On paper, this organization was excited to interview me — a multiracial immigrant who grew up and still resides in the community and identifies with key stakeholders. However, in the interview, I could sense that they were disappointed because I may not have appeared Black or Brown enough for them.
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So, when I am at the pharmacy, at an interview, checking out at the grocery store, at the doctor’s office, or even presenting materials at work, and another Black person asks me “Where you from?” — what is essentially being said is “You’re safe to be myself around,” “I see you,” and “I can take a break from masking/preforming for the comfort of others for a moment,” and I do not take that trust lightly. I do not play about allowing anyone to shame me into voluntarily giving up such a huge piece of my culture.
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The way we think about work will never be the same again, and it has real implications for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ). The Great Resignation, remote/hybrid arrangements, and new attitudes about work all have profound implications for DEIJ work. It is a worker’s market. Unemployment rates are low; people are quitting in record numbers. If you did not believe before that diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice is the answer, you should believe it now.
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Yesterday, we learned that bell hooks, scholar, writer, poet, a woman I credit as one of my own intellectual foremothers, became an ancestor. I have always been drawn to her method of boldly acknowledging the influence of culture, system, and structural oppression while also lovingly affirming our individual agency, collective power and choice as we strive to “survive whole.” As we wrap up the year and continue our conversation on what it means to center abundance, it feels timely to offer a few rememberings by bell hooks that emphasize the role of and power in community as we work toward a more just and loving world.
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In addition to the stereotypes, microaggressions and sometimes blatant racism that marginalized professionals face, they also carry an additional burden: the minority tax. If we would not expect white men to work for free or take on additional labor without some trade-offs, why then do we expect this of people of color and women? At a minimum, we should be considering the following when it comes to the minority tax and advancing DEI within organizations…
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