Equal Opportunity Mosley

Equal Opportunity by Walter mosley exposes discrimination in many forms. This short story is made of simple sentences that are straightforward and emotionless. The author's writing style helps the reader analyze the thought process of the main character, Socrates, which plays an important role in understanding what kind of person he is. It is structured in short chapters, with dialogue, from a third person perspective. Equal Opportunity by Walter Mosley is a short story that reveals an endless negative feedback loop due to discrimination that specifically affects people in a low social class, African Americans, and ex-convicts.

Equal Opportunity is about an ex convict named Socrates that is looking for a job. He decides to go to a supermarket

Today, racism is a huge issue that impacts the lives of many people in many ways. In Equal Opportunity the main character Socrates is an African American which also poses as an issue when he tries to apply for a job. When Socrates walked in he only spoke to the white assistant manager and white supervisor. When Socrates asked for an application, instead of handing him one and telling him they weren't hiring at the moment, the assistant manager did not even give Socrates an application. Instead he asked Socrates “Uh. How old are you, sir?” (Mosley, 1998). The worker was not aware that Socrates collected bottles for support, or was an ex convict. This means he made his judgments based on Socrates appearance. This can be narrowed down to his age and skin color. The supervisor also claimed to feel threatened by him which may have been because of his attitude but also could have been that she associated him being black with violence which happens often in our

If we put aside the fact that the main character, Socrates, did not come from a low social class, and was not African American or older, the only other difficulty he may have faced was “the box”. The box is a question on almost every job application that asks people if they have ever been convicted of a felony, and if so, you must check the box and explain what happened. Being an employer, I am sure that once someone checks that box they immediately stop considering that applicant. This takes away an equal opportunity from all ex-convicts that are trying to obtain a job and get their lives back on track. Once again, how can anyone make changes in their life to better themselves or support themselves properly without an opportunity? Many civil rights groups agreed with this question and attempted to make changes by creating a national campaign called Ban the Box. Ban the Box is a campaign whose goal is to persuade employers to remove the felony box from their applications to give ex-convicts a fair chance at acquiring a job ("Moving Forward Together: Forging a Future That Works for All Workers"). Although this may seem scary to an employer, which is understandable, it can potentially end the endless negative feedback loop, and help people move