This must happen. I mean it truly is our religious freedoms at stake here. If they want to play this game – and it’s looking more and more obvious every day that they are – then we need to fight back and give them some of their own medicine.

In Arizona, the state that gave us the most corrupt Sheriff in the history of our nation, Joe Arpaio, as well as rednecks that patrol the border, and 125 degree heat on a daily basis in the summer, the hatchet faced Governor Jan Brewer ( I will never forgive Janet Napolitano for inflicting her on us) is deciding whether to veto a sick anti-gay bill that was just passed by the legislature. A bill that says based on “religious freedom” you can discriminate against someone who is gay or lesbian. You are gay so..NO SOUP FOR YOU! Now, she will probably be forced to veto it because so many people are outraged about it and have called and e-mailed her saying they will never set foot in her state again or that they will take their business elsewhere if she signs the bill.

It really doesn’t matter. The damage is done, In 2014 the Republican legislature of Arizona passed this bill. Period. If not for all of the pressure Brewer would sign it. And the trend has been set. There are similar bills floating around in other backwards states. Backwards is a good word because as other nations are moving forward, America is heading backwards into the dark ages. Mostly because of religion. That cancer that invades our country. We can scream about the separation of church and state all we want, they do not care. The Constitution means nothing to them. Never has.

Now there is a lowlife GOP lobbyist who wants to ban gays from playing in the NFL. Jack Burkman, says he has support for a bill that would do just that. I wonder who supports him? Democrats? I think not. Now just like the Arizona law this most likely won’t go anywhere but believe me, many Republicans wish it would. Burkman, who we know jerks off to those images he claims are disgusting (straight men showering next to a gay man) is a truly vile individual.  ”Imagine your son being forced to shower with a gay man,” Berkman said. You mean the son that compares his penis size to the guy showering next him? The son that whips his friend’s naked ass with a towel in the locker room? You talking about THAT son Jackie boy?

One wonders where a smug piece of shit like Burkman has been living? What dark, moist hole has he recently crawled out of?

But maybe I get too upset. I mean it’s par for the course with these Republicans..the religious right. They really do want to go back in time. They want to go back to when women couldn’t vote, when blacks were slaves, when gays were deep inside the closet. These are their ultimate fuck fantasies. As the rest of the world (and parts of this country, mostly up north) advance and evolve, they want to fight that with every fiber of their being. That is why we are seeing these bills pop up now.

So I say let’s practice our religious freedom. We must discriminate against Republicans. Make them feel the hurt they are inflicting on others. Then we can truly move forward without them.

The post Arizona SB1062: Let’s Discriminate Against Repunlicans appeared first on Madness & Reality.

My guess is that this is nothing new:

For two years, I have been unemployed. In the beginning, I applied to more than three hundred open positions in the insurance industry—an industry that I’ve worked in for the previous ten years. Not one employer responded to my resume. So I enrolled back into college to finish my degree. After completing school this past May, I resumed my search for employment and was quite shocked that I wasn’t getting a single response. I usually applied for positions advertised on the popular website Monster.com. I’d used it in the past and have been successful in obtaining jobs through it.

Two years ago, I noticed that Monster.com had added a “diversity questionnaire” to the site. This gives an applicant the opportunity to identify their sex and race to potential employers. Monster.com guarantees that this option will not jeopardize your chances of gaining employment. You must answer this questionnaire in order to apply to a posted position—it cannot be skipped. At times, I would mark off “black female,” but then I thought, this might be hurting my chances of getting employed, so I started selecting the “decline to identify” option instead. That still had no effect on my getting a job. So I decided to try an experiment: I created a fake job applicant and called her Bianca White.

First, I created an email account and resume for Bianca. I kept the same employment history and educational background on her resume that was listed on my own. But I removed my home phone number, kept my listed cell phone number, and changed my cell phone greeting to say, “You have reached Bianca White. Please leave a message.” Then I created an online Monster.com account, listed Bianca as a white woman on the diversity questionnaire and activated the account.

