Is the office of the US president the latest “black job”? It could well be.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday in 2026, I would like to believe that our country has evolved to the point where we can finally fulfill the promise made in 1776: that all people will be treated equally and fairly under the law.

America as a nation has always had a race problem. From slavery to segregation, Indian reservations to Japanese internment camps, race has always been at the center and the primary issue when it comes to legal language, civil rights, basic freedoms, and access to opportunity in the United States of America.

America's strength is its diversity – but its power lies in who is granted opportunity. And while all have access, a real opportunity to lead is not given.

This year at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the former First Lady and New York Times Bestselling author Michelle Obama delivered a speech that electrified those in attendance. While addressing the crowd and the nearly 22 million viewers watching at home, she said one thing that particularly struck a chord with people. She mentioned the term “Black jobs” – a phrase that went viral in July after it was used during a presidential debate between President Joseph P. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump.

“They're taking jobs away from black people,” Trump said, referring to people who had entered the country illegally. In context, “black jobs” has been interpreted as a derogatory term and insult to many Americans, especially certain black Americans – myself included.

I did a little research to decipher the intended context and origin. Historically, the term “black job” had a negative connotation, implying hard work and “unskilled” roles that were not intellectual in nature. During World War II, they were often referred to as “pick-and-shovel” jobs because most blacks at the time were relegated to unskilled, low-level positions.

After the debate, black social media users turned the term on its head, asking, “What exactly are black jobs?” and proudly sharing their careers and what they do for a living.

Enter Michelle Obama, who, in a completely different context, criticized black jobs by indirectly addressing the 45th President, saying:

“Be [Trump’s] Because of his limited, narrow view of the world, he felt threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people – who happen to be black. I want to know: Who is going to tell him that the job he is looking for right now might be one of those 'black jobs'?”

She made this term her own and brought a big grin to my face, partly from joy, partly from shock. Is the presidency a “black job”? It depends on how you look at it.

There have been 46 US presidents so far, and if Kamala wins, that would be two black presidents among 47, or 4.2% of all US presidents. But if two of the four incumbent presidents in the 21st century are black – and that's three out of six elections – then that would be 50%, and that would definitely be a job for black people!

In comparison, state governors have not fared so well. Since the founding of the United States, 2,129 governors have held office. Statistically, 0.0002% is probably not enough to be considered a job for blacks.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, blacks make up the largest share of workers in certain occupations in four industries: postal, transportation, security and health care.

Over 40 percent of sorters, processors/operators, and clerks in the U.S. Postal Service are Black, the highest percentage of Black people of any occupation studied, followed by 36 percent of transit/city bus drivers and nursing assistants, and 34 percent of security guards and gaming supervisors.

Outside the employment office, the statistics in the sports and entertainment sector are also revealing.

Over 29% of the main characters are black – that’s twice the 14.4% of the current black US population.

In sports, over 50% of NFL players are black and over 70% of NBA players are black – the highest rate of any North American professional sport.

Simone Biles famously posted on X “I love my black job” after winning the gymnastics all-around final at the Paris Olympics and taking home her ninth gold medal.

If black people are elected president in the United States, then surely they are also the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, right?

On the positive side, there will be eight black CEOs at the helm of the Fortune 500 companies in June 2023 – the highest number since the list was introduced in 1955.

On the other hand, this represents only 1.6% of Fortune 500 companies, significantly less than the 14.4% of the African-American population.

An estimated 50,000,000 people in the United States are Black, making them the second largest multicultural population after Hispanics/Latinos. And of that population, 7% (3.7 million) own businesses, which represents 11.3% of all U.S. businesses.

So when thinking about “Black jobs” today and in the future, it's important to start at the top and highlight and reclaim all the incredible places and positions that Black people have excelled in throughout our country's history. And to look forward to the next generation of incredible Americans who will look back on 2024 as the moment when “Black jobs” became as commonplace in the White House – as they will one day be in every other area of ​​American life.