White People Are Faking Anti-Racism…Again
I cannot speak for the Black delegation because that isn’t a thing that exists but I know that while your Black co-workers are not interested in helping you fix your racist organization, we also know you’re full of shit. Been there, done that and we don’t want to play your goofy games anymore.
Your calls for ending racism in the workplace are lies. Your desire to make a difference is a sham. Your willingness to change only applies as long as you don’t have to sacrifice anything you care about and anti-racism requires that you sacrifice your privilege, something you’ve actively fought to strengthen with white supremacist patriarchal capitalism for hundreds of years.
We see the rhetoric. We see how saying Black Lives Matter, a phrase that was a fireable offense as recently as two months ago, is now the buzzword of the hour. We see companies that claimed to be supportive of Black people immediately backtrack as soon as real change was required.
L’Oreal fired Munroe Bergdorf for her anti-racism stance after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, North Carolina but this past week issued a statement claiming to support Black Lives Matter. Facebook has claimed to fight racism for years yet Black people continued to be silenced for speaking about the racist things that happen to them. As author and activist Didi Delgado stated in her essay Mark Zuckerberg Hates Black People, “I’ve lost count of how many Black organizers have had their Facebook accounts temporarily or permanently banned for posting content that even remotely challenges white supremacy.” Any language against white people, specifically men, has been flagged as hate speech but white people can say “nigger” and “nigga” with impunity.
We already know the deal. If we haven’t lost at least one job for addressing racism in the office, we have at the very least had our jobs threatened at the possibility of mentioning it. In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization dedicated to monitoring hate groups, was compelled to release an op-ed stating the obvious — that Black Lives Matter is NOT a hate group because white people refuse to have their white supremacist patriarchal capitalist identity challenged in any way.
Right now, every so-called anti-racism workplace initiative is creating an incredibly hostile work environment for all your Black peers. We’ve all been down this road and the older we are, the more experience we have with how these initiatives play out. First, you’ll claim you want to do better. You’ll say that you mean it and want to hold yourself accountable. You say that it is your goal to root out the racism in the office, address it, and end it. You claim that you want to ensure the voices of the Black people in the office are heard and respected.
You’ll put together committees and panels to discuss the issues. The workgroups will be diverse but led by someone you trust. If the person is Black, it will be someone who’s been there a while and knows how things work, but most likely, that leader will not be Black not they will be the primary decision-maker for the group. They will claim to be open to criticism and will not take anything personally. They are willing to do what’s best for the company.
You’ll send questionnaires, claiming they are anonymous but knowing that there’s really no such thing. You will encourage all company employees to respond, but specifically the Black people and Non-Black People of Color. You will say there won’t be any retaliation for anything submitted, knowing that the more specific the situation, the easier it will be to identify the participants and the more general situations will be deemed too general to actually address.
You’ll receive your responses and realize that almost all of them came from white people. You’ll tell yourself that racism was never really a problem because you have done everything in your power to find the issues and nobody responded. Now that you have evidence that racism isn’t an issue in your workplace, you can go back to normal with a clear conscience. Problem solved.
Or you’ll realize that the Black coworkers aren’t responding because they don’t believe you when you say there will be no retaliation. That lack of trust will hurt your feelings. You’ll make impassioned pleas to your staff to come forward, claiming this is a safe space and you genuinely want to help improve things for them.
Or you’ll start singling out Black peers and asking them questions about their work environment, making the workday a stress-laden minefield where they no longer even have the illusion of privacy for their thoughts.
What you won’t do is acknowledge that this is violent as fuck and you are emotionally terrorizing your Black staff.
You see, Black people have been down this road before. We’ve experienced racist violence from our white team members and white bosses. We were encouraged to speak to human resources about our issues only to find ourselves being repeatedly written up as “combative,” “confrontational,” and “difficult.” We have sat in meetings with white people saying openly racist things while claiming they aren’t racist and then demanding to know what we’re thinking because they don’t like the expressions on our faces. We are constantly asked if we’re “happy with our jobs” because anything other than constant smiles and positive feedback is seen as angry. We already know that white people see disciplining us and reminding us that we should feel lucky to have a job there isn’t seen as hostile or racist — white people see it as being “helpful”.
White people don’t see racism as racism. To them, it’s helping Black people learn our place so that everyone can get along. White people think they are the absolute authority on Black people, including what we say, how we dress, where and how we live, and what we’re supposed to think about how white people interact with us. And that often unspoken belief guides white people’s behavior and makes them think that calling security for disagreeing with them is an appropriate response.
Because we already know the deal, we won’t participate in your useless workgroups. We won’t listen to your racist beliefs in your bullshit “safe spaces” that are only safe for your endless shitty white fragility. You always find a way to justify your bullshit and then place the burden on us either to live with your microaggressions or endure your hostility when we resist. You’ll repeatedly tell us that we misunderstood what you said and did, that we are overreacting and need to be more open-minded instead of assuming that your racist act was actually racist.
