My title refers to the following. I have 8 sisters, 3 brothers, one passed away from cancer 3 years ago. I have 1 daughter , who recently graduated from college, 1 son who is considering joining the armed forces, because of the challenges of obtaining a decent or long term job, here in Michigan. We have our first grand son who's picture Ii used for my file. He is bi-racial, which makes no difference to me and my wife, we love him just the same. Black in America, I've pondered the thought of this question for a while. But mine has been focused on a more local basis. You see I reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It seems to me that this documentary has focused on the same questions I ask myself about this city. I was downsized from a major retailer in 2001. After 23 years of service, my wife and friends alike were also downsized after years of service. We were all in management positions. Now what really gets me, is these are blacks with degrees, years of experience and what we all thought , through networking with clients and vendors, connections to other job possibilities. Well we all found out about our connections. It was like AT&T, we were quickly disconnected. When enquiring with all of our connections. No one seemed to have any openings in their organizations. Everyone was in a frenzy, non of us could get interviews anywhere, and we had sent out numerous resumes, for jobs that we know we were qualified for. We could not even get lower paying jobs because we were over qaulified. I have had 7 jobs in the last 7 years after letting people know, I need to work. I did what ever job that came up, no matter what the pay was. Typically low, but I was working. When I came across a decent paying job out of the seven, there was always an obstacle which made sure that you were not going to succeed, this would be the human factor or should I say the typical jerk or back stabbers, haters, or what ever you want to call an individual who can'nt stand to see a black man or woman succeed. This month alone, I have sent out 20 resumes and have'nt heard from anyone here in Grand Rapids. It does'nt make sense. It seems they would rather hire someone with no experience, lack of social skills and no true interest in the job, than hiring a black man or woman. I say this because with a name like Darnell, they know I am black, I'm not jumping to assumptions. I've been at this too long to assume. Next time I add to this note, I will site examples of interviews and experiences that will further let you know, what it's like to be Black In Grand Rapids. Consider this, Part 1.