Research about callbacks from jobs has statistics that indicate how BIPOC folks are being excluded from job opportunities based on their racial background. In the study conducted in “RACE AT WORK: Realities of Race and Criminal Record in the NYC Job Market,” callbacks from employers in a graph depict results of 23 callbacks for white people, 19 callbacks for Latino people, and 13 callbacks for black people. This study which was conducted in 2004 followed a model where young men were instructed to apply for 1470 entry-level jobs in New York City for 10 months. The controlled variable was the background of the men, where their physical looks were similar, as well as their educational background and their work experience;  “well-spoken young men, aged 22 to 26; most were college educated, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet in height, recruited in and around New York City. … similar verbal skills, interactional styles, and physical attractiveness. Additionally, testers went through a common training program to ensure a uniform style of self-presentation in job interviews…were assigned matched fictitious resumes representing comparable profiles with respect to educational attainment, quality of the high school, work experience, and neighborhood of residence… presented themselves as high school graduates with steady work experience.” (Pager and Western, 2005) The results depicted that “the proportion of positive responses depends strongly on the race of the job applicant. This comparison demonstrates a strong racial hierarchy, with whites in the lead, followed by Latinos, with blacks trailing far behind. These outcomes suggest that blacks are only slightly more than half as likely to receive consideration by employers relative to equally qualified white applicants. Latinos also pay a penalty for minority status, but they are clearly preferred relative to their black counterparts.” The results of this study show the distinctive racial hierarchy that is prevalent, where white people stand at the top of the totem pole, with Latino people located in the middle, and black people fall at the bottom as they are excluded from accessing job opportunities, which was clearly represented in this study. This de-stigmatizes the notion/ stereotype of picking up oneself by the bootstraps/ countering rugged individualism because regardless of one’s educational background, (according to the study conducted white people and black and brown people as having equal educational, financial, and training experiences) people of color are obstructed from employment opportunities. The conversation that arises between employers and people that are looking to get hired in comparison to white and BIPOC people demonstrates the harsh reality of how there is a general preference towards white credibility. “In recording his experience applying for this retail sales position, Joe, one of our African American testers, reports: ‘The employer] said the position was just filled and that she would be calling people in for an interview if the person doesn’t work out.’ Josue, his Latino test partner, was told something very similar: ‘She informed me that the position was already filled, but did not know if the hired employee would work out. She told me to leave my resume with her.’ By contrast, when Simon, their white tester, applied last… ‘I asked what the hiring process was—if they’re taking applications now, interviewing, etc. She looked at my application. ‘You can start immediately?’ Yes. ‘Can you start tomorrow?… She was very friendly and introduced me to another woman (white, 28) at the cash register who will be training me.’” (Pager and Western, 2005) The attitudes in which Joe and Josue were treated versus Simon showcases how employers gravitate towards white applicants, refusing to hire people of color on the sole grounds of racist ideals and going as far as the extent of lying. 