You will have you and yours one hundred percent convinced that you are good white people and good white people can’t be racist. And we’ll be forced to watch this anti-intellectual, anti-Black circle jerk of gaslighting and bullshit just so that we can keep our jobs and health insurance.
If we decide to speak up, we do so with the full knowledge that we are putting our employment in jeopardy because no matter what we say or how politely we say it, we’ll hurt some white person’s feelings, be accused of being angry, labeled a trouble maker, and cement the path for our termination. If we don’t say anything, you’ll pat yourselves on the back, claim everything is great, eat your ally cookie, and go back to business as usual. It’s a lose-lose for us because we are always vulnerable to your fucking fragile ass, unreliable, belief that you can’t be racist and the violence you gleefully enact to maintain that lie.
So, rather than fuck over the Black people you claim you want to help, why not hire Black anti-racism facilitators who don’t work for your organization and won’t be at risk of losing their jobs to address racism in the workplace. Hire a third-party for a contracted amount of time and money to start addressing the problems of whiteness in your workplace. Because the problem isn’t the Black people — it’s the white people who refuse to admit the violence of their thoughts, words, and deeds. Black people shouldn’t be called in to say shit — not to report anyone, not to share problems, not to tell you if you’re doing a good job. We’ve all experienced the violence of whiteness and forcing us to re-experience it so that you can make empty promises and pat yourself on the back is not just shitty, it’s cruel and it is yet one more way that your racism makes our lives hell.
If you really want to make a change, stop burdening Black people with starring roles in your shitty redemption narrative. Do the fucking work, make the fucking investment, hire a Black third-party anti-racism facilitator and consultant team, and then get prepared to have your feelings hurt because you are the actual problem.
And don’t get it twisted — we know you won’t listen even when you hire outside consultants. This dance is NOT new but the least you can do is stop harassing Black co-workers, friends, and the other random Black people you interact with but don’t actually know with your guilt cleverlessly disguised as anti-racism mobilization. You aren’t willing to give up shit to make things better; you just want to feel better so you can go back to doing the same racist shit that made you feel special all your life. Black people should not be forced to play your lying game for free.
A Short List of Anti-Blackness Facilitators and Consultants
Listed below are several Black womxn who provide anti-racism consulting and facilitation. Hire them to help change the workplace rather than creating an even more hostile work environment for Black people. Thank you.
Amy Jones
Website: https://voixnoire.com/
Amy Jones lives and breathes activism in all its forms. Serving as Community Organizer she coordinates advocacy efforts around state legislation through a social justice lens. Amy heads multiple committee efforts: Women of Color, criminal justice reform, and reentry to action. Amy led the organizing efforts for Albany’s first-ever BlackOut Festival, commemorating the significance of Black August.
She coordinates direct-giving for black and brown women in need, was instrumental in organizing the Albany Women of Color March in January 2019 and has moderated and sat on multiple equity and justice-focused panels locally and beyond.
Callie Watkins Liu
Website: https://calliewatkinsliuphd.wordpress.com/
Email: CallieWatkinsLiuphD@gmail.com
Dr. Callie Watkins Liu is a Boston-based, scholar-activist, working at the intersections of social movements, race, organizational dynamics and social justice. Dr. Callie infuses an anti-racist and social movement perspective into areas of — research, organizational dynamics, evaluations, pedagogy and community engagement. Consulting services have ranged from conducting a workshop, to assessing work processes, to providing guidance on projects, and facilitating conversations about social justice, race and anti-oppression.
Charlotte Banks
Website: http://www.communeskin.com/
Email: charlotte@banksofcommune.com
Charlotte Banks is an Oakland-reared wellness justice advocate now residing in Sacramento. She has served as the Wellness Director for BWU; created a pop-up community spa centering low-income, Black femmes, AFAB folx and marginalized genders; specializes in culturally competent social work; crafts ancestor-honoring skincare products in her spare time.
Creighton Leigh
Website: https://voixnoire.com/
Creighton Leigh is a New York-based writer, speaker and organizer working and advocating at the intersections of Blackness, femmehood, queerness and fatness.
Creighton Leigh is Philly born and raised, but she is currently a New York-based writer, speaker and organizer working and advocating at the intersections of Blackness, femmehood, queerness and fatness. Creighton’s mission is to continue meeting the needs of those most marginalized within the Black community by doing the work. And that work is rallying white people to recognize their unearned privilege and use their money to support Voix Noire’s mission to become the most successful, unapologetic reparations-based platform.
Desiree Adaway of The Adaway Group (Not currently accepting new clients)
Website: https://adawaygroup.com/
Desiree is a consultant, trainer, coach and speaker building resilient, equitable, and inclusive organizations. She holds a vision for people’s lives, workplaces and communities until they can hold it for themselves.
