Microaggressions.

"What's Next?" is a series of articles designed to aid white professionals who are actively working to go beyond their corporation's Black Lives Matter PR statements to move their corporation from inertia and ignorance to building and maintaining an anti-racist environment. This article will examine the microaggressions Black professionals have been subjected to in Canadian business environments.

I once read racist microaggressions described as "death by a thousand cuts". While the Merriam-Webster definition of "a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority)" outlines what a microaggression is, "death by a thousand cuts" is an apt description of how microaggressions hurt.

A short list of microaggressions I've heard throughout my career/life:

• "You are so articulate!" or "You are so well-spoken." (Not a compliment.)
• "Well you have a white name so you don't have to worry about being stereotyped."
• "YOU'RE Kim Johnson?!" (....surprise!)
• "YOU'RE the lead on this project?!"
• "I didn't expect YOU to get the job."
• "They hired her 'cause she's Black - y'know, affirmative action here at the CBC..."
• (News director's response when I called him out for using the uncivil term 'native') "Well they call themselves 'natives'....why can't I?"
• (white news producer speaking with Black reporter) "I was eating watermelon the other day and thought of you..."
• (same white news producer to me) "I visited an exhibit featuring Black actors explaining slavery to participants. One actor was so articulate yet a group of young Black visitors were so ... ghetto. It was so sad."
• (same white news producer to white colleague): "I don't drive over to Detroit... too many Black people. It's so dangerous."
• "You're so pretty for a Black girl!" (NOT A COMPLIMENT.)
• "You're one of the good ones."
• "YOU grew up in [name of affluent suburb north of Toronto]?!"
• "Black people really should get over slavery. It happened. It was terrible but it's over now."
• "I'm fine with an all-white panel [of speakers]."
• "We can't find Black journalists" or "Black people don't apply for jobs here."
• (at a wedding reception seated at a table with white guests) "So are you going to Caribana this year?"
• "Can I touch your hair?" (The answer is always "no".)
• (white woman yanks ponytail) "I just wanted to touch your hair!"
• "Let's ask Kim - she knows all about urban music." (I do?)

(Regarding the white producer: when I brought my list of concerns and incidences of racist remarks to CBC management I was dismissed, stating I didn't have "enough evidence" to prove the individual was racist. Hmm.)

In some of the aforementioned instances I responded right away, calling out the actions of the person and telling them why their statement was hurtful and demeaning. In the case of the "all-white panel" statement, I purposefully remained silent. Let me explain: Prior to the preliminary planning session to discuss a media event featuring women senior leaders at the organization, I asked an American colleague to add to the list of names of potential speakers, noting it was important to also feature Black women senior leaders on the panel.

I submitted my list. The Black women were never contacted about their possible involvement save for my reaching out.

In the prelim planning meeting, the director leading the project (a white woman) asked about the pool of candidates and stated her displeasure with the lack of racialized women on the panel. My colleague (also a white woman) blurted out, "I'm fine with an all-white panel." The intern we brought along (a young white woman) widened her eyes in shock. An uncomfortable pause hung in the air. The expectation of a reaction was there - but I refused to speak. After a few moments, the director responded with "I'm not fine with it. But due to time constrictions we will have to go with who we have on this list."

I stayed silent for a reason. As a Black woman professional I've had these discussions time and time again. Simply put - I was tired. Tired of having to state my point over and over again. Tired of people not seeing me as a Black woman, not seeing my humanity.

To have the director (who is now a friend) blatantly call out the microaggression showed her willingness to work toward establishing an anti-racist environment. You can do the same:

• Team member shares a racist joke in a meeting room with white colleagues? "That language/joke is unacceptable and I won't let it slide."
• Ask the offender to repeat their statement and counter by repeating the comment, adding "let's dissect why that line of thinking is not conducive to the workplace we are trying to build."
• Is a family member racist? While cutting them out of your life isn't 'doable' for everyone, you can speak up by disputing their inaccurate and hateful statements. Simply put: you won't tolerate racism in your home/life.
• Don't speak on behalf of the person on the receiving end of the microaggression. Explain why it offended you.

For Black professionals reading this, should you respond to microaggressions thrown your way? Huffington Post has an excellent breakdown:

"If you’re on the receiving end of a microaggression, the choice to respond to or ignore the offense is ultimately up to you. Educating a “fragile” white person about the error of their ways requires a certain amount of emotional labor, which BIPOC simply may not have the energy for. To help you decide if you should bring it up or let it slide, consider the following factors from Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College who developed a guide to responding to microaggressions:

• Will your physical safety be in jeopardy if you bring it up?
• Will the offender be defensive and/or will this lead to an argument?
• How will bringing it up affect your relationship with this person?
• If you ignore it, will you regret doing so?
• If you let them off the hook, does that convey that you’re OK with what they did or said?

Allies: microaggressions have no place in or outside of the workplace. Check your blind spots, work on identifying statements that you may have regurgitated in the past and eliminate them from your vocabulary.

RESOURCES:

Business Insider: What is a microaggression?

University of Denver: Microaggressions in the Classroom

HuffPost: 13 Microaggressions Black People Deal With All The Time

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Kim Johnson is a diversity, equity and inclusion strategist with experience in building corporate and public diversity & inclusion initiatives, employee resource group program creation, governance and support; corporate and crisis communications, community volunteerism and outreach. She spent 10+ years in Canadian broadcast news journalism as a senior news producer. Her commitment: to dismantle archaic corporate business practices and build anti-racist and inclusive workplaces for racialized and marginalized persons.