An old wound opens in our newest privileged class

By the time you read this, I may be the new face of an issue many are still embarrassed to discuss: unemployment among college-educated African-American men.

The reporter from Fox29 who asked to interview me for the report told me that several of the men she had called declined to speak, even if their faces would be hidden and their voices blurred.

I agreed to talk with her.

Why were so many others reluctant? I can think of several reasons. For starters, college graduates aren't supposed to be unemployed for long periods of time. The fact that so many, black, white, and otherwise, are and have been makes this economic crisis different from any since the Great Depression, when far fewer Americans held college degrees. I suspect many of these men see their state as a mark of personal failure and may be reluctant to expose their wounds in such a public way. I decided to talk to show that the failure isn't personal. We are not alone, and the reasons why there are so many of us this time have less to do with ourselves than we fear.

Another reason is that many middle class African-Americans have a cultural disinclination to do anything in public that might embarrass the race.

Even in the Age of Obama, race continues to matter in ways we like to think we've gotten past but haven't. That there are many African-American college graduates for the reporter to contact is every bit as much a sign of the progress we and the country have made on race as Obama's election as President, but many of us still have this nagging feeling deep down inside that these gains are precarious. The bigots, we fear, are just waiting for an excuse to revert to form, and this current state of affairs may provide the excuse they are waiting for.

One story the reporter told me during our interview brings this fear to the forefront. One of the other subjects she spoke with is a corporate headhunter who specializes in what is known in the HR business as "diversity hires" – that is, people other than white males. Companies turn to this recruiter when they are looking to fill positions with qualified African-Americans. The trouble is that for the past several months, he hasn't heard from any companies.

I tend to be an optimist on racial matters. There is no denying that progress has been made and things are better. Yet when I hear something like this, I understand why that nagging fear persists. Something is wrong with that picture, and from here it looks like that something has to do with race.

An unusually high number of college graduates are already unemployed or underemployed. What I do not yet know is whether the percentages of African-American college graduates in that state is higher still. If it is, then those men who wished not to talk have good reason not to. I hope that my talking will wake others up to the matter, just as the reporter hopes that pursuing the story in the first place will.

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By Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is a veteran freelance writer, editor and public relations professional who lives in Philadelphia. Besides blogging for PhillyJobs.com, he has written for numerous publications and websites, would be happy to do your resume, and is himself actively seeking career opportunities on Nexxt. Check out his LinkedIn profile and read his other posts on PhillyJobsBlog.com.