Why A Black Man Can't Get A Cab
By Keith Boykin, in pop culture
Friday, April 28 2006, 12:05AM
Standing out in the rain last weekend, a doorman took on the task of hailing cabs for patrons leaving the business where he worked. The doorman was black and most of the cab drivers who passed by appeared to be people of color as well. The first cab drove by with his Available Light on but didn't stop. The second cab looked over at the doorman, who was not wearing a fancy outfit, and kept driving. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cabs sped off as well. I was next in line for a cab but the white couple behind me were so shocked by the behavior of the cab drivers that they mouthed their outrage. "That's against the law," the white man said to his female partner.
After almost 10 minutes of failure, the doorman returned to the dry awning and apologized. At this point, the frustrated white woman simply walked to the curb in the rain and hailed down the first of several cabs. It was just that simple. It was another day in the city for the two black men (myself and the doorman), but it was an eye opening experience for the white couple who had probably never been so directly affected by racial discrimination.
With all the mistreatment and the history of discrimination that blacks experience, I guess I'm not surprised if the stereotype is true that blacks actually tip less than whites. But it's a chicken and egg question. Given the circumstances, can you blame them?
Do Blacks Tip Less Than Whites?
I'm not saying blacks do tip less than whites. That I don't know for sure. But UCLA Law Professor Devon Carbado asks that very question in a recent piece on Blackprof.com. The question: "Do blacks, on average, leave smaller tips than whites?" The answer may surprise you. "Yes, according to some recent research." But Professor Carbado isn't satisfied with a simple yes or no answer. Instead, he digs deeper to try to understand the root causes if the research is true.
Of course one explanation why African Americans may tip less is because we experience discrimination in service so often. I can't tell you how many times I've been mistreated by cab drivers just because I'm black. As Professor Carbado explains, investigators observed that "passenger discrimination imposes the equivalent of a 6.6% tax on the income of black taxicab drivers." That's a whole new perspective on the issue. But the investigators also found that "forty percent of blacks left no tip, compared with 10% of whites."
I think there's another issue to be explored here. That's the self-imposed tax that some blacks pay for their service just so their service providers know that they tip well. In other words, just to get the same type of service that whites typically expect, black patrons sometimes feel the need to overcompensate with their tips to send a message. I've seen it happen quite a few times before, and it largely goes unnoticed by white patrons.
What's The Matter With Cab Drivers?
Cab drivers seem to have several different but related concerns about picking up black men. First they're afraid that black men won't pay them or won't tip them. There also concerned that black men might rob them. And then some are concerned that black men will ask them to drive to a bad neighborhood or a faraway neighborhood where the cabbie won't be able to pick up another quick and easy fare. Those are real fears, but of course it's not fair to assume all black men will behave a certain way based on stereotypes from a few.
So what's the solution? When I lived in DC where there aren't as many cabs as we have in New York, I thought the solution was to add more cabs to the system and thus the increased supply would require the cab drivers to acquiesce to consumer demand from blacks. But now that I live in New York, which has 12,779 yellow medallion cabs that serve 241 million passengers a year, I now realize that supply and demand economics won't solve this problem. Racism is not economical, but it happens almost everyday in business.
The whole scenario reminds me of that book What's The Mater With Kansas? about Americans in the heartland who vote against their economic self-interest. It seem no matter how far we've come, we are still influenced by fear. So maybe the next book should be titled, What's The Matter With Cab Drivers?
Comments conceal
Jeff Hobbs
April 28 2006, 2:49AM
Thats amazing!
Topher
April 28 2006, 5:27AM
Hey Kieth some anecdotes
In the recent UK film KIDULTHOOD, the main protagonist, a black guy is seen trying and failing to hail a London Cab at night. Later in the film he and his friends also Black succeed in ghetting a cab during the day. But instead of paying they run away. As the cab driver chases them down the street the protagonist shouts "its a vicious circle mate..what goes around comes around."
A few years ago myself and my then boyfriend also black british were late for the movies. He lived in central London so cabs were thick on the streets. Needless to say no cabs stopped and we missed the film. Also, once when I tried to hail a cab near some traffic lights no cabs would stop. I chased one cab to the lights when they had turned red and banged on the door.."Why wouldn't you stop" I asked "Is it becasue I am black?" The cab driver looked me in the eye and said "Yes." The lights changed and he drove off.
If I do manage to get a cab on my own I find myself talking in my best English--no street/gay/or black slang--a sort of unconsciuos way of saying" we are alright you know" pathetic I know! Thoughts of running off without paying the fair also hover about my mind. The need for payback is not far away. So maybe it is a vicious circle.
We got a cab when you were in London easily because we were in Central London helped by a white concierge in uniform. However even in this instance I have had cabs refuse to take me to some destinations.
Racism and Cabs in London are like fish and chips mate.
The pecking order seems to be: 1. White female/s 2. White males (preferably suited and sober). 3 Any other race-- maybe
Juan
April 28 2006, 7:34AM
Keith,
You highlight something that Black men know all too well. I have always said that here in DC a white man raises his hand and expects a cab to stop and a Black man raises his and hopes a cab will stop. When I worked downtown near the Mayflower hotel I would always enter one of the other doors and exit the front to get one of the cabs in the que but in other areas I wasn't as successful unless I had luggage. Fortunately for me (even in NY), I typically have a car service but that's the exception.
