"One sitter, a Caribbean woman living in Bedford-Stuyvesant, asked about the “colored” people in the Boones’ neighborhood, Clinton Hill. A Russian sitter said enthusiastically that although she had never cared for a black child, she could in this case, because little Emerie Boone, now 7 months old, was light-skinned. All sitters expressed surprise that a black couple could afford a four-story brownstone."
Click here to read Jodi Cantor's NYT Article, Nanny Hunt Can Be a ‘Slap in the Face’ for Blacks.
12 comments:
I think the nanny pointed out the ignorance of some nannies, particulary a certain class of nanny. I don't think it is limited to an African American Experience. Some of the comments I heard while interviewing nannies were more than offensive.
"So you are the Jew, huh"?
"I will make sure your baby appreciates Jesus. He cannot have life without Jesus".
"Why does the agency keep sending me to house of Jews"?
All of these comments were said to me during the course of an interview.
We ended up hiring a nanny with a degree in early childhood education. I could never allow an ignorant or uneducated person close proximity to MY children.
I'm Chinese but I took my husband's (American) family name when we married. All the nannies I've interviewed were understandably surprised that I'm Asian but a few of them seemed more closed off than they sounded on the phone after discovering my ethnicity.
What's surprising is that the white nannies were fine with me being Asian, it was my fellow minority women who did not want a Chinese employer. Go figure.
why would you when you already have your ignorant ass self near them, idiot
I'm a white Christian nanny who has worked happily for Jewish and Asian families, and I would have no problem working for an AA family.
I do think cultural differences can affect a good match however. I don't think I would be comfortable with a fundamentalist Christian family, or they with me. I'm all about pumping up the Raffi, and dancing the kids around the living room!
It is really funny that this posting was put up because my friends and I were just talking about it. I am African American and my husband is Jewish. I have my husband's last name (like 4:28) said. I have a 3 year old girl and my husband and I were looking for a part time nanny. I interviwed one girl who actually asked me if I was the former nanny. I cut the interview very short. I get what the OP was trying to say. People are very ignorant and finding a nanny when you are minority is a little more difficult.
8:48PM,
I get the "You work on Sundays too?" when I take my kids to the playground on Sundays. I am Black, and my husband is White, and people find it hard to believe that a black woman can actually be stable enough to be a SAHM, so they just assume that I am my kids' nanny.
Jodi Cantor is always on point. She writes for mommies everywhere!
I am a white Christian and have worked for Jewish families and Chinese familes, as well as a family where the mother was African-American and the father was white. As in with any other job out there, it is not right to discriminate on the employer's or employee's end because of someone's race.
Um, yah. we get that.
It isn't right.
But if I had a nanny, I would rather she let slip her biggoted remarks pre being hired rather than 4 months after working unsupervised with my dc!
I had a similar experience where the nanny who came to interview told me that she thought I was "American" since my English was so good over the telephone. And then, she made up some excuse about not wanting the job and walked away before even coming inside for the interview. Then I thought that maybe I should say in my nanny wanted ad what my race was... After this incident, I always somehow worked it into the telephone interview what my race was. There's no point in wasting anyone's time setting up personal interviews with someone who doesn't want to work for someone who isn't "American."
Ever work for Christian Conservatives?? Oh they are the worst! I am christian but try working for a family that thought that Spongebob was gay, Disney Channel was gay, Big Bird was gay, Elmo was the color of the devil, and IPODs was just another plot by the Jews to take over the world. True story. I quit after a week. After I was told that I must be gay because I wore birkenstocks to work. Birkenstocks were worn by the "gays". It got on my neerves. So I left. Ironically the day I left the dad was wearing a tee shirt with a rainbow on it. Oh, how I wanted to say it but I didn't!
1:18, ROFLMAO! I just about spit on the computer reading that one. I probably would have said it!
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