I dedicate this blog and most of the writings to women of color. I dedicate my life and all that I do to breaking down stereotypes, miscommunications, misinformation and the struggles that can rip away from our sense of self worth, determination and sometimes even motivation.
Life is hard and being a woman of color life can feel downright unbearable at times. While we claim that all have equality and we are all free to be who we are and do what we want and blah blah blah that is not always the case. Our culture has created a melting pot of weakend hearts, in compassion and the inability for us to effectively listen to each other and resolve our problems.
Racism against people of color still exists. I have dealt with it personally and know people who are dealing with it now. I sometimes feel as if I am overly judged because I believe this and I write and will continue to write about it throughout my life. Yes this is a very touchy subject one that can garner strong sentiments from both sides of the issue. But it is one that affects our lives everyday. I will never forget what my grandmother told me when I asked her why she wasn't upset with the fact that her parents were slaves and she still endures the pain associated with her sharecroppin days. She told me that we all have plots in life. Some are full of esteem others aren't. Some people can make decisions others have to make choices (i'll explain later) but when all is said and done what matters most is your belief in God and yourself. Having parents that were slaves she was one of about twenty kids not one of her siblings were sold, her parents weren't seperated and most of the harsh realities that most slaves went through they escaped. They took pride in what they had to do and as a result they found favor. They were able to go from making choices to making decisions. Though their decision making was substantially less than their owner it was higher than that of others in their position.
Stength can be a measure of a persons integrity (doing right when wrong is all around you), character(ability to complete tasks without micromanagment), morality (the simple unwritten laws of treating people fairly and kindly), personality, endurance (ability to keep going), stamina (ability to stand firmly on belief) and motivation (ability to keep wanting to do whatever).
Life is the ultimate test of strength. What happens when all of these measures of strength are undeveloped or underdeveloped? What happens when as a child you are not only told but have the message reinforced through tv, music, books, jobs, education every possible aspect of your life that these measures do not apply to you. What happens when time after time these measures are questioned and tested and ultimately disregarded? Where will your strength lay? Will you be able to navigate through life successfully? I have dealt with men, women and children (sometimes myself included) who lack the strength to push forward, to make a change and to overcome the massive amounts of destruction they face from day to day. There are areas in the U.S. that will put Iraq to shame but where are the troops? Where is the help for those of us who are disenfranchised within our own nation? Are we, as Katrina survivors were originally labelled, refugees to our own nation?
Well how dare I say that. I say that because so many of feel, as the Katrina survivors, left out there to fend for our own with no resources. I love the civil rights era because it bought our nation together. Color of skin was not a determinate for acceptance. Many people struggled to bring forth change. The disgust than ran through americans veins when they saw the vile treatment of other americans made many give up their comfort, money, time and energy. We have become complacent. That is the worst place to be. We have change but we didn't complete it. We did not erase the stereotypes that can harden hearts and sway judgments. We did not erase the perceptions that take away strength, love, compassion and acceptance. We are beginning to see a new level of complacent racism that is more lethal than the open racism that existed before.
This brings me back to decisions and choices. What's the difference. Decisions are solutions to problems that will affect others and you. They bring about choices. Choices are made from decisions. They offer no viable solution and are knee jerk reactions at times. For example I will decide on my major in college. This decision now leaves me with choices of colleges. Once I choose my college based on how well I do I will be able to choose the company I work for. When confronted with problems we want a decision maker not a choice maker. Think about it.
Accounting has left many people of color with choices and don't be a woman with kids you will see just how few choices you have, if any. I have been extremely blessed because I have been able to make decisions and deal with the choices that follow. But that can change. Because I publish this blog to links of professional sites I belong to I may limit my decisions and may have to choose another line of work :-). But I'm willing to take that chance.
Theresa Hammond wrote a book seven years ago (here's a link to review and buy it http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/booksearc... . It is an awesome book and I recommend everyone to read it. I just happened to come across this book while doing some research for project for my graduate studies. This book chronicles the first 100 people of color in accounting and it is shocking to see what they went through, heck what's more impressive is that I have had some of the same experiences. This book opened my eyes and showed me people like me in this field that I love.
Based on all the problems Theresa uncovered while writing this book (published just 7 yrs ago) she also testified to the U.S. committee of Financial Services about these disparities. This testimony was only five years ago. I've been in accounting for 10 yrs, just to give you a little visual of how close and relevent this information is. Here is a link to her testimony. I read it and it hit home. I love Theresa for her research because no one and I mean no one has touched on accounting like this ever. Her research gave me a renewed sense of accomplishment. I realized just how blessed I am. If I never work in accounting again I am honored to come across this and I hope to add to it one day.
