As many of you already know from my previous posts, I have been the only black social worker at my job for quite some time now. It has been a very challenging experience to navigate to say the very least. However recently the agency that I work with has hired a part-time clinician of color in addition to 2 black interns. One would call this “progress”. The gradual introduction of color into this predominately white space would insinuate the presence of growth, a heavily exhaled sigh of relief as finally the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department is starting to earn its keep. One would think this means that we’s finally free however if I’m honest, I move with cautious optimism as many efforts to be inclusive have been performative at best, tone deaf at the very least. While it is nice that we have a portion of black talent slowly arriving to this predominately white space, thing is, it is part-time talent. We are full-time black people who should be employed full-time. We are not to be consumed in samples and small bites but rather imbibed greedily, the totality of us. Such demonstrations of “progress” while seemingly encouraging, is moving at a snail’s pace and at the same time making the white employees nervous asf!
A funny thing happens on the way to “the fair”. What exactly is “the fair” you might ask? The fair I refer to in this essay is the equal representation of black people within the workplace. The fair is the dismantling of predominately white work spaces in favor of more diverse workspaces that honor and reflect our nations evolving demographic. As we work towards “the fair” an interesting dynamic begins to emerge among white employees. They start to get uncomfortable and begin to let their bias show. They try to compensate for their covert bias with exaggerated forms of friendliness, overkindness, bleeding generosity that reflects their discomfort. I realize that the more white people are nice to you, the more they can’t stand your presence. Some forms of white kindness is at times very compensatory and laced with ill intent. The goal for some low-key bigots is to keep their job, maintain their benefits while at the same time protecting their white workspaces from the invasion of diversity. For many the mere concept of diversity training was enough to make them feel like good white people. It afforded them the luxury of saying “hey see we care, we are good, we are fair. We filled out the worksheet on how to work with Blacks, Latinos and other communities of color” while at the same time never having to actually work with Blacks, Latinos and other communities of color. All performative optics that make it look like they want us around while at the same time knowing that we would never be around. Or so they thought.
Now we are gradually being inducted into what used to be predominately white work spaces and now we are beginning to see the mask fall off. At my job what I’ve noticed as I mentioned before is this exaggerated form of kindness. This is intentional and often times deployed as a way to offset any accusations of racism. Despite the microaggressions and expression of covert bias, such white kindness can be the equivalent of racial gaslighting. I mean how could they be racist if they are so nice to us right? Wrong! Often times exaggerated pleasantries are a way to cover up covert bigotry. They are used as social cosmetics to mask deep hatred. In professional settings, they are used to facilitate peaceful relations to make sure the workday runs smoothly. They are not genuine but rather surreptitious attempts to divert attention from their inner rage and discontent with the application of diversity. It was all well and good when diversity was just a theory but now that it is being put into practice, many white professionals are beginning to unveil their true selves and it isn’t pretty!
Another thing I’ve noticed is the supremacist tendency to always try to dominate work spaces either through the shifting of focus and attention back to their lives or the use of black professionals as “Magical Negroes”, expecting them to listen and carry the weight of white worries. Many times I have seen white professionals use black talent as mere sounding boards with no real interest or investment in their lives. They dump their gripes and complaints into the laps of black professionals and expect them to be the midwives to their grief and despair. Many black professionals in an effort to be courteous and not rock the boat have respectfully listened and unwittingly assumed a supportive role as many of them are new hires and do not want to make waves, let alone be perceived as divisive trouble makers. The trouble with doing this is you teach white people how to put you last. You teach them that you only exist to serve them and that your needs do not matter. You make it so that they do not have to listen or be held accountable for being attentive and considerate of your needs. In a way you unwittingly help to perpetuate white supremacy by your refusal to assert your presence within white spaces. Additionally by always “tending to their house” you stop tending to your own which leads to hidden resentment, anger, hostility and ultimately a major blow up that could lend itself to misinterpretation and the perpetuation of misaligned stereotypes. You unintentionally become the angry black woman or the angry black man when you play into the hands of bias white professionals. Who knew that we could also unwittingly co-create the tropes that we are working so hard to dismantle?
Another thing that happens on the way to “the fair” is the subtle often insidious expression of white rage. This is often spoken in the language of passive aggressive behaviors and is expressed in very cunning, crafty and indirect ways. For example, many white professionals who take issue with black presence at the workplace will overtalk you, dismiss or unduly challenge your ideas, weaponize their gaze by staring you down in an effort to make you feel uncomfortable (eye contests), pretend not to know what you are talking about in an effort to frustrate you and exhaust you by way of overexplaining and make snide off-hand comments that they know will trigger your insecurities as many of them are pathologically miserable and study you for sport. Some may even try to put you on and wear you around the office. What do I mean by this? They will literally try to mirror you and pantomime your every move as a way of getting to know what makes you tick. Once they gain an understanding of you and have collected substantial baseline data on who they feel you are, that is when they begin to deploy very covert tactics to undermine your confidence, your self-esteem and your intuition. Such psychological warfare continues to be a tool used to force you out by way of strategy. Many optimistic black professionals will see this as an honest curiosity about black people and charge it to the lack of experience that white people often have with black people but please black people do not be fooled. While some white people have a healthy curiosity about black people, it is the motivation behind such curiosity that should be considered. Suspend your tendency to offer the benefit of the doubt and begin to expertly assess the true motivations of those you work with.
While efforts at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are still trying to find their proverbial footing, what I suspect will eventually happen is a mass exodus of white people leaving their positions in search of ivory pastures. Such white flight will present new opportunities for black professionals as well as new challenges. I encourage black professionals to continue to hone their skills, learn new skills and support one another on the path to equity because it is getting hard out here and while it is my sincere hope that all people work together in the spirit of peace, unity and total harmony, the truth is many will be lost on the way to “the fair” due to their own biases. And to this I say good riddance to bad rubbish! Onward, upward!
