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More
Than
Capable
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Today, a colleague of mine asked another person
of color why our people patronize Caucasian American establishments or
use Caucasian American professionals over their African American
counterparts. To my surprise, their response was “maybe they think they
can get a better deal from those establishments or maybe those
professionals can get them better services.” |
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Now, that
saddens me. Now, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with
freedom of choice. If you want to patronize a Caucasian American,
Latino American, Native American, or Asian American establishment or
professional, by all means, knock yourself out.
.:read more:.
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However, I worry when people of
my own race equate services by
someone of their own race as
being of lesser quality.
Maybe I’m being too
sensitive. Maybe I’m reading too much into the current
state. Maybe I’m naïve.
I guess, in my mind, I
can’t get over the fact that 3 generations ago, my
people were limited to a very few select career
choices. I guess, in my mind, I can’t get over the fact
that 2 generations ago, my people had more career
choices but could only work in limited areas. I guess,
in my mind, I can’t get over the fact that 1 generation
ago, my people were fighting to break into the
mainstream. I guess, in mind, I can’t get over the fact
that in MY generation, my people provide an infinite
amount of services and are engaging in professions on
the global scale.
So why am I so sensitive??
So why am I so concerned???
Time and time
again, you hear dialogue and rhetoric from all races
about how far we’ve come. How much we’ve
accomplished. How we have progressed. Don’t get
me wrong…we have come a very long way.
I guess it bothers me
when I hear someone from our own race belittling or
discounting the ability of someone in our culture
because they ‘perceive’ that someone of another ethnic
group can do it better.
As Tavis Smiley
once said, we (African Americans) have to be twice as
good and five times as careful. A lot of African
Americans today, whether they are college educated,
corporate professionals, or blue collar workers,
understand that they usually have several strikes
against them. They should all be commended for their
effort and determination. However, the last thing they
should have to be subjected to is a ‘presumed’ negative
perception that people of their own culture, who have
the same education and experience, are ‘less than’
capable.
Anthony Reeves, Esq. is the owner
of a multi-media site (reeves@anthonyreeves.com)
and managing partner of his own law firm (www.reevesfirm.com).
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