African-Americans = criminals at work too?
In keeping with recent events that showcase that racism is still alive and well…
The other day, a study performed by professors at Georgetown and UC Berkeley, concluded that employers who perform criminal background checks are more likely to hire African-Americans. The study’s conclusion reads:
we find that the positive effect of criminal background checks on the likelihood that an employer hires a black applicant is larger among firms that are unwilling to hire ex-offenders. This pattern is consistent with the proposition that employers with a particularly strong aversion to ex-offenders may be more likely to overestimate the relationship between criminality and race and hence hire too few African Americans as a result.
After reading this study, I cant help but think about the recent shooting that took place, and other shootings that have involved unarmed African-American males at the hands of police officers. Pierce’s post earlier this week touched on the media’s role in perpetuating this idea that African-Americans = criminals.
What saddens me about this study is that the authors claim that policy suggestions that urge the removal of background checks in job searches would ultimately lead to less hiring of African-Americans.
What do you think?
Published on November 29, 2006 at 8:22 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under blackonomics, ignorance, affirmative action.
