Ways of Reading Black Unemployment

Image credit: Dailycaller.com

There are many was of "reading" any social issue or problem. Three of the most obvious ways of reading an issue are: (1) that it is individual, (2) that it is environmental, and (3) that it is systemic.

When a social issue is interpreted as being an individual issue the focus is on what an individual has done to create the problem, and how that individual can correct it. This approach focuses on personal values, motivation and personal initiative to develop the skills and resources to alleviate the problem.

When a social issue is interpreted as being environmental the focus tends to be on the surrounding community and the social network that the person has access to. This interpretive approach tends to focus on who one knows, what is in one's social network, and what is happening the community that one is part of. People who are part of a supportive and well-resourced social network are said to have "social capital".

A third method of interpreting a social issue is to focus in the systemic nature of the situation. This approach focuses on larger structural and historical changes that impact both individuals and communities (environments). If a nation, as a whole, has undergone the process of de-industrialization, for example, it matters little how much motivation or experience a person has -- or how well connected they are -- in terms of their ability to hold onto an industrial job. The social system or structure has changed and the individual and his or her social environment will be swept along with that change.

Here are a few examples of how the issue of African American unemployment is framed by different sources reporting on the issue.

In this first clip, from CBS News in 2011, the problem of African American male unemployment is framed as being a problem of not having completed school. The reporter also notes that lack of money to go to college is a factor in being unemployed. At the end of the piece, however, there is an interesting twist -- the reporter says that "In this economy where jobs are scarce even having a real skill is no guarantee of having a job."

This NBC report, the same year, frames the problem as being a bit more complicated. In this report a man is interviewed who has experience but the rules of the game changed on him. Employers used to hire applicants based on their ability to do the job but now they require certification or a credential. A credential does not necessarily prove that an applicant can do the job, nor is it true that an applicant cannot do the job without one. Going to school in order to secure a credential has become a profitable business for colleges, universities, and post-secondary trade schools. At the end of the clip the reporter suggests that the willingness of blacks to work for free might give them a foothold on the job market.

This City Limits report, in 2010, points to a more complicated problem. The person who is the point of focus in this piece has both experience and credentials, still he is unable to get a job.

The following clip presents the most complicated inquiry into the issue yet. This clip was posted by "Aggressive Fruit" in 2009. It includes a wide range of interviewees who discuss racial stereotypes, social and cultural assimilation, the individual "survival instinct" that prevents people from helping others to find jobs, the impact of reduced funding for education, and the lack of a social network that would include potential employers or people who can tip one off to job openings.

This clip identifies systemic factors (an overall weak economy), environmental factors (social networking within a social and cultural environment), and individual factors (personal motivation and attitudes).

For more on this topic see "What are real measures of diversity and inclusion?" in my Current History Journal.

C. Matthew Hawkins