COVERITLIVE.COM

11:05

Web Editor - Steve and James will be joining us shortly.

11:05

James Ragland -

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining Steve and me for what we hope will be a lively exchange. We've gotten some great feedback on our latest Talking Race installment, and we really appreciate it. I was at my local coffee shop this morning and one of the regulars informed me that her women's group ended up talking about race matters themselves after reading our joint column. That's what we like to hear.

So, fire away. Let me hear what's on your mind this morning. Steve is having what I hope is a slight technical problem, so he will join our chat shortly.

11:09

Steve Blow - Thanks for not making a joke about the white guy always being late, James. I'm here and ready to Talk Race.

11:09

[Comment From Kimberly]
Hello.

11:09

Steve Blow - Hi, Kimberly. What are your thoughts these days on race relations in America?

11:09

[Comment From Kimberly]
I personally don't think that race relations are that bad from the circle of friends that I have but I am starting to feel that my race is affecting me in getting certain jobs

11:10

Steve Blow - What is your race, Kimberly. And can you give us a quick example of the problem you are sensing?

11:10

[Comment From Kimberly]
I am African American or black or brown or whatever you want to call it. (Smile)

11:10

[Comment From Kimberly]
I went on a job interview recently at a company in Ft. Worth

11:11

[Comment From JS]
What has been the reader feedback on your columns?

11:11

[Comment From Kimberly]
For instance, I recently went on a job interview at a company that I wont name but as soon as I walked in, I could tell that they were shocked that I was black

11:13

James Ragland -

Hey, JS. Most folks are saying they simply appreciate the forum and the candid discussion that Steve and I have. Of course, readers have their own specific and partisan views about politics, so a lot of folks are saying Obama is the greatest thing since the advent of sliced bread, and others still can't stomach him. I think, and Blow can correct me if I'm wrong, most folks like Black History Month.

11:14

Steve Blow - Kimberly, I don't doubt for a moment that there are still businesses full of outright prejudice and others that are just uptight and nervous about making that first black hire. If it was the latter, I sure hope it was a very, very small company!

11:16

Steve Blow - JS, the thing that came through loudest in e-mail response to me is that people just really, really want to put racial talk/controversy/fixation behind them. Now, I'm guessing that these are mostly white people who find it easy to believe everything is fine now and we should just move on.

11:17

[Comment From Kimberly]
The company was somewhat small but after I did a little research on the company, I found that they had a lot of negative comments from previous employees who felt that the owner was a jerk

11:17

James Ragland -

Kim, most black Americans still perceive a greater problem with race than white Americans. A poll commissioned by The Washington Post-ABC News last month found that fewer blacks and whites view racism as a "big problem" in our society than did so in mid-1996. But, 44 percent of blacks still see racism as a large societal problem compared to 22 percent of white. (In '96, 70 percent of blacks and 52 percent of whites saw racism as a large problem.)

I'm glad to see those numbers getting better. But we clearly still have some work to do.

11:17

[Comment From Kimberly]
I was actually shocked but the position was a total fit for me

11:18

Steve Blow - I think that's the challenge facing a lot of folks of color today. How do you know when you are dealing with a bigot vs. a jerk? I certainly run into people on a daily basis who seem cool toward me or indifferent or sometimes just plain rude. Fortunately, I don't have to wonder if they are treating me that way because of my skin color.

11:18

[Comment From thea]
Kimberly, are you new to the job market (a recent grad) or have you been working for a while?

11:19

[Comment From Kimberly]
No , not at all, I've been in the business for well over 15 years and have a "fairly" impressive resume

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