a double minority standard due to

being both black and female. The majority lacks the ability to understand what it’s like to live as

a minority, much less a double minority. Never having to face discrimination and racial

profiling, the majority has become accustomed to the privilege they have been granted yet still

fail to acknowledge this advantage. These societal privileges include making biased decisions

based off of skin color and being given benefits due to being part of the majority.
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A hate crime that occured in November 2017 where a college student repeatedly harassed

her roommate is a prime example of how black women continue to be victimized by the

majority. An African American women attending the University of Hartford as a freshman

described how her white roommate was “Rubbing bloody tampons on my things” and how her

roommate “got me out of the room after a month of spitting in my coconut oil, putting my

toothbrush in places the sun doesn’t shine, putting moldy clam dip in my lotion" (Fox) which

demonstrates how she intentionally sabotaged her just because she wanted her to leave the dorm.

The white woman would also talk about her online saying things like “Finally I can say goodbye

to Jamaican Barbie” (Fox) and poke fun at her culture. This woman thought it was acceptable for

her to slander her roomate online and post about what she’s been doing, what happened to

making racists afraid again? African American women continue to be belittled and for what? For

being black and female. It just keeps getting harder and harder to be a black woman in America,

to the point where getting an education in college is being interrupted. How can African

American women get jobs when racism in society continues to delay their efforts?

Statistics on jobs

In today’s society, many African American women will be turned away when applying

for jobs. A good amount of job discrimination occurs when employers respond to seeing

‘black-sounding’ names on an application. A study conducted by economists at IZA and the

University of Southampton found that emails received from those with rooted African American

names are four percent less likely to receive an answer than similarly structured emails signed by

names that are ‘white-sounding’. (University) The issue in America is that racism still controls

the way society is structured and social status. Employers who discriminate against applicators
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with these “ghetto” sounding names are controlled by racism when they decide to make biased

decisions. Deeming an applicator incompetent simply by looking at their name isn’t reason

enough to turn them away. To be able to destroy someone’s chance at becoming employed based

off a decision from unobservable skills is outrageous. This is a standard set by society that needs

to be taken down and thrown in the trash.

Many employers do not realize that they are making biased decisions and may not be

aware that they are even being biased, however this just proves how traces of racism has subtly

crept into society and brainwashed the existing population. More than 6 in 10 of Black women

are in the workforce and are the only group of women with a higher labor force participation rate

than their male counterparts. However, between 2004 and 2014, Black women’s real median

annual earnings declined by 5 percent. (Washington) How is it that African American women

seem to be working harder than white males within the workforce, yet still make less? Flat out

racism. The majority can’t stand to see African American women prosper in our progressive

society, much less acknowledge them. Black women will always be viewed as inferior towards

the ‘superior’ white male. Black women have increased work hours 18.4 percent since 1979 in

comparison with white women, however the wage gap relative to white men has grown. In 2016,

the wages of white women grew to 76 percent of white men’s, compared to 67 percent for black

women relative to white men, creating a racial difference of 9 percentage points. (EPI) African

American women are working just as hard, if not harder, than their male counterparts, yet there

is no progression. Pay inequity is very real, and it hits harder on black women who deserve to be

paid equally. For black women to need to work seven months into 2017 just to be paid the same
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as white men in 2016 is a huge step backwards. For a society who likes to call themselves

“progressive”, this is a big let down towards African American women all around.

Black women who work 39 hours a week only would earn $23.46 hourly in contrast to

white women who work 36 hours a week and earn $26.29 hourly. (EPI) The statistics are staring

down at society while they continue to willingly put on a blindfold and preach that the wage gap

is unreal. White women work 3 hours less, yet get paid 3 dollars more than black women. White

women are being rewarded for working less while black women struggle to keep up as they are

being left in the dust along with society’s ancient concepts of prejudice.

Conclusion

Opportunities for job openings need to be created in order for black women in America to

have a chance to make a contribution. There are many willing and skilled workers that are being

turned away and not even considered because of their skin color. In order for African American

women to be accepted in the workplace, encouragement and a welcoming environment are

essential. Coworkers should also be supportive and society needs to come together as a whole to

be less discriminatory since it’s never actually going to go away. Racism and discriminatory

behavior needs to be shamed and proven as morally wrong. Society can change the direction they

are going towards and change the mindset of the new generation to become progressive and

supportive of the different races in the country. Society as a whole needs to come together and

have a real conversation about this issue of discrimination in America and directly address it

instead of letting these subtle acts of continued dehumanization to stay. Only by speaking about

it and saying it out loud can society help these African American women feel like they have a

chance to finally change this outdated mindset and finally become truly accepted and celebrated.
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Works Cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Social Darwinism.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Feb. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/social-Darwinism.

Holmes, Caren M. ​The Colonial Roots of the Racial Fetishization of Black Women​. 2016,

openworks.wooster.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=blackandgold.

Davis, Kathleen. “This Is What It's Like To Search For A Job As A Black Woman.” Fast

Company, Fast Company, 7 Feb. 2018,

www.fastcompany.com/40504481/this-is-what-its-like-to-search-for-a-job-as-a-black-woman.

Garland, Jon, and Corinne Funnell. Howard, Jacqueline. “New Study Confirms Depressing Truth

About Names And Racial Bias.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 Oct. 2015,

www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-sounding-names-study_us_561697a5e4b0dbb8000d687f.

“Study Shows African Americans Discriminated against in Access to US Local Public Services.”

University of Southampton,

www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2015/08/african-americans-discriminated-against-in-access-to-pu

blic-services.page​.