Realities and Racial Macroaggressions People of Colour Experience in the Workplace

 Just from speaking to other people of colour and reading around there seem to be an expectation of model and non –model minorities. Model minorities know their place and don’t stand out or shine.  Model minorities grin and bear micro and macroaggressions and call them coincidences.  Model minorities on the job are mediocre minorities who live out minority stereotypes.

I was not taught to be a model minority.  Instead I was taught to have a strong work ethic, to be prepared to work hard and to maintain my dignity and self-respect in the face of all forms of discrimination.  These were my instructions for survival as a black girl in a classist, capitalistic and patriarchal culture.  These were my safeguards as a black girl growing up.  I was taught that as a black woman oppression would be an inevitable part of my life but that I did not have to be defined by mistreatment.  My mother and other mothers taught me that I could defy misconceptions and handle my business.  They helped me understand that an acknowledgment of oppression is not acquiescence. From an early age I knew I had to fight oppression in its many forms.

I remember Paul Matavire- a Zimbabwean musician and songwriter singing in the 90s about how women were expected to sleep with the boss in order to get a job or a promotion at work.  Mind you this was happening in the world of work and still is. I also remember in high school male teachers making vulgar jokes about female students and the boys laughing. These male teachers enjoyed sexual jokes not at the expense of all pupils but only us girls. I remember, I remember….. The list is endless. And from an early age I knew I had to fight all forms of discrimination then and as an adult woman, at home and in the workplace.

Here is a list of some macro aggressions in the workplace but the list is endless,

1.     You are expected to speak for and on behalf of people of color everywhere.  You are sometimes expected to be the barometer of racism.  If there is a conscience in the workplace, you are it.  You carry the burden of calling out discrimination when you see/experience it with the risk of retaliation which can be anything from being overlooked for a promotion, to losing your job altogether for creating a “hostile” environment.  If/when you don’t call out racism, you emotional turmoil and guilt, feeling like a sell out for not standing up for yourself or others.

2.     You are routinely accused of being hostile, aggressive, difficult and/or angry.  In one organisation, I was told ''oh don't mind so and so she has a Central European temper and the lady in question chuckled and people clapped their hands in support but if I dare show my anger even when it's within reason , OMG , I am accused of all sorts.  You are told that your colleagues/students/co-workers/customers are intimidated by you and are afraid to approach you.    You are encouraged in evaluations to “smile more,” and “be friendlier.”  You practice a fake ass smile in the mirror on your way out the door and practice all the way to work.  You fear that your resting face pose makes people think you are mean. In one of my jobs I was told I had a glazed look that they didn't understand. Up to now I have no idea what this was all about. All it was about was they wanted to portray me as different from my white colleagues.

3.     You are required to be the diversity on committees and in meetings because black is the only diversity that matters.  Your blackness makes it easy to “see” that a diversity quota has been met.

4.     You feel unappreciated, undercompensated and overworked.  You are afraid to ask for compensation, a promotion, praise or affirmation.  You have been socialized to be satisfied that you have a job.  You feel guilty for not feeling grateful.

5.     You are regularly nominated for or assigned extra tasks and responsibilities for things no one else wants to do (especially things involving other people of colour).  You are encouraged to work with other people of colour, join people of colour groups, attend people of color activities, etc.

6.     Your absence (at work, at meetings, at parties) stands out with no regard to how exhausting it is to be the only black person in the room.  You are encouraged to not think of yourself as black when you are the only black person in the room.

7.     You are often vilified and/or criticized for doing your work (too early or on time, well or not good enough).  You are labeled as either an overachiever or a slacker, as too ambitious or lazy.  You struggle to find the balance between these things.

8.     You feel that no matter what you do or how hard you work, you need to do more (or sometimes less).  Nothing is ever (good) enough.

9.     You feel the need to constantly prove yourself worthy of your job or opportunity.  You know that some people assume you got your job, promotion, award, or special recognition, not because you worked your ass off or deserve it, but because you are black (there goes that damn black privilege again, because you know affirmative action causes folk to get jobs they are unqualified for.

10.  You feel isolated, misunderstood, misrecognized, misrepresented, and missing in action.  You wonder how you can feel invisible and hyper visible at the same time.

Food for thought!