On the Tibetan Sand Fox and Invitations to the Cookout

Image description: a gallery of four pictures of the Tibetan Sand Fox. The Sand Fox has a natural expression of judgment on its face, complete with a side-eye glance. Above the fox images is the caption, "Me when white "professionals" speak up about racism one time in 100+ workplace situations they've witnessed then look over at me with a smile on their face like they've proven they're a staunch ally in the "war on racism." "

Hey, white "professionals." It's me, Pharoah. I just wanted to take a moment before y'all dive headlong into 2023 and that stack of anti-racism books you've got on your bedside table (because one of your resolutions for this year is to really get going on being anti-racist) to remind y'all that speaking up one time out of 100 times you witness racism, and white supremacy, happening in real-time does not get you an invite to the cookout.

Hell, it doesn't even get you a Lunchable and a Capri Sun.

For the 1,000th time, speaking up and calling other white "professionals" in and out for their racist and white supremacist behavior is not a fair-weather practice. You either speak up and call in and out your white "colleagues" for their behavior and action every time you see it (while checking yourself and your privilege) or don't bother. Every once-in-a-while "allyship" is something you're doing for yourself, so you feel like a "good person"; it ain't doin' nothin' for me and mine. It doesn't even help us at the moment you're doing your one-off "activism" because we [the melanated masses] know you won't be following your actions up by checking Bob from Accounting the next time he flies his white supremacy flag when your privilege and positionality allows you to do so without the ever-present fear of losing your job.

Consistency is the word of the day. And we [the melanated masses] know when y'all aren't going to be consistent but still want to get invited to the cookout so you can seek additional praise for your potato salad recipe with the pepitas and raisins in it.

If you aren't willing to fight through the discomfort of being in opposition with other white people daily, then you shouldn't sign up for this work or dupe yourself into thinking that the three times a year you say something to another white person will move the needle.

To paraphrase Shania Twain, "Okay, so you said something today after I've watched you stay silent for years and endured your private apologies away from the other white people at work every time harm has occurred my entire time working here.”

That don't impress me much.

All that performative action will do is get you an eternal side-eye.

I'll let you get back to them books on your bedside table. It looks like you haven't even creased the cover on the first one yet.

What a shame.

P.S.: This applies to your personal life, too. Active and engaged anti-racism ain't just a "thing you do at work."

On Crappy Supervisors and the Workplace Cultures That Protect Them

I've seen a lot of posts on social media throughout 2022 about people leaving companies because of toxic supervisors. This is a valid and legitimate reason why people leave jobs and organizations. With that said, let's not leave out the fact that if you had a crappy supervisor, it's because the company's culture and workplace norms are designed to prop up and protect crappy people who espouse the company's "values."

Patriarchal white supremacist workplace culture norms and practices are why your former supervisor can be abusive, hateful, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, and ableist, yet face no repercussions for their words and actions.

Patriarchal white supremacist workplace culture norms and practices are why your former supervisor still has a job at your former employer and will stay employed for as long as they want. In contrast, people in your former role will cycle in and out of the organization like a revolving door. They, too, will seek help but soon realize it's just best for them to find another job.

Your former supervisor? They are long overdue for being held accountable for the harm they've caused you and countless others during their tenure at your former employer. But don’t let your former employer off the hook.

They prioritized norms, comfort, and fear of changing and evolving over keeping you as an employee and treating you like a person.

There’s enough accountability to go around. Trust me.

A Quick Open Letter to White People

White people,

There will be some Black people who will give you the side eye when you ask them if they’ve seen the latest Oscar bait chattel slavery movie, hit them with a “factoid” about being Black in the United States you just learned, or share your opinion on Black folx’s business (*cough* Brittney Griner *cough*) that ain’t got nothing to do with you. Some Black people will give you that side eye because they weighed out whether they should read you for filth or let you sit with discomfort as they look at you with supreme judgment, and the latter took less energy and time than the former. Some Black people will then not talk to you for a while so that they can make sure you have to sit with yourself and process your messiness sans Black people. Some Black people will hope you learn something from the experience but know deep down in their souls that you will not.

It’s me.

I’m some Black people.

[Image description: a picture of Black comedian Bernie Mac giving someone the side eye. His sunglasses are resting low on his nose as his side eye looks to the left.]

Image description: a picture of Black comedian Bernie Mac giving someone the side eye. His sunglasses are resting low on his nose as his side eye looks to the left.

Some Thoughts on Voting on Election Day 2022

Image description: A screenshot of a measure from the 2022 Oregon midterm election. The measure centers around the Oregon State Constitution stating that slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited - unless it’s considered punishment for a crime.

Here’s an example of why voting matters. The picture accompanying these words is a ballot measure rundown for the Oregon 2022 midterms. The highlighted measure in question is a measure called Measure 112. Measure 112 addresses a state constitutional matter. You see, the Oregon State Constitution was amended some years ago to remove most of the white supremacist racist language that was its foundation. Not all. Most. Most of the language was addressed via amendments. However, those amendments created loopholes in state constitutional law. And what is the loophole that Measure 112 addresses? Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited - unless it’s considered punishment for a crime.

You read that right.

I should’ve been surprised when I saw this on the ballot, but I wasn’t. Over the years, I’ve seen some of the horrific things removed from the Oregon State Constitution, leftovers from Oregon’s founding as a white utopia. What sits with me whenever I see these things is that we have to put removing racist laws from a state constitution to a freaking vote. This should be a given: abolish hateful laws without asking the public for their opinion. Yet we all know we couldn’t be further from a consensus on hate and history as a country if we tried. And you know some people will vote “no” on removing this hateful loophole. If enough people don’t vote “yes” to have this removed, how long do you think it’ll take before some cruel creature of a person or law enforcement in some small Oregon town weaponizes this loophole?

Why do we vote? We vote because we are nowhere near a point in U.S. history where our laws and human rights are intended to apply to all citizens.

[Image description: A screenshot of a measure from the 2022 Oregon midterm election. The measure centers around the Oregon State Constitution stating that slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited - unless it’s considered punishment for a crime.]

On Anniversaries, Trauma, and Where We Are

TW: anti-Blackness, domestic terrorism, hate crime.

Today is the 59th anniversary of the anti-Black hate crime that was the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. "Anniversary" is probably the wrong word, especially when your experience in the United States and western culture is perforated with monumental events of mourning and loss, but it is an anniversary nonetheless.

On the morning of September 15, 1963, four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The dynamite-fueled explosion injured 22 people and murdered four young Black girls.

The girls were all under the age of 14.

Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair should still be here today, spending time with their families, possible children, and grandchildren. They should be in their late 60s and early 70s, with many more years of joy and happiness ahead of them. They committed no crime, no sin. They were just at church with their families on a Sunday morning.

Yet here we are.

The senseless, hateful murders of these four young Black girls were part of the catalyst that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Their blood permeates the ink and paper used to draft and sign the Civil Rights Act into law. Their families' pain and trauma should resonate with the politicians tasked with upholding federal hate crime laws. Many state and federal officials currently serving communities across the United States spent their formative years in the 50s and 60s and have seen the effects of anti-Blackness and white supremacy on multiple levels.

Yet here we are, with politicians decrying critical race theory and passing laws to ensure no one talks about legitimate U.S. history in our schools.

Fifty-nine years ain't that long ago, y'all. Fifty-nine years is more than enough time for white people who were also under 14 years of age in 1963 to have evolved into better people than their parents.

Yet here we are.