Systemic Racism Explained

SYSTEMIC RACISM EXPLAINED MY WAY

After graduating from college, I applied for a job as a Social Worker. I took a test and was highly placed on the list. I fully expected to be hired soon. I was told to keep checking back with the County to find out when to report to work. I checked back a few days later only to be told that I was at a lower number on the list. The person I spoke with claimed not to know what happened to place me lower on the list. She told me to keep checking back. Every subsequent inquiry resulted in my being told that I was moving down the list. I finally gave up and applied successfully with another company.

A friend of mine was confused as to why I was working for another company in a lesser job when I was qualified to be a Social Worker. I told her that for some reason I was moving down the list and no one was able to explain it.

My friend spoke with her friend, a County employee in another section about the situation. Her friend decided to look into the matter. She was told that I wasn’t hired because there was an N beside my name. No one was able to tell her what the N stood for, or who had put the N beside my name, but everyone knew that an N beside the name meant that person should not be   hired. The candidate was not rejected outright, but simply allowed to move down the list until they gave up or the list expired.

According to her report that upon further investigation, she learned that not everyone got an N beside their name. The candidates with lower test scores and subsequent low placements on the list didn’t get an N since they were not likely to be reached for hiring anyway. In this way, the N was reserved for those undesirables likely to be hired. Negroes could then be on the list without an N and the powers that be could say that not every one on the list got an N and therefore the N didn’t necessarily stand for Negro. Still there was no explanation as to why anyone received the don’t hire marking that was high on the list. All of the employees in the personnel section acted on it while claiming not to understand the how,why, or even the meaning of the N. The goal to keep Negroes from being hired though, seemed to be universally acceptable without question or concern.

That is systemic racism. I know it exists because I experienced it and so have many others. It is automatic discrimination that allows the discriminator to participate without responsibility.