Life and Times of Alex Esguerra — Equality
Racism, Identify, Giving Feedback and Take Action
Posted by noreply@blogger.com (Alex Esguerra) on
I totally agree with Ibram Kendi's book when he states that the only way to undo racism is consistently identify it. Those who are in constant denial or are ignorant about racism of course will continuously resist, deny or counter the word as aggressiveness or resistance, Thus every single person has the power to resist racism regardless of color of the skin.
Let's start with some basic current examples like the PPP - Paycheck Protection Program, a loan program created to help small and micro businesses as a result of the still problematic Covid-19 pandemic. Like the thousands of small and micro businesses who applied since it was announced in March-April, the question lies why is still there funds unused. The program expiration of June 30 was just extended as of this writing. It is a program design to small businesses having 100 employees or less. Based on the data out, the majority of black and people of color small businesses that have applied and still at a limbo are those having 10 employees or less or even 1-3 employees. As we have seen at first when the program started, the major big businesses where even recipients some of whom were asked to return the money.Â
I'm not gonna explore much of who and why the recipients are. But what I've found out is that when the program started where the first bank res ponders where the big banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc.., So the big banks who are typically designed to deal with the same big businesses who were somehow first recipients had been task to be administer these loans thereby to be the initial or even final evaluators whether the individuals or businesses applying are worthy of this PPP loan, And wallah, when this author talked about institutional and organizational policies here is one good example. The training set up of the people evaluating these loans in these banks are created to big businesses. Well of course they can claim they have focus on small businesses. The reality is that there so called small businesses maybe 100 or even 50 employees but these are businesses making millions of revenues. The majority of the borrowers trying to apply are those that earn from $2000 to $35,000 a month, those businesses that are in dire need of constant cash flow and working capital.
So cutting the story short after months of going and back forth on threads of emails with attachments. Attachments that can't be open as they are digitally automatically encrypted for some reason on the bank recipients, faxing documents that banks claims they have so many back logs. actual mails that never get to the right person and calls that are never return it'a useless endeavor and so much wasted time and effort on those that really needed the funds, Added to these are the constant emails etc.., asking for the same documents either already submitted and not making sense especially for sole proprietors that do not have have payroll tax records but independent contractors and services.
I've been in a micro cottage small business in most of my adult life and what is new to this scene as I tell myself. Even the richest and most powerful country in the world, this is the reality and yet when the discussion of racism opens we try to deeply contradict what the bounds of this topic. On a side note, a lot of the recipients in the last month coming from the those 1-10 employee minority impacted businesses got their loan from the micro lending efforts of small banks some of them even unheard.
Looking at this picture, we know that these institutions employ are a lot of people of color. The repeated question would be although some of them know the true realities that exist of the real small businesses, do they have the power to change the rules or sometimes can they even voice their opinion without fear that they can be identified as a threat? This is what the topic of racism talks on the white privilege having the power to change things. The real change will happen when we start empowering the minority and people of color to be able to sit and hold major positions on these institutions. The caveat here lies is ensuring that the chosen people of color are actually the real idealistic ones and not those still behind the shadows of the white privilege culture. I say these as it is true that there are indeed some people of color on those high positions but they are a tiny fraction they won't even say anything so they can protect their job, position or financial security.
A good example of this lies on the highest echelons of government. When politicians run for office, you will hear much of the idealism of change. Then defeat comes, yet they are identified especially if they are a person of color with such idealism, Some take what position that may come their way for their own reasons. What surprises me is that when they are working for an administration, the idealism mellows down. Then the breaking points come into picture when they are face with the realities on making their voice heard or taking a position. For the courageous that left, I salute them but for some they that pride and take a position with an administration to show loyalty and solidarity. The fastest way of fixing this is through an election. With 4 months on the way to a presidential election, a new administration starting with the right mixture having a big contingent of people of color with the ideological perspective to eradicating racism is a big factor. Although a Woman Vice-President candidate is a step, not until a big majority of an administration from the top up down who have a big contingent of minority people of color, healing cannot start to happen.Â
The major private sector institutions who are somewhat in denial on racism and following the ideals of white power can change. But they won't drastically as they go side by side with politics. Until they see the government's initiatives they wont; make such significant major changes, They can make all their public relation announcements of changing names, changing their advertising policies but not until they deeply study their organizational policies and structures and really employ and promote the real minorities don't expect the eradicate the problem of racism.Â
This issue on racism has been going on decades, the hard part of the battle is we deal with it in bits and pieces. We have to use the best time right now to make the best out of it by talking about it and gaining the most we can in continuing the battle of racism.
Democracy in Black, A Look into Eddie S. Glaude's Jr.'s Book
Posted by Alexander Esguerra on
Democracy in Black was a book I happened to read early this year just in time for the inauguration of 45th US President.
A book recommended for all ages for the Los Angeles Times, bestselling author Eddie S. Glaude Jr. continues the discussion on the promise of equality in America. He capitalized on history, memoir's, call to action as well the still existing gap on the issue. One would think that perhaps the election of Former President Barack Obama has ended or answered the subdivide. Unfortunately as the author wrote racial habits are a particular kind of social habit which I truly agree. I remember on my first tour of Europe backpacking starting from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and the UK. When your young and travelling, the best gift about it is that experience of the different cultures, languages, lifestyles and way of life. Hence, in the process I sort of develop how I would later perceive someone from the countries I had been. I remember staying in a bread and breakfast inn in Tuscany which was owned and managed by a well educated affluent French Ethiopian couple. Then my recollection of a scene in Charing Cross on  street gang fighting right next to the hotel I was staying. In all those times looking at Caucasian Europeans to live normal lives with not much high and low memories during my trip. Â
Today living in US metropolitan diverse cities, you get to experience the different paths and cultures when your a tourist to a particular city. There are the permanent communities like Chinatown for example as well as you would hear that a particular community resides in a certain demographic location. For example, the Latinos are concentrated this part of the city, the Chinese are on this part and so. It's not to state the racial subdivide it's just how were accustomed that people with racial origins have their own identified communities where a lot of the original cultures etc.., are concentrated. Â
President Obama when elected was very promising to the African Americans as well the people of colors hope for equality. However, as President as much as he tried to open the discussions on equality he was only able to do as much as after all he represented all the cultures as President.
This was the disconnect as people thought of him as the black progressive  antidote but with the position of leader of the free world there was just too much risk if he indeed focus on pursuing inequalities faced by people of color.
Post Martin Luther King, the civil rights and now post Obama, the race inequality might have gain traction on getting the problem More discussed but the problem still persist. It is a discussion not just for the American Africans but also for any minority and people of color as after all we all live in this great country, we all work, and we all contribute to economy and society.
Kudos to Democracy in BlackAlex Esguerra
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