Arab American job seekers erase Al Jazeera from résumés to avoid discrimination

Evidence

A few weeks later, and with graduation looming, he started applying for a career job. And he watched his chances slowly sinking. The lack of interest was frustrating beyond belief. One night he began thinking about the whole search and about his résumé. He pulled up the document on his computer screen and stared at it for a while. Then he selected the name “Al Jazeera” and hit Delete. He started typing. Now his work experience innocuously listed a stint as a “United Nations Production Assistant/ Intern.” — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 775

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader pattern of Muslim/Arab Americans downplaying or hiding identity markers post-9/11, and to the ‘MY NAME CAUSES NATIONAL SECURITY ALERTS’ T-shirt as the same survival anxiety worn as humor.
• SEED: Article angle: the resume as a site of racial/identity erasure — what professional minorities delete from their job applications and what it costs them.