"A Change Gonna Come" - Oh No It Won't In My Life Time!

As the years progress the racial division in the United States seems to be getting worse rather than better. The Air bnb situation provides another example of how people's biases will cause them to avoid having to deal with people of color. It goes both ways too since a Black Twitter contributor to #AirbnbWhileBlack indicated that some White renters were alarmed to learn that she was the owner of the residence they rented through the website. Coming from a country with a predominantly Black population where one does not have to worry about his/her color to engage in life's simple activities, it is disheartening to observe how Blacks in the United States have continued to battle racist mentality from the slavery era until today, so many centuries later. Some assume that the appearance of those requesting to rent may be a factor for denial. However, there are too many Blacks who are experiencing denials when they post their pictures on Air B&B or if they have African sounding names. Furthermore, the following research shows.

Hidden Brain dug into a Harvard Business School study that found that on Airbnb, "African-American sounding names were roughly 16 percent less likely to be accepted than their white-sounding counterparts."

[Researcher Michael] Luca thinks this racial discrepancy is driven largely by unconscious bias—the hidden associations we have that affect our behavior without us realizing it. The way AirBnb's platform is designed, names and photos are the first thing people see, and therefore one of the first things they consider, either consciously or unconsciously, when choosing a place to stay.

Sam Cooke was optimistic that "A Change Gonna Come". But, as centuries pass, the struggle will continue for Blacks in the United States.

#AirbnbWhileBlack