{"id":385,"date":"2011-08-19T09:22:20","date_gmt":"2011-08-19T09:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/?p=385"},"modified":"2025-03-17T09:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T09:22:53","slug":"the-myth-of-meritocracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/the-myth-of-meritocracy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Myth of Meritocracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

People who know me know that I have a healthy National Public Radio (NPR) addiction.\u00a0 As of late, it has become a habit to tune in at work. \u00a0On Tuesday as I sat at my desk, On Point, a daily opinion call-in show, aired a segment, \u201cJobless in America\u201d (http:\/\/onpoint.wbur.org\/2011\/08\/16\/jobless-today-in-america<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0 Two of the guests, both white and unemployed, talked about their experiences with unemployment and their sense of betrayal for \u201chaving done everything right,\u201d yet finding themselves unemployed: a situation they never anticipated.<\/p>\n

Although I empathize with those who have lost their jobs during the ongoing recession and are experiencing economic hardships, I must admit that I\u2019m also partially annoyed by the notion that White middle class workers should expect a guaranteed job and a certain lifestyle.\u00a0 As the introduction to the show states:<\/p>\n

\n

\u2026There are not enough jobs, by a long shot. It\u2019s crushing individuals and families right now. We\u2019ll hear from some today.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s putting a huge dent in our national future. Changing things we love most about this country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As I listened to the show and even now as I read these words, what I hear is the collective anxiety and loss of identity that middle class White Americans are experiencing.\u00a0 This is not the first NPR or other media outlet show that has broadcast the woes of our society as being the conundrum of those who\u00a0ordinarily<\/em>\u00a0would expect to never have\u00a0this<\/em>\u00a0problem.<\/p>\n

From my position as an African American woman, people of color have historically experienced unemployment and underemployment without questioning whether or not we\u00a0should<\/em>\u00a0believe in the American Dream. \u00a0In fact my favorite poem, Langston Hughes\u2019, \u201cHarlem\u201d or \u201cA Dream Deferred\u201d (depending on the publication source) as well as the Lorraine Hansberry\u2019s play, \u201cA Raisin in the Sun\u201d speak to the frustrations that people of color, in this case African Americans, have suffered historically when they have tried to assert their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.\u00a0 Rather than the NPR story continuing to promulgate the notion that our current joblessness threatens the fabric of our society, I posit that this is an opportunity to really question the notion of meritocracy.<\/p>\n

We live in a society that promotes the idea that as individuals we all have the right and ability to realize our dreams through our own hard work and effort.\u00a0 But when you peel back the layers of that notion, you find that we are a nation of individuals who stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us.\u00a0 David Horwitt (2008) reminds us that every society employs myths in order to explain how those who are privileged are more deserving that those who are not.\u00a0 In his essay, \u201cThis Hard-Earned Money Comes Stuffed in Their Genes,\u201d Horwitt discusses the multiple ways in which people gain advantage through no effort of their own.\u00a0 A primary means of unearned gains is inheritance.\u00a0 Though he cites a\u00a0Forbes<\/em>\u00a0article about the wealthiest 400 people who largely inherited their wealth, consider the more typical types of inheritance: a house that is passed down, or jewelry, stocks and bonds, property, vehicles, and so on.\u00a0 These are all units of wealth that lessen the burden upon the individual who now has a commodity simply because the parent left it to the child.\u00a0 Another form of this is a business.\u00a0 Lucrative or not, it is collateral that can be negotiated for personal profit and gain.\u00a0 Other, less obvious advances are college admissions.\u00a0 Many colleges and universities (particularly those top-ranked colleges and university) admit just as many legacy applicants as they do non-legacy applicants.\u00a0 Today, getting into a college or university has become increasingly important.\u00a0\u00a0 Even with our current downturn, those who have a college education have lower rates of unemployment[1]<\/a>\u00a05.4% in comparison to 10.3% for those who only have a high school diploma<\/p>\n

