Switch Dat Career, Yo!

Here's your Tuesday reminder that no matter how much you're being paid, no career is worth sacrificing your soul, dignity, mental and emotional health, physical health, and happiness.

I know; there is privilege in saying that. But there's also a belief that if you feel beat down, mistreated, unheard, and drained in your career but are still expected to wear a smile and a mask hiding your hurt, then it's OK to begin thinking of how your skills transfer over to other environments and fields of work. Be willing to think about what's next, what you can do to change your circumstances, and find a career that speaks to you. Plan your exit.

You've put too much into building your career to allow these heteronormative white supremacist, ableist workplace norms and systems to take your spirit away from you. If your career choice leaves you more drained than empowered, it's more than OK to pivot. You're not alone. A recent Harris Poll found that approximately half (52%) of U.S. American employees are considering making a career change this year. 44% are already in the planning stages to make that switch.

P.S.: Note that I said a career and not a job. If a day job becomes a career? Awesome. But if it doesn't? That's awesome too. We live in a capitalist system. Make your money, darling. If it ain't draining you and it's paying your bills? Do you, boo-boo.

On "Multiple Truths," White Supremacist Workplace Culture, and the Right to Comfort

I used to have a white supervisor who hired me to do equity and anti-racism work. I would tell them the findings of my investigations into incidents of racism and white supremacy. I told them about my conversations with employees and the discomfort that many white employees, especially senior leadership, had with discussing the topics of racism and white supremacy. This supervisor, the organization's CEO, regularly tried their damndest to explain why this was the case. When I wouldn't allow them to blame me for the discomfort of their white leaders or place the blame on other factors (including placing responsibility on the few employees of color they had), they opted to try a tactic as old as time: gaslighting. Not only gaslighting, mind you, but a very particular kind of gaslighting intended to remove responsibility from the shoulders of white leaders.

This CEO told me that what I was sharing with them was one of "many truths" about what was going on in their workplace.

They said there were "multiple truths" at play and that we needed to consider the "truths" of the white people in the organization. They began trying to push the narrative that the organization needed me to center the "psychological comfort" of white senior leaders so that they could "speak their truth" and "be heard."

Yeah...no.

Hell no.

I shut that nonsense down quicker than a hiccup.

My time with that organization didn't last much longer past that moment.

Listen here, white "professionals": there is no such thing as "multiple truths" if your employees and colleagues that are part of the Global Majority are harmed by your white supremacist workplace culture and white people with power in your organization. There are no "multiple truths" at play if you are called in or called out for being racist. No " truth " will absolve you from being responsible for your toxicity. The only "truth" we should be talking about is that you don't want accountability for your racist beliefs, actions, and company policies and procedures. You don't get to decide that your narrative of your racism, and upholding white supremacy should be viewed on the same level as the truth shared by those you harm.

I don't deal in "multiple truths" or "alternative truths."

That's harmful people sh--.

That's harmful white people who don't want to be held accountable for their toxicity sh--. I don't support that nonsense, regardless of salary.

Your "truth" when it comes to racism and upholding white comfort is invalid because your "truth" is a good/bad binary white supremacist fairytale, white “professionals.”

And that's the truth, ruth.

What In The Hell Is Wrong With This Country?: February 24, 2022 Edition

In today’s edition of “What In the Hell Is Wrong With This Country?”, we find ourselves in Florida. Florida's House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit "classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity" in the state’s primary schools.

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The Problem with PIPs That Ain't Affiliated with Gladys

There's been a lot of talks recently about performance improvement plans, their effectiveness, and whether or not they meet a legitimate need. The short answer? No. They aren't effective, and they don't meet a legitimate need. But, like most things that are messy and workplace-related, it's much deeper than the short answer.

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Monday's Opening Thought: January 31, 2022

Image Description: A cyborg can be seen stalking around an office area. The cyborg is reminiscent of one from the Terminator film franchise. He is wielding a sci-fi-inspired laser gun. Above him is a caption that reads, "Black History Month content that isn't fluffy, "feel good," or Martin Luther King Jr.". A little white girl is hiding under a desk. There are tears in her eyes. Above her head is the caption "Most white people."

This week's opening thought, expressly for white folx: tomorrow is the first day of Black History Month. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that your workplace, community group, church, "professional" organization, or social organization is all ready to go with their MLK quotes and Rosa Parks pictures. They've probably got the white choir practicing a few negro spirituals. I'm sure someone in your company who runs the social media wing of things has the nice appropriative Black History Month image with the hollow copy ready to post first thing in the morning. You know the image, the one with its African flag colors (because evidently, the whole damn continent of Africa only has one flag) and silhouette of a Black woman with an afro. You know the kind of copy I'm talking about, too, the kind that is somehow 250 words long but says absolutely nothing of substance.

Did I nail it? Thought I did.

I went out on a limb because I knew that limb was actually a whole damn tree and would support my weight.

It's white U.S. America's turn to go out on a limb and learn more about Black history in this country than the 10 people y'all have been learning about since elementary school.

Black history ain't fluffy. It ain't supposed to be "feel good" fodder for white consumption. Black History Month is a month for MY people to celebrate our achievements in the face of whiteness and its ongoing compulsion to oppress black bodies. For YOUR people? It's a month for learning, unlearning, reflection, and atonement around why whiteness has an ongoing compulsion to oppress Black bodies. Your performative gestures need to be replaced with an understanding that Black folx weren't slaves; we were ENSLAVED. Your MLK quotes need to be replaced with the knowledge that he was the most hated man in the United States during his lifetime and that all of your misquotes of his words were aimed at y'all. Your need to talk about George Washington Carver every year needs to be replaced with a deeper exploration into not only Carver but the millions of Black folx who have created and innovated processes and products that have made your life easier.

Black history is United States history. I know y'all wanna ban critical race theory because then you'd have to acknowledge this, but banning is denial through bureaucracy. It doesn't change the truth. Speaking of Truth, what do you really know about Sojourner?

Looks like you've got some learning to do that goes way beyond 28 days.