That very same day, I received a phone call. The next day, my phone line and Bianca’s email address were packed with potential employers calling for an interview. I was stunned. More shocking was that some employers, mostly Caucasian-sounding women, were calling Bianca more than once, desperate to get an interview with her. All along, my real Monster.com account was open and active; but, despite having the same background as Bianca, I received no phone calls. Two jobs actually did email me and Bianca at the same time. But they were commission-only sales positions. Potential positions offering a competitive salary and benefits all went to Bianca.

At the end of my little experiment, which lasted a week, Bianca White had received nine phone calls—I received none. Bianca had received a total of seven emails, while I’d only received two, which again happen to have been the same emails Bianca received. Let me also point out that one of the emails that contacted Bianca for a job wanted her to relocate to a different state, all expenses paid, should she be willing to make that commitment. In the end, a total of twenty-four employers looked at Bianca’s resume while only ten looked at mine.

Is this a conspiracy or what? I’m almost convinced that white Americans aren’t suffering from the same disparaging unemployment rates as their black counterparts because all the jobs are being saved for other white people.

Yes Yolanda, that conspiracy is called racism; yep, it’s something we as people of color know about all too well. C’mon sister, you, me, and the slew of black folks reading this have either all been down that road; or, we have all at least suspected that stuff like this happens. Like all racism and racist acts, some folks may not want to admit to its existence or occurrence in our lives.

Yes, for some, what Yolanda chronicled is yet another one of those convenient excuses for her circumstances. That is, Yolanda is simply making up this story, and is truthfully unemployed because she isn’t qualified for whatever positions she may have applied for. Yep, never mind the fact that she is educated; nope, never mind the fact that she has years of experience in her field. To some, none of that matters because society has taught them that all black folks are lazy, uneducated moochers , and complainers.

So why are you complaining, Yolanda?

My little experiment certainly proved a few things. First, I learned that answering the diversity questionnaire on job sites such as Monster.com’s may work against minorities, as employers are judging whom they hire based on it. Second, I learned to suspect that resumes with ethnic names may go into the wastebasket and never see the light of day.

Other than being chronically out of work, I embarked on this little experiment because of a young woman I met while I was in school. She was a 22-year-old Caucasian woman who, like myself, was about to graduate. She was so excited about a job she had just gotten with a well-known sporting franchise. She had no prior work experience and had applied for a clerical position, but was offered a higher post as an executive manager making close to six figures. I was curious to know how she’d been able to land such a position. She was candid in telling me that the human resource person who’d hired her just “liked” her and told her that she deserved to be in a higher position. The HR person was also Caucasian.

Another reason that pushed me to do this experiment is because of the media. There’s not a day that goes by in which I fail to see a news program about how tough the job market is. Recently, while I was watching a report on underemployed and underpaid Americans, I saw a middle-aged white man complaining that he was making only $80,000 which was $30,000 less than what he was making before. I thought to myself that in this economy, many would feel they’d hit the jackpot if they made 80K a year.

In conclusion, I would like to once again quote the late, great Booker T. Washington when he said, “You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.”

The more America continues to hold back great candidates based on race, the more our economy is going to stay in a rut. We all need each other to prosper, flourish, and to move ahead.

I hear you, Yolanda; yep, I’m with you when you right. And you know what? You are so right on point that it’s not even funny. That said, I won’t be surprised if one or two of the unconverted non-choir members among us will have something to say about your complaining after reading.

You know how it is, girl. Yep, they’re not racist because they have black friends; and, their color blindness doesn’t allow them tor hear their “friends” when they tell these type of stories. But then again, all black folks aren’t the same; yep, some of us complain about racial conspiracy theories a lot less than others, Uh huh, after all, who wants to be known as the against-the-grain shit-starting black person in the bunch, right? Yep, pointing out racism, is in fact, the new racism in America.