Section 4. Psychological and Physical Impacts

In Feagin’s work, he describes how black people develop rage in the workplace as a coping mechanism from “the pervasive discrimination he faced in the workplace,….James Baldwin once suggested that there is not a black person ‘alive who does not have rage in his blood one has the choice, merely, of living with it consciously or surrendering to it. As for me, this fever has recurred in me, and does, and will until the day I die.” (Feagin, 2003) This is a harsh reality for many black people that experience rage at the hands of their tormentors because they are trapped in a position to deal with it, as the abuser refuses to stop their harassment, or acknowledge that what they are doing is straight up wrong. “this is a recurring reality, and the only choice one has is to find personal or group-based ways to deal with it. … psychiatrists William Grier and Price Cobbs examined the extent to which individual rage and depression among African Americans are shaped by discrimination. From clinical interviews with their own patients, they determined that black mistrust of whites is a very reasonable attitude and one that is based on their many experiences with antiblack actions on the part of whites. They concluded that the clinical treatment of enraged black Americans must take into account their experience with discrimination in many social settings, including workplaces, in order for psychological healing to take place. They note that black people ‘bear all they can and, if required, bear even more. But if they are black in present-day America they have been asked to shoulder too much. They have had all they can stand.” (Feagin, 2003) Psychiatrists argue that the rage that black people in their jobs feel is very reasonable and is a healthy reaction to the situation at hand. The mistrust that they have because of their experiences and the extent to which they face serious social and psychological harassment/ abuse. The psychiatrist continues to demonstrate “Thus, silent, all-consuming rage can lead to inner turmoil, emotional or social withdrawal, and numerous physical health problems.” (Feagin, 2003). Black people that work in predominantly white places “commonly report pain, anguish, anger, and rage. These reactions may be immediately expressed in their words, the tone of their comments, or the character of their facial expressions.” People reported intense rage, pain, and high levels of stress constantly from putting up with racially hostile workplaces/ societal settings. “…respondent put it, she knows her stress is linked to the workplace because her symptoms do not happen ‘on weekends or after five o’clock.’” (Feagin, 2003). There was a respondent who reported that her stress primarily roots in the time that she is at work, and doesn’t feel that way any time outside of work. There was another respondent who described his personal experience of having rage, where he acknowledges his rage and tries his best to work with the experiences that he goes through at work, as well as his emotions, “try to control it, but I don’t try to muffle it. And I certainly don’t ignore it. I try to develop a healthy approach to it because what I really do understand is that it can destroy you, it can pervert your thinking. And it can make you the “******” that a lot of people want you to be, it can make you the stereotype. And we all have to fight that. I just think that I do my best to acknowledge that it is generated and that it’s natural. But that doesn’t mean you just let it take its course. And I’m always in the process of trying to develop a better and healthier way of working through the inevitable anger about this situation. There’s a price you pay in being sensitive and conscious.” (Feagin, 2003) In certain cases, other people have to fear/ risk losing their job from expressing or deflecting rage as a result of the ongoing racial harassment that they deal with from their perpetrators.

Workplace racism takes a toll on the victims, and it can show up in their mental state of mind, and physical health. “For example, one longitudinal research study has shown that African Americans who reported racial discrimination at one point in time were more likely to report high levels of psychological distress in another interview later on Discrimination clearly has stressful consequences over time… Researchers Mirowsky and Ross conclude that pain and distress can take two psychological forms: (1) depression, demoralization, and hopelessness, and (2) anxiety, fear, and worry. In turn, these psychological reactions can negatively affect physical health. Demoralization, depression, anxiety, and anger over everyday discrimination are to be expected under the circumstances faced by African Americans, but they are nonetheless unhealthy at the levels that many experiences these feelings.” (Feagin, 2003) The health effects reaped as a result of job stress versus workplace racism differ significantly, as the stress built up from racism at work cannot be controlled. African Americans and other people of color end up developing psychological issues such as depression anxiety and built-up rage as a mechanism to fight against the injustices that they face, which is really unhealthy, because they experience it at an intense level, alongside having to cope with it on a daily basis in an environment where they are not listened to or constantly disregarded. “In addition to older studies of black Americans such as that of Grier and Cobb, more recent studies of Americans of color have found that experience with discrimination is linked to higher levels of stress and psychological suffering, including depression and lower levels of life satisfaction. …. recent experiences with racial discrimination may be associated with higher levels of chronic health problems, disability and psychological distress, and lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction…The impact of unfair treatment can be complex and extensive in its evolution and impact, involving pain, depression, and physical difficulties like increased hypertension, all at the same time.” (Feagin, 2003) Black and brown people develop chronic conditions as mentioned by Feagin that are intense such as psychological suffering high blood pressure, and a lot of conditions due to stress which ends up leading to premature deaths, thus depicting the severity of how workplace racism and its abuse affects someone’s health, precisely to a point of leading people to experience early deaths. 

Next: Section 5. Ineffective Accountability & References