It of course has nothing to do with the color of your skin, it has to do with the contents of your heart, as Martin Luther King, Jr. correctly envisioned it should be. How many Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, and Pakistani people have come to America, worked 80-hour work weeks driving a cab or running a convenience story because they are so grateful to be out of the pest-hole they came from and be living in the greatest nation on earth, where their own hard work pays off in cold, hard cash? Look at the children of these immigrants, who regularly score higher than some snobby WASP kids, or than some "angry young blacks" who won't learn to speak proper English or how to respect customers because hey, they spend the money?
Even today, if you work at making your kids different from everybody else, they are going to be at a disadvantage when they stand in front of a prospective boss. Those who want to fit in will. Those who complain that "the Man is always ignoring me" will find it to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Here's my earlier comment that will get ME labeled as a racist:
" Was black slavery bad? You bet! And without it, many, many people who live in the richest nation on earth would today be starving in backwards, third-world countries run by tribal warlords who take the UN food and don't give their own kinsmen a bite.Was Hebrew slavery bad? You bet! Was black-on-black tribal slavery in Africa bad, selling their kinsmen to white men? You bet! And after all the recriminations, after all the race-bating, after all the whining, were is slavery still happening? The Sudan, you say? And why aren't Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton and the others outraged about this? Follow the Benjamins, because it's not about race, it's about money."
I have to show up to work on time, work hard, please my superiors, show initiative, speak clear English, and do a good job pleasing the various people who are my bosses; if I fail in this, I am out the door. If they fire somebody else for falling short on the same criterion, they might be sued for being "racist." Sigh.
A little off-topic on my part, perhaps, but this comment of yours brought something to mind. One of my daughters has been invited to speak at management meetings around the state of New York on behalf of her company. Her topic? What to do about the younger employees who seem to come to work with a sense of entitlement. They can be late if they want. They feel they can leave early if they want. They can take a day off with no advance notice. Why do you think young people feel no sense of duty, responsibility and obligation these days? In all my years of working, I called in sick once.