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Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

bbc.com

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Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#11

Post by InitialLastName »

Barrin92 wrote: post #2

"There were some old style editors who were still at the Post when I was there. One of them said, 'We don't cover black murders because those are cheap deaths,[..]Inside the newsroom some of them would say hello or nod or even speak to me but if they saw me outside the building they would pretend they didn't know me." I honestly can't even imagine what it's like to live like that. Not just the callousness but also ju…

> One of them said, 'We don't cover black murders because those are cheap deaths,'

If anyone ever wondered what attitude triggered the slogan "Black Lives Matter"...

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#12

Post by DrNosferatu »

"Inside the newsroom some of them would say hello or nod or even speak to me but if they saw me outside the building they would pretend they didn't know me".

When you experience this as an immigrant (so the ignoring party knows you have a different nationality) is it generally racism?

- What do you think?

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#13

Post by NateEag »

reacharavindh wrote: post #10
imacerealkiller wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>it takes a long time to undo the damage such profound discrimination causes yes and for many, the damage is irreversible. Denied access to education is also a big factor Blacks face. If you are unable to study and get a good education, you can't work a decent job. It's then harder for you to let your children study to tertiary level as you might need them to step out to work earlier to contribute to the house, and t…

This is precisely why Education should not be treated as a business. If Education was free for every citizen, it does a lot to bring equality of opportunity (it does not fix all of the damages from discrimination, but aids significantly in recovery). So is healthcare. Having experienced education and healthcare in USA and Denmark, I cannot believe such extremes exist in the same world. It blows my mind that the wealt…

The US public school system is "no additional charge" - you have to pay taxes to help fund it regardless of whether you use it, but you do not have to pay anything beyond those taxes for your children to attend.

It may not be much good, but that's a different question.

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#14

Post by alistairSH »

NateEag wrote: post #13
reacharavindh wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is precisely why Education should not be treated as a business. If Education was free for every citizen, it does a lot to bring equality of opportunity (it does not fix all of the damages from discrimination, but aids significantly in recovery). So is healthcare. Having experienced education and healthcare in USA and Denmark, I cannot believe such extremes exist in the same world. It blows my mind that the wealt…

The US public school system is "no additional charge" - you have to pay taxes to help fund it regardless of whether you use it, but you do not have to pay anything beyond those taxes for your children to attend. It may not be much good , but that's a different question.

Many communities in the US actively cripple their public schools via poor funding (and then send their kids to private schools, leaving only the poor behind).

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#15

Post by telesilla »

noisy_boy wrote: post #6

> When Dorothy Butler Gilliam arrived at a wealthy Washington woman's 100th birthday party the doorman told her she couldn't enter via the front door. "The maid's entrance is around the back," he explained. Just reading it boils my blood.

For the record, this happens to any minority. It boils my blood too when someone says to me at a trade show "I'm looking for the CEO" and I'm standing right there, with my name badge and title of CEO. Or more prevalent: they walk straight up to my (non-technical) sale colleagues who more "look" the part.

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#16

Post by imacerealkiller »

reacharavindh wrote: post #10
imacerealkiller wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>it takes a long time to undo the damage such profound discrimination causes yes and for many, the damage is irreversible. Denied access to education is also a big factor Blacks face. If you are unable to study and get a good education, you can't work a decent job. It's then harder for you to let your children study to tertiary level as you might need them to step out to work earlier to contribute to the house, and t…

This is precisely why Education should not be treated as a business. If Education was free for every citizen, it does a lot to bring equality of opportunity (it does not fix all of the damages from discrimination, but aids significantly in recovery). So is healthcare. Having experienced education and healthcare in USA and Denmark, I cannot believe such extremes exist in the same world. It blows my mind that the wealt…

Even if education is free, having time to study is also a luxury we take for granted. Going to university means a few more years of them not being able to work full-time and contribute to the household income. But for sure, if education was free it would improve access to education and restore some balance.

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#17

Post by AzzieElbab »

InitialLastName wrote: post #11
Barrin92 wrote: post #2

"There were some old style editors who were still at the Post when I was there. One of them said, 'We don't cover black murders because those are cheap deaths,[..]Inside the newsroom some of them would say hello or nod or even speak to me but if they saw me outside the building they would pretend they didn't know me." I honestly can't even imagine what it's like to live like that. Not just the callousness but also ju…

> One of them said, 'We don't cover black murders because those are cheap deaths,' If anyone ever wondered what attitude triggered the slogan "Black Lives Matter"...

google Chicago shootings and then ask yourself why none of it made national headlines. Here is my first search result https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2021/8/21/22636162/chicag...

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#18

Post by magicalhippo »

telesilla wrote: post #15
noisy_boy wrote: post #6

> When Dorothy Butler Gilliam arrived at a wealthy Washington woman's 100th birthday party the doorman told her she couldn't enter via the front door. "The maid's entrance is around the back," he explained. Just reading it boils my blood.

For the record, this happens to any minority. It boils my blood too when someone says to me at a trade show "I'm looking for the CEO" and I'm standing right there, with my name badge and title of CEO. Or more prevalent: they walk straight up to my (non-technical) sale colleagues who more "look" the part.

I worked part time at a grocery store as a cashier while studying.

Several times people would come up to me while I was out in the shop restocking or similar, and clearly assumed I was the manager or ask if I was.

The only common theme I could figure was that I was the only guy at work at those times. A couple of times it happened when I was together with the actual manager, a woman about my age.

I saw the same thing with the assistant manager, a slightly older guy. If he and the manager were standing together, people would address him first, asking if he was the manager.

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#19

Post by sgt »

telesilla wrote: post #15
noisy_boy wrote: post #6

> When Dorothy Butler Gilliam arrived at a wealthy Washington woman's 100th birthday party the doorman told her she couldn't enter via the front door. "The maid's entrance is around the back," he explained. Just reading it boils my blood.

For the record, this happens to any minority. It boils my blood too when someone says to me at a trade show "I'm looking for the CEO" and I'm standing right there, with my name badge and title of CEO. Or more prevalent: they walk straight up to my (non-technical) sale colleagues who more "look" the part.

Maybe you just don't look like a salesman. Typical CEO look :)

Re: Dorothy Butler Gilliam: ‘I am not a maid, I am a reporter’

#20

Post by mensetmanusman »

Barrin92 wrote: post #2

"There were some old style editors who were still at the Post when I was there. One of them said, 'We don't cover black murders because those are cheap deaths,[..]Inside the newsroom some of them would say hello or nod or even speak to me but if they saw me outside the building they would pretend they didn't know me." I honestly can't even imagine what it's like to live like that. Not just the callousness but also ju…

This is still the case today, you can tell by which murders get covered in the press.
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