The Black Tax (Sidebar non Cagli related)

I may have written on this before, but since this is
my blog, for the sake of clarity, "It's my world,
ya'll just living in it."

Smiles.

In case you've been under a rock know that The
Washington Post is doing a fantastic series on the
life of black men in America. If you haven't checked
it out then do so. As I read the article which
appeared in yesterday's paper, all I could think of is
"the black tax".

FYI the black tax as stated by Jody Armour is "the
price blacks (and other minorities) pay in our daily
lives because of racial stereotypes. Like a tax,
racial discrimination is persistent, pervasive and
seemingly inevitable--- as in 'Nothing in life is
certain save death and taxes.' And just as the state
collects general taxes, blacks often regard state
representatives such as police and judges as IRS
agents for the black tax."

In the film "Something New" a film about interracial
dating, Sanaa Lathan an African-American woman
explains to her Caucasian boyfriend that the black tax
is having to work "twice as hard to prove yourself
worthy."

The article which I included a link to and copied
portions of below is very interesting. It talks about
a 33 year old African-American male who grew up poor
in the south in Alabama no less, now he has a Ph.D
from Saint Andrews in Scotland and he works in the
Bush administration. Now before some of you say all
man, read the story in its entirety. It is long but it
is worth it. It's one of those stories which we can
all black, white, brown, red or yellow be grateful for
coming across. As you encounter the story I urge you
to read, reflect, reminisice, and celebrate. It's a
story of overcoming and becoming.

But it also made me wonder if the young man is giving
all his goods up because of the black tax.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/10/AR2006061001040.html

A Path All His Own
For Eric Motley, the Measure of a Man Isn't His
Politics
Wil Haygood
The Washington Post_Sunday, June 11, 2006; Page A01
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
There is a little enclave on the rural edge of this
history-drenched city. It is called Madison Park. You
can hear the roosters. And gawk at Dr. Hagalyn
Wilson's roses, tulips and calla lilies, in bloom all
over her yard.
The outside world might not know much about it, but
Madison Park has produced a scintillating array of
black achievers: lawyers, doctors, educators,
ministers -- and at least one Republican on the rise,
Eric L. Motley.
At 33, Motley occupies a huge State Department office
in Washington. He is an obscure but influential Bush
administration official who heads an international
visitors program. He supervises a staff of more than
100 and oversees a budget that exceeds $80 million.
How Motley arrived at this station from Madison Park
is the tale of one man's journey through the labyrinth
of racial expectations.
For years, a battle brewed for Motley's political
soul. Here, in the cradle of the civil rights
movement, the black community in which he grew up was
populated overwhelmingly by Democrats, men and women
who reached out to nurture and inspire him. They put
Motley on the ladder of success. But in time, as his
experiences broadened, whites -- mostly Republicans --
embraced his promise and pulled Motley up that ladder.
There is little doubt now about which political
faction won Motley's allegiance.
At White House black-tie affairs, Laura Bush is quick
to single him out: "Hey, Eric!" He is comfortable in
the Republican Party. He is not so comfortable with
how he is sometimes seen, as if a black man doesn't
exist underneath his skin. Eric Motley: the unblack
black man. To some, that is a wonderful, modern image.
But among others, especially blacks, Motley senses an
estrangement that is wearying.
"I'm tired of that word 'sellout,' " he says.
Motley believes he represents a new paradigm for the
way people should look at a black man in America: the
black man whose authenticity is not judged by his
ideology, his dating habits, his leisure activities or
the company he keeps, and certainly not by his
political affiliation.
……………

Then he sought to share a little about his own life:
"When I first went to work at the White House, my
grandmama said, 'What you gonna be doing over there?'
"
He paused, like a comic.
" 'Serving coffee? Or cleaning?' "
The humor, couched in a kind of backstairs at the
White House nostalgia and delivered to a mostly white
and foreign crowd, fell flat. The chuckling was
painfully awkward.
………The furniture in Motley's well-appointed Georgetown
condominium is mostly French and English antiques.
Motley's friends sometimes joke that his home is a
museum. His walls are lined with leather-bound books:
obscure British poets, essayists. Friends worry that
he is a lonely man. Motley spends most of his free
time reading.
He also raises orchids, a tribute to Hagalyn Wilson.
He collects obituaries, clipping them from newspapers.
It is as though the dazzling arc of his own life has
so surprised him that he wishes to untangle the arcs
of other successful lives. "I have a television, but
it stays in the closet," Motley says.
His style of dress swerves from preppy to English
dandy.
When Motley is not at work, he visits antique stores,
art galleries. He is single. "I don't think he'll ever
get married," says grandmother Mamie Motley, who
believes he is too finicky for most women.
Motley confesses he has had a difficult dating life. A
long-term relationship with a woman ended not long
ago, and it seemed to derail him. He even discussed it
with Clay Johnson.
"It was his first heartbreak," says Johnson.
Motley won't discuss it.
"He asked me what to do," Johnson continues. "I said
'Eric, I don't know what to tell you. I've been
married to the same woman for many years.' "
…….
Jim Wilson, the lawyer and member of Motley's church,
has watched Motley's career from afar. And Wilson also
has concerns about Motley. "My worry," he says, "is
that when all of this is over -- the Bush
administration, Eric's job, because it will all come
to an end -- my worry is: Will Eric be able to find
his way back home?"

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com