Check out Yolanda’s interview below:

The post Post-Racial Update: Black Woman Pretends to be White, Gets Job Offers appeared first on Madness & Reality.

American women are offered 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which exempts companies with fewer than 50 paid employees, but in 2011, only 11 percent of private sector workers and 17 percent of public workers reported that they had access to paid maternity leave through their employer. And for first-time mothers, only about half can take paid leave when they give birth.

At the same time that working women in the U.S. lack a benefit widely available across the globe, almost 50 percent of families had two working parents in 2010, and 26 percent of households were headed by single parents. Without guaranteed paid maternity leave, many of these working women face significant financial hardship by having to choose between their paycheck and their families.

Women are forced to put their careers and financial future at risk simply because they want to have children. During their pregnancy, they face being fired unfairly or not being able to properly care for themselves. They should not have to worry about making ends meet without paid maternity leave on top of that.

[…] Morris and Leeneeka Bell, who says she was fired by the Emergency Communications Center after her pregnancy left her on bed rest, announced their plans to file a lawsuit after the EEOC finding. Their attorney, Lisa Millican, says this is a clear-cut case of discrimination.

OK, so about that “being fired unfairly,” thingy:

(Reuters) – More than three decades after Congress passed a law trying to protect pregnant women in the workplace, discrimination is still widespread and needs to be combated with publicity and clearer guidelines, according to testimony Wednesday at a federal hearing.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s legal counsel, Peggy Mastroianni, said the agency had resolved 52,000 pregnancy cases since 2001, with $150.5 million paid out in damages.

Discrimination against pregnant women includes firing, forced leave without pay, being denied a place to pump breast milk and being barred from some work, witnesses told the five-member EEOC panel at a hearing on the issue.

Decades after the passage of the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act, discrimination ranges from the shop floor to the executive suite, with sexual stereotyping a major factor. It is found in every state, but is more likely to hit women in low-income jobs, they said.

[…]The Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbids discrimination by employers based on pregnancy, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments and promotions. Under the law, pregnancy is considered a temporarily disabling condition.

Yep, and you thought the so-called “war on women,” was just about birth control?

Two former Fulton County 911 operator trainees plan to sue the Georgia county, claiming they were fired for being pregnant.

One of the women secretly recorded a conversation she said she had with the director of the Emergency Communications Center, during which she asked for her job back after being fired.

Que'ana Morris & Leeneeka Bell said they are going to sue Fulton Co. after they say they were terminated for being pregnant.

In the recording obtained by ABC News, a person identified as department director Angela Barrett repeatedly refers to Que’ana Morris’ “situation” as the reason for her firing.

[…] Morris says in the two months before she was fired, she missed 16 days of work on doctor’s orders over complications with her pregnancy. She says she had permission to miss those days for medical reasons, and that it only became a problem after she was already fired.

I don’t know, but this seems like all types of wrong to me. What’s next, people getting fired for being a certain race? I know, I know, I know: something like that will never happen here in this country; but, this firing pregnant women thing is just ridiculous. But hey, maybe it’s a Georgia thing. According to another recent story, it’s okay for a cop to kick a pregnant women in the stomach.

The post Workplace Discrimination: Black Women Fired For Being Pregnant (VIDEO) appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Pearl Beck, 92, and her 51 year old son, Gregory are bigots. And they are going to have to pay for it to the tune of $25,500, the amount of restitution a federal court determined they owe college student Ranesha Halliburton for refusing to rent her a home because of her race. Gregory Beck pulled out the old “I am married to an American Indian” card to deny the racism inherent in his actions, and claims that he and his mother have gay, Mexican and Indian tenants, but have never rented to Black tenants because “We don’t see that many around here. … They don’t want to come up here because it’s too cold,”

The court found that the Becks violated the Fair Housing Act by denying Halliburton the rental property in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota that she was applying for in 2007. Although Halliburton was told that the property was no longer available, a month after she was turned down , it was rented to a white man. Gregory Beck claims that he and his mother never discriminated against Halliburton, and that the government “was lied to” and that officials “want to believe the minority because that is what they represent.”