The other day I was downtown DC and saw this youngish Black man trying to hail a cab on L Street, which you know is one way. He was on the side of the street that would have put him behind the driver. He confidently walked to the curb and sort of motioned for a cab to stop and the drive kept going. Had it not been for the light turning red he probably would not have caught the next cab to come his way.
I am telling my age but Diamond Cab in DC that at one time had only white drivers was nortorious but today with many of the drivers being Ethiopian and from the "Islands" it's doubly sad to see a brother waiting in the cold, rain, or dark trying to make his way home.
Charles
April 28 2006, 7:58AM
Tipping in a restaurant is based upon service, not on your prior experience with someone or something that is unrelated. I have been a waiter in Chicago and watched the treatment that Blacks have put upon a fellow co-worker. The high demands and low or no tip was a constant theme by many Blacks.
All people need to work harder and living in the true moment of their lives and not projecting into the past or off to the sides so much. Yes, that can be hard for some groups of people especially Blacks as we have taken hits so many times and various way before.
You have to do the right thing when it is presented to you.
Does anyone recall the opening dialog in "Reservoir Dogs" as it illustrated this issue so clearly?
david
April 28 2006, 10:14AM
Geez, I could write a Bible about discrimination from New York cab drivers... even in expensive dark suits, clutching Blackberries, the very image of Wall-Street, I and my black colleague always find it difficult to get cabs. Some evenings, I just call up a town car service just to get home.
Do I over-tip? Yes. I typically tip the driver 50-100% of my fare (and they always look astonished when i do that).
It's so depressing.
Yusef
April 28 2006, 10:47AM
Hey Keith, good post...but i have to say living here in DC and visiting harlem at least 2times a month...i would take Harlem anyday....i have never had a problem gettin a cab in harlem or the bronx..but try gettin a cab in downtown dc..and you better not be going to SE DC..you might as well start walkin....lol
Javier
April 28 2006, 11:08AM
What's even worse is that most of the folks driving the cabs and passing up black folks are other "folks of color" african, arab, etc...White cab drivers rarely give me any drama...
Jon
April 28 2006, 12:08PM
Keith:
I work in Southeast Washington D.C and it is nearly impossible to hail a cab. Furthermore, some food delivery drivers will either not bring food to my job from fear of the neighborhood or will call from the car to have me pick up the food I ordered while they sit in a running car.
It is extremely discouraging to feel the springs of racial injustice sprung on us as Black people daily. However, I think it is important not to look at ourselves solely as victims of white supremacist thinking or actions. Yes, we should hold those who deny us our rights accountable. Yes, we should acknowlege the pain, discomfort and rage when we are slighted, overlooked and ignored. Nevertheless, we can empower ourselves by recognizing we have choices. We can choose not to ride in those cabs (even though it may inconvenience us greatly) or not order from restauraunts that treat us in a way that attempts to deny our dignity.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on ways that we can resist these unfair practices and ways in which we can advocate for equal services at patrons. Thank you.
Mel Smith
April 28 2006, 3:17PM
I had a black cab driver refuse to pick me up. But I have also had a white man refuse to take me to my destination. A cab driver from Pakistan once told me that blacks want to travel to Brooklyn and Queens. He said that cab drivers make more money by doing local runs in Manhattan.
Liquid Fonts
April 28 2006, 3:23PM
The last time that happened to me I was on my way to a job interview that I needed badly and as I stood on the corner of Michigan and Ohio as several cabs past me by, even seeming to speed up, It was then that I realized how foolish I was, a young black man in a suit trying to hail a cab on North Michigan avenue in broad daylight... when there was something to lose!!
Being late for that interview would be the ultimate price to pay in this situation .... so I ran and arrived promptly 6 minutes late and out of breath.
Eric Parsons
April 29 2006, 3:34PM
I have lived in D.C. and in New York. Both cities required that I engage in strategic thinking as to where and how I was going to get a cab. Having a woman with me sometimes helped, and she would be the one to actually hail the cab. I remember being in Boston on a business trip trying to catch a cab to take me to the airport. I stood in front of the site where I had attended a meeting. No luck. I was wearing a suit. I proceeded to walk thinking I would have better luck on the next block. I ended up walking about 10 blocks with that foolish thought in mind. Cab drivers looked at me and kept on going. Finally I came to a hotel that had a brotha as the doorman dressed in a remarkable uniform. I told him what I had been through and he immediately blew his whistle and got me a cab rather quickly. In all my visits to Boston, I have never been able to get a cab unless someone else hailed it for me (a woman or someone wearing a uniform).
Sandy
April 29 2006, 11:05PM
Not being able to hail a cab happens to black women too. Even in Harlem were I work, if a white person or couple getting off of the Metro North hails a cab at the same time I do; guess who gets the cab every time. Even when I have been standing and waiting a long time snd no one is coming out of the station I still have a hard time.
boogie tonight
May 1 2006, 1:00AM
Take it from me... I've had my share of good and bad experiences with the NYC TLC and I do believe in taking them to TLC court... Always take a note of medallions and always get a receipt. Most cabbies don't think you won't bother to report them, but you have to hit them where it hurts in the wallet...
I've watched as cabs at red lights with on duty signs lock doors on me and ask where I am going, even in brooklyn... One even let me get in and refused to take me to my desination. I even called the cops and they sided with the cabby.
When they show up for court their license is suspensed immediatley...