What makes it so hard for white people to trust us?

Question

I don’t usually talk or even think like this but I just got done answering a very racially charged question and it put me in this state of mind. I’m black and I work for my brother’s media company we do websites logos graphic design TV commercials, that type of thing I believe we do good work http://realitymediadesign.com/ people look at our clients and say “Oh you’re an urban company” we’re not trying to be an urban company “URBAN PEOPLE” for the most part the only ones who will work with us. We go after a somewhat large client who are white they turn us down then a couple of months later they choose a less talented white company to do their website TV, commercial etc. I just don’t get it. My question is what makes it so hard for white people to trust us?

I do totally agree that our website should look more corporate to get more corporate deals. That is why our site is under construction If you look through our portfolio http://realitymediadesign.com/portfolio.htm you will see all types of website some looking urban and some not, but you can see that we don’t get a much of a chance to show what we can do on a corporate looking level. I feel like we can achieve any style of design especially the corporate look because that is the most simplest look at http://www.bankofamerica.com http://www.sprint.com

And for people who don’t even think I’m black that’s just stupid. Here’s my myspace http://myspace.com/youngchief

Answer 1

Maybe it's not so much that you're an "urban company", maybe it's that the style isn't what they are looking for. When a company looks at your site, personal taste plays a large role in which sites get contracts and which get ignored. If you want to attract a larger demographic, then you need to build a site that appeals to many tastes, not just what you think looks good. Take a look at some of the top design companies, and try to get some ideas for mass (and corporate) appeal.

Answer 2

Web design is such a hard business to be in these days. The competition is really quite stiff out there. I've designed pages for quite a few years personally and just started professionally myself, so I understand the struggle of getting it together and getting clients to come to you. Since web design is so competitive, I personally opted to switch my designs to working with mainly vbulletin & wordpress skins & installs. My personal experience so far has been this: I'm a white "almost" middle aged female and I find that alot of people do not want to hire a female either, so I don't believe totally that its a strictly baised against black or your race. This world is a hodge podge of people and everyone has a different outlook on design, style & who they want to design their pages.

The best thing you can do is provide your service at the best you can. To me it seems you have done quite well with your designs & page. You have many clients in your portfolio, and will most likely have many more. Yes, some people may be inclined not to hire someone if the person doing the hiring has a mental problem, but you cannot let it get you down that "they" have a problem. Everyone is different and has different tastes.

I'm the type of person who is really into a certain look....dark. But I cannot portray it on my business site. I've used very light colors that are appealing to everyone even though its not the main thing I'm really into. So a change of your site to be more "cooperate" if you like is a good thing and may bring you those business accounts in the end. Just hang in there and I'm sure it will all work out.

Answer 3

Every company I've ever worked at was racially blind, I would have left them if I felt otherwise. Put another way, we went for the best solution we could afford, regardless of the race of the sales person, owner, etc.

It is interesting that your questions was not "How do we get white people to trust us?" wherein the responsibility for change falls on you. Rather you are trying to find out why white people don't trust blacks.

Racism is a subtle thing for most white people, especially if they don't work with blacks normally (there was 1 black person at my high school). Everyone learns by stereotyping things initially, until they learn the details. This makes it hard to overcome initial negative emotions, so I think this is one answer to your question.

Nonetheless real racism exists and it sucks. If you feel like particular white people aren't going to trust you then blow them off. Who needs the hassle? We all need to fight racism where ever we see it, but make sure we see it clearly.

However adversity creates strength. Maybe you can find a way to create a better brand/attitude that will make you even more trustworthy then you are today. Take their biased attitude and use it to better yourself in ways you hadn't thought of before.

Racism will die someday, but not in our life times. Good luck!

Answer 4

maybe b/c the majority of blacks do not have a job like yourself. Since you and your brother have your own company, it is harder to get it going, might need more connections to link up with the larger clients. If you notice, employers of big companies have to hire a mixture of people, not only white and male, they could be sued, it's called affirmative action. Would you hire someone to work with you that is not black?

Answer 5

Racism works both ends of the spectrum nowadays .If you're an average somewhat ok whiteboy who plays basketball ,coaches would probably favor more black athletes who are the same level unless the whiteboy can really dominate. We should not equate our color with frustration or being favored .Human Psychology is not an exact science.If the situation frustrates you what about asking yourself why are there black people who are succesfull in your area of expertise ,I'm sure there's a ton of company in the U.S who employs black people probably even competing with your company & beating you out perhaps because they focus their energy thinking of ways to attract business rather than racism.

Answer 6

My first guess is that your style of design doesn't appeal to these particular companies... plain and simple. It has NOTHING to do with race.

I'm a graphic designer and I own my own design firm and I can tell you that you WILL be turned down on occassion. It's a part of business. Don't take it personally. Not everyone's style of design is for everybody.

I was just recently turned down for a project because my style of design was too masculine for this particular female-owned and operated business. I didn't take it personally. It's par for the course.

Answer 7

Wow. You do great work! Personally I think these folks are missing out on some awesome talent. Just keep up the good work. Very soon you'll have more work than you know what to do with. Good luck.

Answer 8

I am white and I would not and do not have a problem working with black people. As far as the people who do, they are not only racist, they obviously are not very good business people.

I am sorry this has been your experience. There is nothing anyone can say to give these people a good excuse for acting this way.

Answer 9

It has been a long held belief of mine that people are more likely to cheat or exploit a "stranger". Partly because they are less likely to have to answer for it in their own community of friends and family. I am not saying that you would do this, or that it is correct thinking, I just think that it is largely how we "roll".

On a side note: your pages are bandwidth intensive and therefore slow to load, I personally do not like waiting at all.

(The pages do look really nice.)

Answer 10

I have no idea why it would be hard. If you have good work and references I would have no problem hiring you.
I think you have a good idea about your site. Put lots of examples on your site so many types of customers can identify. Hang in there, don't give up, a good reputation is the best calling card !