Halliburton says she is not surprised that Gregory Beck denies mistreating her. She also says that despite her poor treatment by the Becks, she was determined to make her home in Detroit Lakes, and has since found a home with a “wonderful landlord”. She is working as a nurse’s assistant and attending college nearby. She has not let the Becks dissuade her from creating a life for herself in the town she has chosen to settle in.

But Halliburton was not about to let the Becks get away with their discriminatory behavior. She filed a report alleging discrimination, and will now receive compensation for her ordeal.

In its complaint, the federal government alleged that in July 2007, Halliburton answered an ad for a duplex unit for rent on West Lake Avenue in Detroit Lakes. In an initial telephone conversation, Pearl Beck said that the residence was available. She later acknowledged to HUD that she did not know the caller’s race at the time of the phone call.

But when Halliburton arrived to see the property with her boyfriend and his father, Pearl Beck said it was not for rent, adding, “No way. No way. It’s not for rent. I can’t do this. I’m not renting to these kinds of people.”

The next day, according to HUD, a white woman and acquaintance of Halliburton’s posed as a prospective renter and met Pearl Beck at the same property. The acquaintance asked Pearl Beck whether she rented to blacks or American Indians. The landlord responded, “A carload of them came by the other day, but I will keep that unit vacant or move in myself before renting to blacks.”

Halliburton contacted Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota, and one of its attorneys called Pearl Beck. She told the attorney that her tenants next door had told her that they would move out if she rented to “black people.” The attorney responded that that type of discrimination was illegal.

Beck then said Halliburton had dogs, and that was why she turned her down. She added that the home was too small for the prospective tenant, and that she planned to move in there herself.
As part of the agreement, the Becks paid Halliburton $25,500, and they must cease refusing to rent property based on race, display fair-housing materials in all of their rental properties and include the words “Equal Housing Opportunity” in any of their advertising material.

They also must attend a training program focusing on the race-related provisions of federal, state and local fair housing laws. (source)Interestingly enough, when I was in college, I took an undergraduate course in law, and the professor INSISTED that it was perfectly legal to discriminate when renting property. He claimed that if a landlord owns private property they have the right to decide who they do and do not want to rent to based on ANY factor they want to take into consideration.

Not true. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 forbids discrimination based on “race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability)”

But, of course, we all know that race based discrimination occurs in housing all the time. In fact, I am currently planning to relocate to another state, and the friend I am going to live near has already warned me that he cannot come apartment searching with me, because he is a Black man, and seeing him accompanying me on my search will bring out the racism in the landlords I encounter.

I have actually chosen to look only at apartment complexes for this very reason, as I have received information from my current landlord that my neighbors have been complaining for years about my choice of house guests. In fact, when the woman in the apartment next door to me moved in, the neighbors apparently confronted my landlord, telling him that they did not want him to accept a Black tenant. Luckily, he did not concede to their biased demands, but it just goes to show how widespread this type of unwritten policy of race based rental discrimination is.

It seems like private landlords in particular, those who have only a few rental properties, as opposed to companies that run apartment complexes, believe that they are perfectly justified in discriminating against Black potential tenants. In fact, I remember back in the 80s, a family member had a rental property she was advertising, and she absolutely refused to even consider allowing any non-white tenants.

It is definitely time to take these landlords who make decisions based on their bigotry to task, to hold them responsible for their actions. And let’s face it, there is nothing better than hitting them where it hurts… in their pockets.

QUESTION(S): Have you ever been the victim of housing discrimination? 

The post Post-Racial America Update: White Landlord Refuses to Rent to Black College Student appeared first on Madness & Reality.

