The Streets

[Deleted member 1475]

How do you approach workplace racism?

I try to not let them get a reaction out of me if they make little racist "jokes" here and there then I don't react at all because they can just pass it off as a literal joke and if the boss is white too then they'll get on code and agree that it's "just a joke". If it's something extremely racist like calling me a slur and the boss won't do anything about it then I'll just quit the job.

 

[The Honorable]

You’ll hear a million different answers but they all boil down to: find a way to deal with, document everything, and sue if they do anything that is against the law.

There’s not much we can do because as you said they all get on code. Every law enforcement and the judicial system is on code therefore an action has to be egregious for them to take action against their own.

If none of the above works just you will have to find a new plantation for employment.

 

[Jay]

How do you approach workplace racism?

I try to not let them get a reaction out of me if they make little racist "jokes" here and there then I don't react at all because they can just pass it off as a literal joke and if the boss is white too then they'll get on code and agree that it's "just a joke". If it's something extremely racist like calling me a slur and the boss won't do anything about it then I'll just quit the job.

My last job was super racist and I agree with The Honorable you just document everything. Also don’t let their bullshit get to you, the reason why they are so hostile is because our community has no power. There’s no consequence for disrespecting you because you depend on them to live.

At the end of the day the solution is to be self-sufficient. If you have to depend on another group to exist you will always have to deal with their crap.

 

[MR-D-ROB]

If you work at a job where you are easily able to be replaced then they'll treat you look like that.
If you work in certain professions this is also more likely to occur.
Where I'm at now it is highly unlikely to occur. For one it's lengthy and difficult hiring process and we're always short staffed on nurses . So they don't want anyone quitting over something like that.
Secondly it's a government job so even if it does occur something would be done because the government doesn't want a lawsuit or the bad publicity.

Get yourself into a position where you are more than just a warm body filling a position and this is far less likely to be an issue.

 

[Jay]

If you work at a job where you are easily able to be replaced then they'll treat you look like that.
If you work in certain professions this is also more likely to occur.
Where I'm at now it is highly unlikely to occur. For one it's lengthy and difficult hiring process and we're always short staffed on nurses . So they don't want anyone quitting over something like that.
Secondly it's a government job so even if it does occur something would be done because the government doesn't want a lawsuit or the bad publicity.

Get yourself into a position where you are more than just a warm body filling a position and this is far less likely to be an issue.

The issue I have is that you’re making the issue his position in the company and not his race. You don’t know his role, you don’t know if his role is strategically important, or anything like that so it’s a stretch to make that assumption that he is experiencing racism because he is in an assumed Call Center.

I was a Sr. Manager, fixed issues that the company could not solve in 15 years, I took a billion in revenue arranged it into to “strategic” growth products and legacy and developed plans to migrate legacy to stop declines in legacy churn.

Not only that, my efforts led to millions in revenue being booked for the company and one of my efforts generated $4.5M in booked revenue in 3 months. I was instrumental and strategic and guess what? People were intimidated because I WAS BLACK!

All the work hard, be knowledgeable, be irreplaceable meant jackshit because I was Black. I had a Black VP pull me aside and tell me straight up that is what it was. I was universally loved and known across the company for my contribution but none of matter because of my skin tone.

I don’t want any Black man to have to feel that, that all the metrics pen out but for some reason you just not good enough because you’re Black.

Hey you’re making us millions but you’re Black so ehhhh we not gonna give you your props…in fact we’re going to promote a white person above you and have you do their job.

 

[GwynShivers]

The issue I have is that you’re making the issue his position in the company and not his race. You don’t know his role, you don’t know if his role is strategically important, or anything like that so it’s a stretch to make that assumption that he is experiencing racism because he is in an assumed Call Center.

I was a Sr. Manager, fixed issues that the company could not solve in 15 years, I took a billion in revenue arranged it into to “strategic” growth products and legacy and developed plans to migrate legacy to stop declines in legacy churn.

Not only that, my efforts led to millions in revenue being booked for the company and one of my efforts generated $4.5M in booked revenue in 3 months. I was instrumental and strategic and guess what? People were intimidated because I WAS BLACK!

All the work hard, be knowledgeable, be irreplaceable meant jackshit because I was Black. I had a Black VP pull me aside and tell me straight up that is what it was. I was universally loved and known across the company for my contribution but none of matter because of my skin tone.

