Among African Americans, the practice of whitewashing the résumé is a long-held strategy, and a practice that is increasing in the current job market. Apparently, Black applicants strive to “dial down the Blackness” in the hopes that it will improve their odds at securing a job interview.
The New York Times reports that measures such as altering ethnic sounding names (Bonquisha J. Smith reemerging as B.J. Smith) and omission of ones affiliation to an HBCU or other connections to the Black community are standard practice for many on the job hunt.
Proof of Affirmative Action’s limited reach, this bleach-like tactic is viewed as a method to prove to potential employers that this one can be relied upon to keep his or her proverbial head down. NYU law professor Kenji Yoshino adds, “My notion of covering is really about the idea that people can have stigmatized identities that either they can’t or won’t hide but nevertheless experience a huge amount of pressure to downplay those identities,” he said. Mr. Yoshino says that progress in hiring has meant that “the line originally was between whites and nonwhites, favoring whites; now it’s whites and nonwhites who are willing to act white.”
Picture & text from Clutch Magazine. Click the link to read it all!!
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