Being Black in the Work Place

[Baluug]

I can understand that for a Somali, it is just as hard any other person of African descent to get a job in the white-controlled "developed world", but just a word of advice......It's not smart to align yourself with other black people just because of your colour. Most African-Americans are decidedly non-Muslim, especially in the dirty South, where they're mostly devout baptists, who seem to be the worst and most prejudiced against muslims. I'm of the opinion that if they had a choice between a black Muslim and a white christian, they'd choose the white christian. I'm sure that I would help my African Muslim brothers and sisters before most African christians would, and the Muslims are the only group in the world I feel proud to associate myself with, because to tell you the truth, not all white people are like me, and not all black people are like you.

[Cara.]

Castro, I didn't say that I disagree with the principle of affirmative action, just that I would find it personally discomfitting.

 

And speaking of dog-eat-dog, have you ever heard of the phrase "publish or perish"? There's a lot more background xin and hustling going on in the ivory tower than people figure.

 

Mr. Jibis, you pretty much expressed the same sentiments you ascribe to the Christian Blacks: you would help your co-religionists (the African Muslims) while they would help theirs (the White Christians). Likewise many Somalis feel a greater affinity for their Arab brethren than they do for the Christian Africans. Isn't it a good thing that similarity of values trumps skin color?

 

All things being equal, a Somali has more in common with Blacks than they do with Whites. Remember, you want to compare the Blacks from the deep south with the Whites from the deep south. Those Whites are not only conservative/evangelical Christians, but many still have rather dated opinions about race and foreigners.

 

With respect to Blacks and Somalis, we don't have a choice about throwing in our lot with them. For one thing, job applications have a box you can check for race, and the closest one applicable is "Black" (unless "Other" is calling to you). A prospective employer is hardly going to let you clarify that, really, you don't consider yourself Black because you're Somali.

[Baluug]

Originally posted by Callypso:

Mr. Jibis, you pretty much expressed the same sentiments you ascribe to the Christian Blacks: you would help your co-religionists (the African Muslims) while they would help theirs (the White Christians). Likewise many Somalis feel a greater affinity for their Arab brethren than they do for the Christian Africans. Isn't it a

good thing

that similarity of values trumps skin color?

 

All things being equal, a Somali has more in common with Blacks than they do with Whites. Remember, you want to compare the Blacks from the deep south with the Whites from the deep south. Those Whites are not only conservative/evangelical Christians, but many still have rather dated opinions about race and foreigners.

 

With respect to Blacks and Somalis, we don't have a choice about throwing in our lot with them.

Yes, it is a good thing that religion trumps skin color, and that was the point I was making, is that yes, you are black, but be vary wary of grouping yourselves with them in any other case, because really, skin color is the only thing Somalis have in common with African-Americans. And I wasn't necessarily comparing blacks and whites from the deep south, I was just using the southern black people as an example as to how different some of them are when compared to Somali people, and that yes, religious beliefs, or similarity of values, does trump skin colour.

 

And that was the point I was trying to make, that while you are right that you really have no choice in North America or Europe, people don't differentiate between you and any other Africans, you're all black to them. But in every other case, you should align yourselves with Muslims and no one else.

 

Basically what I mean is be cautious when you are speaking for black people or trying to represent them, because some of those black people are against you, simply because of your religious beliefs.

 

And just one question.......Where do you live that the job applications have a box where you check off what race you are? We don't have that in Canada. Actually by law(I believe), every job application in Canada has to have a copy of the section of the law which states that employers cannot include any questions on an application which may reveal an applicant's skin colour, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors which may lead to discrimination.

[Baashi]

The fact is Americans are race conscious people and the country has a history of racism. Government institutions as well as the corporate culture reflect this race bias which is deeply embedded in the people’s psychic. There is also a different kind of under table discrimination masqueraded as “networkingâ€. All things (credentials, experience, and what not) being equal, if you don’t have personal social network circle wide enough that can get you in touch with the hiring manager, you won’t get the position under consideration. The old adage “It's not what you know, but who you know†is very true in corporate America.

 

Now when you combine the two namely the racist attitudes of the majority and the culture of “networkingâ€, it is easy to understand that blacks are in a tough position. There aren’t that many blacks in decision-making positions nor are there many blacks in medical, engineering, and law fields (the high paying jobs). Considering these facts, it is an uphill battle for a young black lawyer, for instance, to attain the much prized “upward mobility†in his profession.

[Cara.]

I understand where you are coming from, Mr. Jibis.

 

Yes, it is a good thing that religion trumps skin color, and that was the point I was making, is that yes, you are black, but be vary wary of grouping yourselves with them in any other case, because really, skin color is the only thing Somalis have in common with African-Americans.

Not necessarily. Somalis tend to live in the same neighborhoods, send their kids to the same schools, form the same job applicant pool. Thus it would be foolish not to align with blacks because Somalis will have more in common, for the most part, with other blacks than they will with whites in the same town (except for a few exceptions like your self, but even so, I suspect more blacks convert to Islam than whites). Even in terms of values, I think Somalis share more of them with blacks than we do with whites (Baptists may not like Muslims but at least they are religious and frown on homosexuality, abortion, etc).

 

It is a complicated world.

[Baluug]

Originally posted by Callypso:

Even in terms of values, I think Somalis share more of them with blacks than we do with whites (Baptists may not like Muslims but at least they are religious and frown on homosexuality, abortion, etc).

 

It is a complicated world.

I'm not telling you to align with whites before blacks, though, I'm just saying to align yourselves with the Muslims.