Ellington

The New York Times has an interesting piece about the difficulties well-to-do African Americans can have getting quality child care in the U.S.:

Last month, Jennifer Freeman sat in a Chicago coffee bar, counting her blessings and considering her problem. She had a husband with an M.B.A. degree, two children and a job offer that would let her dig out the education degree she had stashed away during years of playdates and potty training. But she could not accept the job. After weeks of searching, Ms. Freeman, who is African-American, still could not find a nanny for her son, 5, and daughter, 3. Agency after agency told her they had no one to send to her South Side home.

As more blacks move up the economic ladder, one fixture — some would say necessity — of the upper-middle-class income bracket often eludes them. Like hailing a cab in Midtown Manhattan, searching for a nanny can be an exasperating, humiliating exercise for many blacks, the kind of ordeal that makes them wonder aloud what year it is.

"We've attained whatever level society says is successful, we're included at work, but when we need the support for our children and we can afford it, why do we get treated this way?" asked Tanisha Jackson, an African-American mother of three in a Washington suburb, who searched on and off for five years before hiring a nanny. "It's a slap in the face."

Numerous black parents successfully employ nannies, and many sitters say they pay no regard to race. But interviews with dozens of nannies and agencies that employ them in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Houston turned up many nannies — often of African-American or Caribbean descent themselves — who avoid working for families of those backgrounds. Their reasons included accusations of low pay and extra work, fears that employers would look down at them, and suspicion that any neighborhood inhabited by blacks had to be unsafe.

The result is that many black parents do not have the same child care options as their colleagues and neighbors. They must settle for illegal immigrants or non-English speakers instead of more experienced or credentialed nannies, rely on day care or scale back their professional aspirations to spend more time at home.

"Very rarely will an African-American woman work for an African-American boss," said Pat Cascio, the owner of Morningside Nannies in Houston and the president of the International Nanny Association.

Previous Comments

ID

109626

Comment

Sigh. We get past one problem, and another shows up right after it. It seems like some kind of psychological Whack-A-Mole.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-12-26T22:48:07-06:00

ID

109627

Comment

This skin color is a blessing and detriment. We don't need a tan which I consider a gift from God. I can handle all the other problems that come alone with it better than most folks. And I'll sue anyone caught illegally discriminating against me on principle alone. Hopefully, these ladies can find what they need even if they have to raise the kids themselves. We shouldn't be so quick to emulate others anyway although I understand the need and right to raise a family and have a career. I would much rather be rejected than hire someone who doesn't respect or like me or my children. From what I have experienced, read, and been told the comments of this article/column speak the truth of what others think of us in this situation. Of course, I know it's only occasionally justified, and the double standard and broad sweep continues.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2006-12-28T12:11:45-06:00

ID

109628

Comment

I think this piece speaks volumes for the "progression" that is being made. Black nannies would rather go unemployed than work for black families. The racism isn't always with another race. Sad.

Author

yaya

Date

2006-12-31T02:52:44-06:00