By Eco.Soul.Intellectual

Sometimes you gotta put your foot in a little ass, and recently it was a narrow, pale Korean ass talking a whole bunch of shit in Atlanta.

You’ve already heard the news. An overweight black woman was charged extra at a nail salon because of her weight. According to the owner, big asses are breaking the spa chairs; resulting in an extra charge to cover future repairs.

Uhhhh, aren’t you supposed to put maintenance and repairs in your budget?

And since I’ve lived in Atlanta, I can verify that there ain’t nothing but big booties and thick chicks all through that city. Sooooo, maybe that salon owner needs to pack her shit and relocate.

That is why I’m calling women of every race who is over 200 lbs to visit that salon in Decatur and break all those bitches chairs. Get your feet all crusty and squat the fuck on them chairs and dare a bitch to tell you to move.

According to fat studies, discriminating against overweight, obese, fluffy, and big-boned people are grossly under-reported biases.

This incident is beyond insensitive, but to tell you the truth, I’ve been to Korea, and have spoken to some cool folk over there who keep it real on the perceptions that are spread in the country about African-Americans.
When I was in 18-years-old in Korea, a woman suggested that I could stand to lose some weight. I cringed but looked at her figure that was just nipples and an asshole and laughed. Perceptions of body beauty are definitely cultural.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve met some cool Koreans. But I also know how the pursuit of capital in this society will twist the worldviews of many. Ask the black folk who support the Arizona immigration bill.

Unfortunately, in the eye of many immigrant merchants, black Americans are mindless consumers who are trusted as far as their dollar hits the cashier’s hand.

On the flip side, that sister could stand to lose some pounds. Regardless if black folk like them thick or not. She was a little unhealthy. And I’m saying this becuase I love my sisters and we collectively need to work it out more.
Plus, the former patron prolly went there to get a cheap discount that exploited workers who sit in those toxic fumes all day. And I bet you a thousand dollars, she found another Korean owner who is talking more shit under her breath while she exfoliates the dead skin from her swollen feet.

Pay a little more money and go to a salon that respects you and your swollen ankles.

Blog on…EcoSoul

The post Bitch, Kiss My Corns & Scrub My Feet appeared first on Madness & Reality.

By Joanna (JuJuBe)

Obesity — defined as a body mass index, of 30 or higher — was associated with a 25 percent increase in the likelihood of major depression, bipolar disorder and panic disorder.

Although the risk of depression over a lifetime is about 20 percent, the study indicated that it is 28 percent among people who are obese, a statistically significant difference.

The link between obesity and mental illness was most pronounced among those who were more educated and had higher incomes. The association may be as high as 44 percent among individuals who had attended some college, according to the research. No significant differences between the sexes were found.

The study sparked debate over the chicken-and-egg question of which comes first — obesity or mental illness. One expert suggested that the two conditions perpetuate one another.”Source

I remember riding in a cab one day and discussing my experiences with mental illness with the driver. He told me “Just lose weight and all of your mental health issues will go away.” I was offended. 

But then I really sat and thought about what he said. I had to question whether there was kernel of truth to what he was saying. All my life I had told myself that if I was just thin, I would be happy. Then, these doctors had come along and told me that I was “mentally ill”- that I had a biological condition not related to my weight that caused me to suffer from depression, mood swings, and an inability to participate in health, mutually beneficial relationships.

It was so easy to accept the word of the doctors. After all, most people believe that an individual is fat because of their own laziness and lack of moral integrity. So, I had walked around believing that since my weight caused me misery, I had brought it all on myself. So, I quickly latched on to the “mental illness” theory because it meant that my issues were NOT MY FAULT.

Over time though, I have come to believe that the intersection of mental health and obesity is far more complex.

