From Tokens to Quotas: The Hiring and Promoting of African American Males in Corporate America

Abstract

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress. The immediate result of the Act’s passage, and the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C.), was the removal of some hiring and promotional barriers that had historically been placed in front of minorities, and in particular African American males. When these barriers were removed, African American males began to receive long-overdue hiring and promotional opportunities. However, these opportunities were initially viewed as a sign of tokenism. An African American male in a position of authority was frequently viewed as a Token Negro. This tokenism quickly emerged into well-drafted affirmative action plans instituted by many corporations. The results of the plans, in many cases, were institutionalized quota systems to get corporations to a certain level of minority representation. But have these quotas really fostered greater hiring and promotional opportunities for African American males? Has the playing field been leveled? Has the election of Barack Obama signified that African American Males have finally made it? Or are they simply a formal process of increased tokenism with no increase in opportunity? This paper will address these questions, while looking at:-- relevant employment statistics and how African American males have faired since Title VII was instituted, -- the hiring practices of employers -- from the effects of affirmative action and the court’s view of it, to the recruitment process and the effect criminal records have on African American male employability,-- the challenges faced in obtaining equitable pay and promotional opportunities, and -- proposals to help weaken the devastating effects discrimination continues to have on African American males.