To draft this opinion paper, refer to the Julie Chen case, which has been uploaded on blackboard and Chapter I of the textbook.
In his 2014 book entitled, After Civil Rights: Racial Realism in the New American Workplace, Dr. John D. Skrentny, a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego, argues that increasingly many employers treat personal, cultural, and phenotypical appearances such as “race,” nationality, ethnicity, “gender,” and sexual orientation, among others, as qualifications for some jobs. He calls this practice “racial realism.” In the book, he contends that “racial realism” is not affirmative action and it is not racism either. Instead, he argues, it is a strategy businesses and public institutions utilize to match their employees’ personal characteristics with those of the people they serve because, very often, customers feel more comfortable when they interact with employees of their own “race,” nationality, ethnicity, “gender,” and sexual orientation. For example,
1. Store owners often hire African-American, White, Asian-American, and Latinx salesclerks, respectively, to corresponding markets because of these employees’ personal characteristics.
OPINION PAPER No.1
To draft this opinion paper, refer to the Julie Chen case which has been uploaded on blackboard and Chapter I of the textbook.
In his 2014 book entitled, After Civil Rights: Racial Realism in the New American Workplace, Dr. John D. Skrentny, a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego, argues that increasingly many employers treat personal, cultural, and phenotypical appearances such as “race,” nationality, ethnicity, “gender,” and sexual orientation, among others, as qualifications for some jobs. He calls this practice “racial realism.” In the book, he contends that “racial realism” is not affirmative action and it is not racism either. Instead, he argues, it is a strategy businesses and public institutions utilize to match their employees’ personal characteristics with those of the people they serve because, very often, customers feel more comfortable when they interact with employees of their own “race,” nationality, ethnicity, “gender,” and sexual orientation. For example,
1. Store owners often hire African-American, White, Asian-American, and Latinx salesclerks, respectively, to corresponding markets because of these employees’ personal characteristics.
AFS 319—FALL 2022
OPINION PAPER No.1
To draft this opinion paper, refer to the Julie Chen case which has been uploaded on blackboard and Chapter I of the textbook.
In his 2014 book entitled, After Civil Rights: Racial Realism in the New American Workplace, Dr. John D. Skrentny, a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego, argues that increasingly many employers treat personal, cultural, and phenotypical appearances such as “race,” nationality, ethnicity, “gender,” and sexual orientation, among others, as qualifications for some jobs. He calls this practice “racial realism.” In the book, he contends that “racial realism” is not affirmative action and it is not racism either. Instead, he argues, it is a strategy businesses and public institutions utilize to match their employees’ personal characteristics with those of the people they serve because, very often, customers feel more comfortable when they interact with employees of their own “race,” nationality, ethnicity, “gender,” and sexual orientation. For example,
1. Store owners often hire African-American, White, Asian-American, and Latinx salesclerks, respectively, to corresponding markets because of these employees’ personal characteristics.
2. In schools with high levels of teenage pregnancy, principals often prefer to hire female guidance counselors than male ones to advise their female students because these students are more willing and more comfortable to talk about sex with them than they would with male guidance counselors.
3. Also, in school districts where the majority of the students are African-Americans and Latinx, some principals and parents often prefer to have teachers of the same minority background as them to instruct their students and children, because they think that these teachers will empathize with these students and can better serve as role models to motivate them to learn.
4. Advertising agencies use compatible and relatable models to attract buyers from particularly targeted consumer groups.
5. Subsequent to the latest recurring and increasing incidents when white police officers have killed many young black men, many police departments in majority-minority communities have given hiring preferences to black and Latinx candidates, instead of white ones.
6. Finally, some owners of chic boutiques, upscale department stores, and corporate headquarters often refuse to hire candidates of both sexes with “natural hairstyles,” “Rasta hair,” and “Dreadlocks” as representatives of their enterprises. They do so because the candidates’ personal appearances do not reflect the image that these stores and corporations want to present to the public and because they do not match the expectations of their clienteles. In general, both the store owners and their customers deem these candidates’ hair “unkempt” and “unprofessional” for public spaces, although eighteen states and the House of Representatives have passed “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair” or the Crown Act to bar discrimination against people who wear such types of hair.
In all these cases, employers who use “racial realism” show preference for members of some groups and deny opportunity to some otherwise qualified applicants of other groups. However, to justify their decisions, they claim that their seemingly biased selection is not discriminatory, but a “business necessity.”
In the Julie Chen case, her boss seemed to use racial realism when he told her that “she was not relatable” to the majority White viewers of the TV station where she worked as a reporter because of her Chinese heritage. However, many observers may disagree because as the textbook explains it, “discrimination is prejudice plus power.” Based on what Ms. Chen reported, her boss showed prejudice against her when he told her that “You will never be on this anchor desk, because you’re Chinese” and denied her the job she had applied for because he had power over her.
Based on this short exposé and Ms. Chen’s experience, do you consider “racial realism” a disguised form of discrimination or do you consider it justified, based on the employers’ arguments, as a “business necessity?
Give your opinion regarding this very controversial issue by using the six scenarios given above.
Notice that you can only make one choice between “racial realism” being a disguised form of “discrimination and racism” or a “business necessity.”
Remember: This is an opinion paper. There is not right or wrong answer and there is no need for a bibliography. The strength of the paper will derive from the convincing arguments you will put forth to support your opinion.
The paper should be no more than five (5) pages.