Excerpts from the article “Racism at my Job Literally Gave Me PTSD”by Erika Stallings:
“One thing I’ve discussed in therapy is how hard it is before you send an email or have a conversation to ask yourself if you sound too aggressive. You get into this headspace where you don’t want to seem like the angry Black woman even if you have very valid concerns. You’re kind of twisting yourself into a pretzel to make sure you’re not saying anything that could potentially be read as angry,” she said.
“For individuals dealing with workplace discrimination or microaggressions, Dr. Williams recognized that formally reporting incidents may not be a viable option. “The problem is often that the people who are experiencing microaggressions are disempowered to the point that they cannot effect any change,” she said. Her advice was to leave. “It’s hard to heal when you’re still in the traumatizing situation. I’ve heard people say, ‘I don’t want to leave my job because I don’t want them to feel like they’ve won.’ But you’re not winning if your mental health is declining,” she said.”
So, true story: recently, I was involved in a Project Management group think tank/brainstorming team. I had an idea…I Instant messaged the VP and got his “weigh-in” before speaking to the group. I asked for his support & advice on how he felt I should address the topic. The topic wasn’t controversial in the least, but I knew folks get hurt feelings whenever someone presents a topic not part of the “groupthink” paradigm, especially someone of my hue. The VP was super-shocked that I reached out to him first & encouraged me to “just speak up…” (he thinks I’m timid, I assure you, I am not, in the least- I’ve just been playing this game much longer than him 
) when I brought it up, someone in the group agreed with me and the VP supported it. However, he gave her credit throughout the rest of the meeting for her “great” idea. Yeah. That’s everyday shit…
) when I brought it up, someone in the group agreed with me and the VP supported it. However, he gave her credit throughout the rest of the meeting for her “great” idea. Yeah. That’s everyday shit…“Why not just find another job?” I synthesize that question right up there with the “If you don’t like this country, go back to Africa…” bullshittery. This is not one company or some companies… it’s the norm in all of Corporate America! And just like overarching racism, it’s not our job to fix it. Your thoughts?
