(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Why Affirmative Action? A Personal Story [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-08 My son went through something, and in view of the recent supreme court decision getting rid of affirmative action in college admission decisions, I thought his experience worth relating. First some context. My son graduated with a master’s degree in Environmental Policy in 2019. School was tough for him, as he had reading comprehension problems that required he go over his assignments multiple times before he got what was going on. He kept his nose to the grindstone however, in the belief that all his hard work would pay off in the end. He finished both his undergrad and graduate studies with A’s and B’s, and hit the job market running. After four years of looking though, he has had no luck. It’s not as though there are a lack of environmental science jobs out there. My son has white friends who did not do nearly as well as him in school, or who took twice as long to graduate because they needed to pause their studies numerous times to “find themselves”, who are now on their third and fourth job. My son is happy for them of course, but it is a constant reminder of how unfair things are for him as a Black man, versus those less melanomically inclined. Initially, my son was determined to make it on his own, and so was forced to do a one-year stint with Americorps. It was a good experience, but Americorps is more designed for undergraduates and pays less than minimum wage. That whole year he continued to look for a real job, but after not a single offer, he was forced to do another year at Americorps. Four years on now, he is totally demoralized, and the spark of ambition I used to love to see in him is thoroughly extinguished. Pure stubbornness keeps him responding to job openings he finds, but he refuses to get his hopes up any more. As his father, it breaks my heart. I try my best to keep his spirits up, and let him know that I went through the same type of thing, as did my father, and every Black man I know for that matter. I tell him that it is not fair, but it is the way of things in this country, and he has to keep his head up and keep plugging away. I advise him to start looking in areas of the country outside of the Seattle area, and maybe he needs to consider taking an otherwise menial job to help make ends meet as he continues to look for a professional gig. He is considering all of these things, but does not want to feel like he is “giving up” by moving or taking a job flipping burgers. I understand why he feels that way too. He did all the right things. He studied hard, got good grades, and never got into any trouble. He’s a good kid and does not deserve to be treated this way. I had always wanted to tell his story, but he was reluctant to give me details of specific bad experiences for fear of making waves – he knows that’s exactly what I would do. After visiting him recently thought, he opened up about some things and I thought I’d share one of his experiences. And let me be crystal clear, the story I am about to relate is by no means an isolated incident.. First the lead: If you are a Black person, NEVER, EVER, apply for a job with Materials Testing and Consulting Inc. out of Burlington, Washington. First, they will never hire you, and second, they will go out of their way to make the experience an extremely humiliating one. My son was recommended to them in the fall of 2019 by one of his undergraduate geology professors at the University of Puget Sound, where he had graduated in 2017. The professor knew that MTC regularly hired geology graduates with no work experience. My son sent them his resume and they called him in for an interview. My son had gotten his master’s degree in Environmental Policy the previous June, and had some related work experience with Americorps. He was obviously more qualified than the people MTC normally hired for the position my son had applied for – again, undergraduates straight out of school, no work experience at all - so he figured he was a shoe in. He got to their offices on time in his suit and tie, fully prepped. To his surprise, they gave him a cursory description of what the company did, and asked him exactly one question: “When can you start work?”. They then took a copy of his driver’s license because there would be driving of company vehicles. The whole process took a grand total of less than fifteen minutes. In his naivete, my son was actually elated. He figured with the recommendation from the geology professor, and his additional master’s degree, MTC probably thought they did not need to ask him anything else, as he was so obviously more than qualified for the job. It did not take long for my son to get the bad news. A few days later he got a call saying they could not hire him because he had a bad driving record. My son immediately told them that he had not gotten so much as a parking ticket, let alone anything serious like a speeding ticket. “Sorry” they said, “There is nothing we can do.” When I initially heard this, I knew exactly what was going on, having, as I said, experienced this type of thing in my own life. My son though, again being naïve, went and braved the hell that was the local motor vehicle department and paid for a copy of his driving record. It, of course, came back pristine, just as he had initially told Materials Testing and Consulting. He called them back to let them know. “Sorry, we gave the job to someone else.” My son was crushed, especially when I told him that MTC had obviously just made the bad driving record story up as an excuse so they could deny him the job. I let him know that no one these days is actually allowed to say out loud they are not hiring someone because of their race, so they make up stuff like this, thinking Black people are too stupid to know any better. Now, I know there is not much I can do about companies such as Material Testing and Consulting, but I can get the word out about their reprehensible behavior. Here’s hoping this post goes viral and as many people as possible are alerted to the type of company it is. I hope they never get another contract, and that other young Black people can avoid the hurt my son had to go through. What has this got to do with the supreme court’s recent decision gutting Affirmative Action programs? I’m glad you asked. Think about this: would getting rid of these programs in college have stopped Materials Testing and Consulting from treating my son with contempt as they did? I’ll let supreme court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s words from her dissent tell it: “With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.” Amen sister. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/8/2179995/-Why-Affirmative-Action-A-Personal-Story Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/