I don’t want any Black man to have to feel that, that all the metrics pen out but for some reason you just not good enough because you’re Black.

Hey you’re making us millions but you’re Black so ehhhh we not gonna give you your props…in fact we’re going to promote a white person above you and have you do their job.

You also end up having to train Casper, who don't know Jack 💩, but you're supposed to teach him/her & ultimately ends up being your boss & getting paid what you should be getting, after getting the company out of the 💩 hole that it was in!

 

[The Honorable]

You also end up having to train Casper, who don't know Jack 💩, but you're supposed to teach him/her & ultimately ends up being your boss & getting paid what you should be getting, after getting the company out of the 💩 hole that it was in!

It happens entirely too much.

 

[MR-D-ROB]

So here's an experience I had;
I was on my second job as a nurse at a state mental health facility. I was hired as a level 2 Nurse. I had been working the level 2 position for several months. I would always come in for overtime if needed. I covered the adolescent unit which was the most difficult. These were violent patients. They were mostly teens so they had very limited impulse control and would attack you at a moments notice.

They were short staffed so I would always have to cover upstairs and downstairs. Our unit charge nurse was new so I had to help her a lot.

The position paid far less than the typical market rate but I stayed to try to get experience and to build my resume up.

Eventually a level 3 supervisor position for the med room became available. I talked with the supervisor. He agreed I had worked hard and deserved the position. I had enough experience which included my time In the military as an ER tech. As a military medic we did lots of procedures that only physicians got to do. The supervisor assured me that I would be given preference for the position for all the hard work I had done covering an under staffed unit.

So there was another charge nurse that was on the unit for the day shift. She would stay over occasionally to help out if we were short staffed. This nurse was in the process of considering a position at another facility. She was a white girl. She had been there a while. She ended up talking to the supervisor about the level 3 position. Not for herself but for a friend of hers.

She told the supervisor that if he gave the position to get friend that she wouldn't resign for the other position.

The supervisor gave the position to her friend.

I was quite upset but I let my anger turn to motivation. I began looking for other positions right away. I applied and applied and applied. Nothing was panning out. This position as I said earlier didn't pay too well compared to other positions.

After what they did to me I refused to work schedule overtime. I declined every time I was asked to come in and cover another unit. Because of this we started running low on money.

Still no jobs were panning out. A few months in I started getting a few calls back. The were better but still wasn't paying what I really wanted.

One night I was sitting at the table frustrated. My wife came in and saw me looking for jobs. She asked me where I was a nurse at. I answered at the state hospital. She said that's not what she meant. She said she meant like where at? I said in ( ******* city) . She went and took my nursing license off the wall. She handed it to me. She said so this says your a nurse in ***** city.

I immediately got what she was saying. I was applying for and looking for jobs just in our city when I was a nurse across the entire state and actually any other compact state.

I expanded my search. That night I applied for a job out of the city. I ended up getting the job. The job had a salary higher than that if charge nurses at the state hospital and it offered a $12k sign on.

I put in my resignation. What's crazy is at the same time the nurse's friend resigned too. They came back to me trying to offer the level 3 position for me to stay.

I declined and told them I'm done.

 

[Deleted member 1475]

Until I got the Ps and connections that I need to be self-sufficient, it's either the plantation or the streets atm but there's no fucking way I'm working for these bastards all my life. Believe that.

 

[Jay]

Until I got the Ps and connections that I need to be self-sufficient, it's either the plantation or the streets atm but there's no fucking way I'm working for these bastards all my life. Believe that.

The plantation is the best way to go with a realistic exit plan.

 

[R'Gos Rho]

TLDR; N.I.M.B.Y.


Literally in a class now about this thread topic and harassment. Other diasporas may vaguely know what has transpired in America to black individuals herein.

They take what they were taught from outlets other than ones like 6Z or others as just enough. Not knowing the other side nor understanding the intrinsic colloquialisms that accompany.

To not be a echo chamber, the same can be said in reverse too. The major differences of foreigners vs US is overall are the laws and systems in place that do their daily duty to sustain the order and the constant of we all are still living in it with out a regime change like most countries have undergone.

TLDR; N.I.M.B.Y.