We are suffering from an unprecedented economic shift.\u00a0 We are no longer alone, but are competing for jobs in a global economy where\u00a0no one is safe.<\/strong>\u00a0 However, for me the great concern is the jobless rate among people of color.\u00a0 According to the BLS Monthly Labor Review (2011), although the fourth-quarter unemployment rate for Whites fell by .05% to 8.7% it remained in the double digits for African Americans and Hispanics at 15.8% and 12.9%.\u00a0 Prevailing myths may try to convince us that the disproportionate rates among people of color is due to their lack of educational attainment and experience, but as the recent settlement of a 1995 lawsuit against the Chicago firefighter\u2019s entrance exam demonstrates, African American applicants who otherwise qualified[2]<\/a>\u00a0were not hired or denied promotions.\u00a0 As a result, the Chicago Fire Department will have to hire 111 firefighters between now and March 2012 as well as pay the remaining 6000 candidates $5000.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

A final example is a recent article in\u00a0Science<\/em>\u00a0which investigated the National Institutes of Health reveals that Asians were 4% and African Americans were 13% less likely to win NIH funding.\u00a0 Even when controlled for education, training, previous research rewards and publication record, African Americans were still 10% less likely to receive funding.<\/p>\n

These examples represent a need for our society to turn and face ourselves. In order to actually have a meritocracy, we have to be able to\u00a0guarantee<\/strong>\u00a0equal access and compensation for equal talent and skill which will require the reformation of policies, procedures, and frameworks that continue to marginalize people of color.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/h3>\n

\u201cCity to Hire, Pay Back Black Firefighters as Part of Settlement.\u201d Chicago Fox News: Chicago.\u00a0 17 August 2011.\u00a0 Web. 18 August 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cEducation Pays\u2026\u201d\u00a0 The Bureau of Labor & Statistics.\u00a0 4 May 2011.\u00a0 Web.\u00a0 18 August 2011.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.bls.gov\/emp\/ep_data_occupational_data.htm<\/p>\n

Ginther, Donna K.; \u00a0Schaffer, Walter T.; \u00a0Schnell, Joshua ; Masimore, Beth; \u00a0Liu, Faye; \u00a0Haak, Laurel L.; Kington, Raynard.\u00a0 \u201cRace, Ethnicity, and NIH Research Rewards.\u00a0\u00a0Science<\/em>\u00a0333.\u00a0 19 August 2011. 1015-1019.<\/p>\n

Horwitt, David.\u00a0 \u201cThis Hard-Earned Money Comes Stuffed in Their Genes.\u201d Eds. Karen E. Rosenblum & Toni-Michelle C. Travis.\u00a0 5th\u00a0Edition.\u00a0 New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.<\/p>\n

\u201cJobless in America.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0On Point.\u00a0 NPR: WBUR, Boston.\u00a0 August 16, 2011.\u00a0 Radio.<\/p>\n

Theodossiou, E & Hipple, S. \u201cUnemployment Remains High in 2010\u201d\u00a0Monthly Labor Review<\/em>\u00a0March 2011.\u00a0 Web.\u00a0 August 18, 2011.\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.bls.gov\/opub\/mlr\/2011\/03\/art1full.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Vedantam, Shankar.\u00a0 \u201cIn the Boardrooms and in Courtrooms Diversity Makes a Difference.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Washington Post\u00a0<\/em>.\u00a0 17 January 2007.\u00a0 Web.\u00a0 18 August 2011.\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2007\/01\/14\/AR2007011400720.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhite Fire Fighters to Share $6M Settlement.\u201d\u00a0 NBCUniversial, Chicago. 11 March 2009 Web. 18 August 2011.\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/news\/local\/White-Firefighters-to-Share-6M-Settlement.html<\/a><\/p>\n

NOTE: First published through the West Wind Education Policy Inc., website on August 19, 2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People who know me know that I have a healthy National Public Radio (NPR) addiction.\u00a0 As of late, it has become a habit to tune in at work. \u00a0On Tuesday as I sat at my desk, On Point, a daily opinion call-in show, aired a segment, \u201cJobless in America\u201d (http:\/\/onpoint.wbur.org\/2011\/08\/16\/jobless-today-in-america).\u00a0\u00a0 Two of the guests, both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387,"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions\/387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv69.demowebsitelinks.com\/LiminalConsultingWP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}