Kenneth Mathis is the kind of man who values stability.
More than three decades ago, when he was 19, Mathis was hired by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a government position that seemed to confer assurance of middle class comforts.
As an African American, he figured a job with a government agency would be a way around "the good old boy networks" that seemed to preclude his employment at many private businesses. He reckoned that a government job would spare him from the volatility faced by private companies, meaning his paycheck would continue through good times and bad.
Mathis later took a job that kept him at home in Houston, joining the city’s Housing and Community Development Department, a position that he figured would last until retirement.
But his vision of a steady career culminating in a farewell cake and a pension came to an abrupt end last August, when his boss summoned him into his office, closed the door and told him that his job was being eliminated.
Within minutes, a pair of plain-clothes police led Mathis to another office, where he was forced to surrender his government identification card and city-issued-cell phone. He grabbed his bag and a picture of his wife before being escorted to the elevator door.
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I didn't realize how many African Americans worked for the government, I would have thought it was the other way around. Until I read this article, I was thinking that the Caucasian held the majority in the government jobs. This article made me think about the government workers I've come in contact with, I now can understand why the unemployment numbers for African Americans is higher than Caucasians. There have been a lot of jobs eliminated in the government agencies which affects the African community because we hold the most positions which will affect us the most. I'm surprised to see this information, but feel bad for us as African Americans because I can see myself in those very shoes. I always felt like a government job was a secure job, but I guess no job is secured in this economy. This article has brought a lot to the light for me on government jobs, but the more I think about it, those jobs also include interstate improvement. I've seen so many construction workers lose jobs in that field but never thought of it as a government job. All I have to say is I have a lot to learn about government jobs.
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