I have a condition called “borderline personality disorder” which presents as a severe problem establishing appropriate boundaries, obsessiveness, and fear of abandonment. A chemical component has NOT been established as a causative factor for BPD. It does not respond to medication. Most doctors believe that environmental factors (or “nurture”) have a larger role in the development of BPD than genetic or biological factors (or “nature”). Looking back over my life, I believe that I was so severely traumatized by the bullying I received as a child due to my weight issues that I developed maladaptive ways of coping which resulted in BPD.

So, I really hate my BPD diagnoses. Instead of blaming the people who constantly bullied me and the ones who failed to stand up and protect me, I blame myself. I feel like it was “my fault” that I was fat, and that the people who terrorized me were only responding to a situation I brought upon myself and could have prevented. Maybe if the societal messages that fat people are ugly, stupid, and worthless were not so strong, I would not have developed this disorder. Maybe BPD is not even real. Maybe it is just an excuse for my failure to thrive. I have even gone so far as to tell my doctor that BPD is not a “real” mental illness, and that the real problem is that I am a just a fucked up person (part of me has bought into the idea that most of society perpetuates- that mental illness is not a “real” disability and mentally ill people deserve derision, not support).

I wonder how many children will develop this disorder because they suffered at the hands of bullies? If our society was not so filled with hatred, if discrimination was not so acceptable, could the next generation have better mental health? Why do we consider it OK to mock people, especially children, for being different, and expect that there will not be serious consequences down the line?

I have also been diagnosed as being bipolar, and having generalized anxiety and panic disorder. These I can deal with. In fact, I sometimes ENJOY these diagnoses, since they give me an excuse for my bad behavior and actions. If I hurt someone I love, I can tell them it was the mania talking. When I am too lazy to go shopping, go to work, or even shower, I can say it is because of my depression. And maybe I am telling the truth.

Depression causes changes in appetite. Some people eat exorbitant amounts of food when they are depressed, simply because it provides them comfort. I know when I become extremely down or very anxious, eating helps to relieve some of the tension. So, for many people, depression can lead to weight gain. I believe that depression from childhood contributed to my weight gain when I was younger.

So, did my mental illness cause me to become fat or did the fact that I was fat cause me to become mentally ill? I do not know, but I suspect that the answer is not so cut and dried. I think that I became fat for a variety of reasons, including depression, genetics, and laziness. I believe that the torment I faced at the hands of my peers as a child triggered my predisposition towards depression, and that my depression caused my weight gain to spiral out of control. And from there is was a vicious cycle. The more I ate, the fatter I got.The fatter I got, the more depressed I became. The more depressed I became, the more I ate. And the fatter I got, the more I was tormented. The more I was tormented, the more my coping mechanisms became maladaptive.

I think that if someone had recognized that I was suffering as a child and had interceded on my behalf I would be healthier today. If so much stigma was not attached to being overweight, I would not have gotten to the point where food was my only friend. If I had been treated with kindness instead of ridiculed as a child, I would be a different person than I am today.

Would I be fat? I do not know. Would I have been mentally ill? Again, I cannot answer that question. But, it is what it is. I AM fat. I AM mentally ill. And, if I work really hard, I KNOW I can be a happy, successful person despite both of those facts.

The post Does “fat” and “crazy” go hand in hand? appeared first on Madness & Reality.

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.” — Elie Wiesel

I realize that the debate over the building of an Islamic center near Ground Zero in downtown Manhattan may not be issue number one. Yes, and I’m fully aware that any attention paid to this debate plays directly into the strategy of right-wing politicians. However, unlike Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), we must not cave to the pressures of the noise-makers on the right.

To do so would be a compromise of our principles, ideals, and everything that we celebrate about America. And that would be, the very freedoms and rights afforded to everyone per the U.S. Constitution. The very same Constitution and American way of life that countless American-Muslims have died in service to the country with the utmost honor and sacrifice.

SIDE NOTE: While people protest the “Ground Zero Mosque”, nobody has said a word about the Mosque that exists within the walls of the Pentagon. Was that not also a target of Islamic extremists on 9/11? Are Muslims not allowed to serve in the military?

