My father was IBM’s first black software engineer

Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by dasil003 on Sunday September 22, 2019 @05:34PM (#21044098)

Your response is confusing to me. His son telling the story 70 years later hardly qualifies as boasting. I'm not sure what is short-sighted about the first black man hired by IBM helping other blacks get hired in an era of not just systematic, but explicit and open racism. Perhaps you're saying it's short-sighted if he got caught or brought in unqualified people, but he was no doubt keenly aware of the stacked deck against him and wanted to help level the playing field for others. This strikes me as more altruistic than short-sighted.

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Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by Angostura on Sunday September 22, 2019 @06:32PM (#21044401)

I think he was saying it was unwise to tell anyone about it.

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Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by goldcd on Sunday September 22, 2019 @07:38PM (#21044708)

The specific thing I was thinking, was that the guys who got in after them probably had their own stories of being "the 2nd or 3rd black guy in an IBM office" - which I'd have thought would likewise be a source of pride to them and their families.

Then this appears, which might indicate that they might (maybe didn't happen, maybe not to this candidate) have had the interview answers given to them. It potentially taints.

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Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by bdamm on Sunday September 22, 2019 @08:01PM (#21044847)

Folks sometimes say two wrongs don't make a right, but when I look at this kind of thing and try to put myself in the shoes of a person that's experienced race-based bullying their entire life and are trying to edge up any way they can and against pretty much all odds, it looks less like a wrong and more like opportunism.

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Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by kortilla on Sunday September 22, 2019 @09:53PM (#21045321)

Yep, but it doesn’t help any arguments about a minority being as technically capable when they are literally cheating to get in.

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Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by bdamm on Monday September 23, 2019 @01:07PM (#21050918)

I've met brilliant technical people from every race I've ever thought to recognize. I don't need any further argument to understand that there are brilliant individuals of all races.

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Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by yawaramin on Sunday September 22, 2019 @11:45PM (#21045767)

So, you read this article which talked about how Thomas Watson and IBM helped Nazis perpetrate genocide, and the 'taint' you're worried about is a few black people who might have been helped to get a job? You've got to be joking, right?

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Re:My father was IBM’s first black software engineer by zxcvbn4038 on Sunday September 22, 2019 @06:14PM (#21044326)

Do I detect the use of past tense? It still happens regularly.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Amadou_Diallo https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Markeis_McGlockt...

And these are just recent incidents where the victims were lucky enough to have their stories told and be remembered. Stuff like this happens all day everyday. Job descrimination more so. Why did we spend four trillion dollars (adj) fighting Hitler?

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