Let's Start Talking

I just watched the speech that Barack Obama gave on race in Philadelphia. It was brilliant, and I feel called to write. It is important for us all to talk about discrimination in all its forms. How do I personally feel about race in America? I will say that as a white woman I am very rarely called to examine my whiteness. In fact, I am curious how many white people think about their race at all unless they are filling out some survey that asks or if they are a part of a rare conversation about race. I am often called, though, by myself and society to examine my place in that society based on gender. When men whistle at me from across the street, when men comment on my body as I pass them, when I wake up in the morning and have to decide how to dress and most importantly when I see a man being paid more for the same job, I am forced to view myself not first as my consciousness perceives me, but as the world sees me- a woman. My gender informs my consciousness it does not define it. I can only imagine that is how life is for most black people in America. They are viewed first as black and then as whole individual they truly are. Let's be honest it's easy to do. When you meet someone or pass them on the street your mind discerns whatever information it can. Color and gender are two easy things to pick up. It is only when assumptions are made based on that discernment that problems exist. We live in a male- dominated and white- dominated patriarchy- there are assumptions made about race and gender all the time that society at large does not call into question. For example, I held a job where I know I was paid less than a man who was doing the same job. But, wait, it wasn't the same job, I was in a sort of management position. Now, when it comes to money in the office there is a unspoken rule against asking your coworkers how much money they make. But, the reality is the "rule" is in place so we don't find out how much disparity there is between colleagues doing the same work. Why is it easier to pay a man more money for the same job? Well, let's look at the reasons. A man is saving for his future and the future of his family (and even if he doesn't have a family, he will someday, so it would behoove you to pay him well now. After all it's for the betterment of society to have well established financially stable families). A woman, on the other hand, even if she has a family probably needs the money to buy shoes. This disparity is further promoted by our government in the way that the Supreme Court recently ruled on equal pay and the Congress failed to pass legislation in reaction to the ruling. The woman who brought the suit against her employer had worked there for years not knowing that a disparity existed. She was probably following the "rule" to not ask colleagues how much they were making. She found out after years of service to the company that the difference was quite significant. She filed a claim against the company. The Supreme Court ruled that a claim must be filed against an employer within a 180 day time frame from the point at which the discrimination occurred. So, basically when you are hired to do a job or promoted you have 180 days to interview/ interrogate all the other employees with the same job duties as you. Once you find out the information (hopefully it didn't take all 180 days) you should head directly to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and file a charge against the company instead of heading to your HR department where you might get the answers you would like and probably not ruffle quite as many feathers. Good luck with that. How did my story end? It ended the way I'm sure thousands of women and minority people's do. I intended on saying something all along, but when confronted with the actual asking I risked losing a job that I thought I desperately needed at the time. I did ask for more money for one project where the responsibility completely laid with me and I got it, but not before I was berated on how my boss that his bills were four times what mine are (Yes, he said this, and I about fell out of my chair). I decided after this conversation that I would not say anything and leave the company not having ruffled feathers. Because I am an actor (actress) I have to have many jobs that I can go back to after I finish a show. No one company can guarantee me my slot back when the show is over, so I have tried to build a net for myself. This job with all its quirks is one of those in the net. Conclusion: No feathers ruffled, but the ones on my own broke behind.
I started this discussion with my own story because I think it illustrates how easily discrimination can occur and how hard it is to stand up. What happened in the 50s, 60s and 70s in America in relation to race and gender was that people stood up, they talked, and things changed. We have succumbed to being an America that is frightened of talking about issues of race and gender. It isn't polite conversation and really things are better. This is true things are better, but as Barack Obama so brilliantly put it "This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected."
Tell your story. Make it personal. Show the world that disparities exist in the hope that once we are no longer ignorant of other's suffering we may all come to love our neighbor as we love ourselves and respect one another because we are capable of understanding.