But don’t tell that to the people protesting; for only they know just what it is to be American. Don’t mention the fact that American Muslims lost their lives in the tragedy that was 9/11. Further, don’t mention to them that Islam is a religion of peace, that gets a bum rap due in large part to the political pandering and fear-mongering of politicians, and xenophobes alike.

Whatever you do, just like the words of the late great Howard Zinn suggests: “You cannot stay neutral on a moving train.” Hopefully you stand for what is right, and what is American; I know I am, and hell I don’t even do religion. I do however do politics because it impacts my life, and I believe in being as free as the U.S. Constitution allows the next man.

The post The “Not-So-Ground-Zero” Mosque & Right-Wing Islamophobia appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Today is my birthday; yes, today I’m 40yrs old. I jokingly said to a friend of mine yesterday, that anytime a black man in America lives to be 40yrs old and has never been to prison, he should be given some form of a tax break. We can call it a black tax or whatever you wanna call it, but the truth remains, that a distinct percentage of us are not as fortunate.

But anyway, speaking of the struggles of black men. Check out the following video which was featured in an article by Colorlines. In it, it illustrates just how employment policy ensures that some of us are excluded from the above-ground economy. Which, when you think of the fact that one in every four African Americans are currently underemployed. The site Sociological Images makes a point that further underscores the plight of many people of color:
Seventy-five percent of people who have left prison are currently unemployed.  When we see criminal recidivism, or the return to crime after release from prison, we should consider the possibility that we are essentially forcing people to turn to the “underground economy” by shutting them out of the “above ground” one.The effect this has on communities of color is devastating, to say the least. As we seek to rebound from this financial meltdown, and with the focus being on job creation by the administration. Not much is said about the blatant discriminatory practices and policies that affect us disproportionately, relative to other groups.

For example:
With millions of adults having criminal records — anything from underage drinking to homicide — a growing number of job seekers are having a rough time finding work. And more companies are trying to screen out people with bankruptcies, court judgments or other credit problems just as those numbers have swollen during the recession.

Just ask Adrienne Hudson [pictured above], a single mother who says she was fired from her new job as a bus driver at First Transit in Oakland, Calif., when the company found out she had been convicted seven years earlier for welfare fraud.

Hudson, 44, is fighting back with a lawsuit alleging the company’s hiring practice discriminates against black and Latino job seekers, who have arrest and conviction rates far greater than whites. A spokesman for First Transit said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

“People make mistakes,” said Hudson, who is black, “but when they correct their mistake, they should not be punished again outside of the court system.” (source)So what’s the point in focusing on job creation – particularly in communities of color – when discriminatory practices such as criminal background checks (and credit checks) are used to “inadvertently” exclude a significant percentages of our citizens? Upon repaying their debt to society, should they then be forced to live under a “life sentence” of exclusion from an “above-ground” job market?

The post Criminal Background Checks: A Hidden Life Sentence for People of Color appeared first on Madness & Reality.

“none of the trashy kind that come in, we don’t want that. we’re not trying to sell our clothes to them. try to find some of these classy black girls, with nice hair, you know?”

i will remember that forever, especially the “nice hair” part. he was instructing another manager and i on who to look for during an upcoming open call, and i sat there dumbfounded, listening to him speak while the other manager made “uh huh, got it” sounds on her end of the phone. the other manager on the call with me later became a district manager, and at one point instructed me to tell two of my employees (both of whom happened to be black females) to stop straightening their hair. i refused to do this, but wondered if the mentality behind her request was related to what dov had said.If you’re asking yourself if they asked them to stop straightening their hair (and most likely go and stay natural), don’t  You read that correctly.

