African American Vignette #9
A young white woman is doing some volunteer work at a county housing project. As she enters one of the buildings, she asks an African American man, the manager of the housing project, if he is the janitor. He tells her he is the manager. After the woman leaves, a co-worker asks the manager if he is upset about the interaction. “No”, he says. “It happens all the time.”
Commentary to African American Vignette #9
The stereotype of African Americans not being capable of handling jobs that require mental ability is unfortunately still with us. It gets reinforced by the fact that black people often have less access to such positions. Stereotypically we tend to associate black folks with physical work like cleaning.
We are not necessarily responsible for holding such stereotypes. For many of us they have been a part of the air we breathe. We are responsible, however, for being aware that we hold them and for being open to experience and information which may prove these stereotypes false.
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