“On your slides, the slide headings all still say January. If they were updated, what month should it state?”
A little context… the above is the text of an email received by a black director from a white administrative assistant. It’s about a shared slide deck. Every month, the organization the admin and director work for, asks all directors to update a few slides with information about the offices they oversee.
For this particular month — the month of February — a new slide deck was introduced with a different format than the previous ones. The black director overlooked a minor detail, and it’s the white administrative assistant’s role to identify and correct such errors. Instead of taking care of her responsbility, the white administrative assistant sent the message above to the black director.
Why does this matter? It’s the tone and expectation conveyed in the message. The manner in which this white woman, who holds a lower position in the organization, gives off an air of superiority in how she communicates with a person of color who’s higher up.
Without a doubt, this matters because it’s a manifestation of the organization’s ingrained racism. The white administrative assistant presumes that her behavior is acceptable because she’s aware it mirrors how she’s seen race operate in the workplace. Just like the black director, she’s witnessed other white women in the organization respond similarly towards their colleagues of color.
Throughout the organization, a lack of respect and professional courtesy in communications with colleagues of color is normal. It’s also clear that white employees are treated differently. It’s maddening because this organization, like many others in the US, proudly proclaims that their associates embody and promote respect, diversity, inclusion, camaraderie, and fairness (paraphrased from the company’s website). Unfortunately, these principles are noticeably absent in this and many other experiences had by the black director with the organization.
As a white woman, similar to this white administrative assistant, I’m well-versed in navigating the racial power dynamics of the spaces I inhabit. My experiences resonate with what’s unfolding here — it’s consistent with how I’ve been taught to perceive myself as superior to people of color in every aspect of my life. The incongruence of the organization, how they act against their own values towards their own people, looks like the lack of harmony around race and values that I wrestle with.
Here’s a personal anecdote. Once upon a time, I was a program manager and I worked closely with a black woman who was our director. I can confidently say that sending such a message was never an option. It wasn’t because of my own principles and how I strive to present myself, both professionally and personally. Even though I actively try to avoid perpetuating racial hierarchy, this wasn’t the reason either.
The most salient reason is that such behavior was simply not acceptable in the organization I was part of. This expectation was set by the actions of my superiors and peers, and reinforced by the culture of the organization. I observed it, understood it, and followed suit. Keeping my job required that I let the organization’s norms supersede any misguided notions about racial superiority I might have picked up over my lifetime.
What we see here — the caucacity of this white administrative assistant — is to be expected when racism is the norm of an organization. And it’s worth noting, she didn’t face any repercussions for sending the email.
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