Desiree has over 25 years of experience creating, leading and managing international, multicultural teams through major organizational changes in over 40 countries. She has crafted and administered partnerships that have secured over $10.5 million in funding from a variety of private and corporate resources.
Didi Delgado
Website: https://thedididelgado.com/
DiDi Delgado is an award-winning poet, educator, author, activist, and journalist. DiDi is currently Head of Operations for The Society Of Urban Poetry (S.O.U.P.) as well as the recently launched speaker’s bureau, wealth redistribution and workshop development program, “The DiDi Delgado Experience, LLC.”
Using art and advocacy, both initiatives aim at bridging the gaps between the intersections of race, class, gender, sexual identity, and orientation — all while practicing radical philanthropy through direct giving models.
Erika Hardison
Website: https://fabulizemag.com/
Email: Ms.erikahardison@gmail.com
Erika Hardison is New Jersey-based writer, publisher and Black maternal health and positive parenting advocate. Her work includes advocating for diversity in pop culture and literary works while publishing an independent media platform for Black and other marginalized groups of color.
Erika’s focus is anti-racism and diversity as it relates to pop culture and she curates literature for parents and their children.
Ericka Hines
Website: http://www.everylevelleads.com/
Every Level Leadership promotes diversity and inclusion as a core value in our work and with our clients. We recognize all types of diversity including ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, and abilities.
As a company, we believe that working with those differences is what enhances our work and we want our clients to share that belief. We honor the strength, creativity and power that comes from experiencing different viewpoints, backgrounds and cultures.
Leslie Mac
Website: http://www.lesliemac.com/
Leslie Mac is a Brooklyn born & raised activist. This first generation American of Jamaican ancestry founded the Ferguson Response Network in 2014, launched Safety Pin Box 2016 & Lead Organizer with Black Lives of UU. Leslie offers a wide range of presentations and workshops aimed at real world application of social justice strategy & change.
Michelle Marks Osborn
Website: https://whenequitymatters.com/
Michelle Marks-Osborne is a philosophical consultant dedicated to advancing Inclusion, Equity & Belonging with services for individuals, groups, organizations, and corporations. She is a coach, trainer, and public speaker specializing in anti-racism, sexism, and social justice. She is an expert at moving beyond diversity and invites you to move with her.
Queen
Website: https://www.msvixenmag.com/
Email: contact@msvixenmag.com
Queen is a Bronx native with a Harlem heart, did college in Queens, currently resides in Brooklyn and like most New Yorkers forgets Staten Island exists. Creating safe, nourishing spaces for Black femmes and folks impacted by misogynoir through digital media and live events is her style of activism. She is one half of The Tea with Queen and J. podcast and centers dismantling white supremacist patriarchal capitalism, because why the fuck not!
Roni Dean Burren
Website: https://www.ronideanburren.com
Email: drroni@ronideanburren.com
A career educator with a passion for equity in education, Dr. Roni specializes in facilitating authentic conversations about race. With an extensive knowledge about literacy, the system of schools and the school to prison pipeline Dr. Roni is a thought leader who is ready to collaborate with organizations both in person and virtually.
Tamela J. Gordon
Website: https://shewritestolive.com/
Tamela J. Gordon is a New York bred, Miami revitalized Black writer, book critic, performer, and advocate for Black people living with HIV/AIDS. All of her platforms are dedicated to providing content and resources that provide safe space for womxn and non-men. Online, she’s the founder of SWA’s Book Club, a virtual book café that centers and amplifies newly-released Black literature. Offline, Tamela hosts various events and projects that provide radical self-care for Black women and non-men.
Tea with Queen and J
Website: http://www.teawithqueenandj.com/
Email: Teawithqueenandj@gmail.com
Two womanist race nerds talking liberation, politics, and pop culture over tea, dismantling white supremacist patriarchal capitalism one episode at a time. Queen is a Bronx native with a Harlem heart, did college in Queens, currently resides in Brooklyn and like most New Yorkers forgets Staten Island exists. J. is a cultural critic, professional Black girl, and a womanist race nerd from the Bronx focused on dismantling white supremacist patriarchal capitalism while laughing, drinking tea and indulging in various forms of Black joy.
The Blackful Consulting
Website: https://www.theblackful.com/
The Blackful is anti-racism training in action, providing educational services and supplies to Black children and their families with the non-profit organization C.A.L.I. and by lifting up and giving to Black women/femmes and children through my nonprofit organization, Black Women Lead: The Black Femme Fund.
Verta Maloney
Website: https://www.vertamaloney.com/
Verta Maloney has over 20 years of experience as an educator, school leader and leadership coach. She has extensive experience facilitating groups and supporting individuals with bold conversations about many things, including race.
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Originally published at https://talynnkel.com on June 8, 2020.