I am not surprised by this.  American Apparel’s CEO Dov Charney is a little pervert who is living out his teenage revenge fantasies to screw impressionable, and quite thirsty, chicks who want to model.   I’m also not surprised that a fashion establishment has an issue with black consumers.  We know the game.  What I am totally surprised at is the possible implication, for once in all my 28 years of life, that natural hair is nice hair…

Back in 2009, I did a post on sisters with natural hair appearing to be everywhere in media (ie commercials, billboards, magazine ads, etc.). I wondered then if this was a message to black women that perhaps the relaxed hair carried a stigma that companies no longer wanted to have attached to their brand.

I guess I appreciate the intention, but fuck the attack on black women.  This is just trashy.  It completely negates the positive message that natural hair is desirable because it’s natural. How can we overlook the connotation that trashy could possibly equal relaxed, weaved up, etc.?  Especially considering the idea that straight hair being “professional” is something that white corporations put forth?

“We are no longer threatened, black women.  You can wear your natural hair now!” 

Either way, I would like to see more and more companies encourage natural hair.  I wonder why black women with natural hair seem to be at the forefront of advertising as well.  I think it has a lot to do with exoticism, but something organic.  Perhaps they think it adds a certain authenticity to the product? 

I have a feeling that more black women would go natural if they felt comfortable doing so, and without fear of losing their jobs.  Unfortunately, American Apparel is too shitty of a company to do it right…

P.S. I am SO glad I never bought shit from them…

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Lemme get right on in and say that this is something I fully support. And no, I’m not saying this because I myself posses less than impeccable credit. I’ve always been of the opinion that it was some unnecessary tool used against people seeking employment. I mean, the only thing that should matter is a criminal background check; because, well, nobody likes the idea of sitting next to a serial rapist or child molester at work for eight hours a day. To me, that’s more pertinent information to be considered when screening job applicants. Whether they are currently forced to put their utilities in the name of their kids or how many bankruptcies they’ve filed are of no consequence. I have some more to say on this but checkout this press release and tell me what you think:
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It’s hard enough to find a job in this economy, and now some people are facing another hurdle: Potential employers are holding their credit histories against them.

Sixty percent of employers recently surveyed by the Society for Human Resources Management said they run credit checks on at least some job applicants, compared with 42 percent in a somewhat similar survey in 2006.

Most of the bills being proposed this year resemble laws in Hawaii and Washington that prevent employers from using credit reports when hiring for most positions. The laws contain exceptions in cases where such information could be relevant to the job — for example, if the person is applying to work in a bank or an accounts-payable office. (Read More: Yahoo News)The article goes on to show how opponents of this measure suggest that there is a direct correlation between people with bad credit and workplace fraud. Which is bullshit because there really isn’t any empirical evidence to support this claim; and the practice is as egregiously discriminatory as is the assumption that black people, generally posses poor credit scores. I can tell you as someone with a background in marketing and sales, that on more than one occasion, at different companies, I was reminded to “stay away” from black consumers because of said assumption.

That said, I can’t help but to think of just how this is used as a tool to further discriminate against people of color on the sly when it comes to employment- people who are already behind the eight ball as the income gap continues to widen. But I guess it’s important to be sure to hire people who are less apt to steal food from the office refrigerator.
Even though more companies are using credit checks, only 13 percent perform them on all potential hires, according to the Society for Human Resources Management’s most recent survey. Mike Aitken, the group’s director of government affairs, said a blanket ban could remove a tool employers can use to help them make good hiring decisions.

Aitken said someone who cannot pay his or her bills on time may not be more likely to steal, but might not have the maturity or sense of responsibility to handle a job like processing payroll checks.With Blacks and Latinos disproportionately affected by the economic fallout – especially the ones targeted by sheisty predatory lenders – it’s sad that along with worrying about their applications being pushed to the bottom of the pile just on the strength of having an “ethnic sounding” name. They now have to contend with having to navigate the job market at a disadvantage because of their credit score. The gentleman highlighted in the story above – Terry Becker – is white man and even he had a hard time finding employment. That said, I don’t have to tell you just how this practice moving forward as the economy recovers would affect people of color.

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