by Danielle Corbett

Created on: September 27, 2008

Should minority mentees be matched only with same minority mentors?

In today's society those in the public eye are coming from more diverse backgrounds than ever before. Many can site people like Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, and Arnold Schwazenager as those who inspire them in their daily lives. With this phenomenon being ever so common, it begs the question of whether minority mentees be matched only with the same minority mentors?

Strolling down the corridors of my local university and alma matter, the faces of professors, faculty, and students often represent those who are predominantly anglo, and predominately male. Those students who shared the same ethnic pool on campus as myself took up less than 1% of the student body's population. This racial distribution did not disturb me much as I was accustomed to being the true minority throughout my upbringing in the Southwest. My main intent was to earn by diploma and to take some knowledge along with it

Nonetheless, on campus it was not uncommon for me to come across professors who truly believed a minority student's presence on campus was owed to a system of affirmative action, which was a notion often fraught with the stigma of inferiority in intellect, motivation, and talent. On the other side of the coin, I would often come across an equal number of Anglo male professors who did believe in whatever talent I had, and any of their students possessed. Though the number of negative professors were equal to that of the positive mentors, such negative experiences can impact the minority student in a way that is vastly different than those who are non-minorities.

Now find yourself strolling down the corridors of this nation's great institutions of government or even prominent public businesses. Notice the faces and one will see notice a dominant and recurring trend. This trend may be overlooked upon first glance but becomes clearly obvious that those who compose of these institutions are often powerful, knowledgeable, and highly esteemed Anglo-Saxon males. These individuals in high places achieved such positions through hard work, determination, experience, a thorough education, but most importantly were escorted on their road to success by mentors who were most likely of similar background and race. For a minority, strolling along the same corridor of such institutions reminds them of how absent their presence is in global scheme of things. Not having a relatable mentor who resembles them, often suggests

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>