Racial Discrimination in Workplace Settings

Amya Promise

Professor Harris

ENGL2017-64187  MW:11-12:15

29 April 2023

                     

  Racial Discrimination in Workplace Settings

      As a black person in America, I’ve always been informed not to go out in public or places with a bonnet on, colored hair, or long braids because it didn’t look right or looked ghetto. Also, it has been said it didn’t look very professional, although I’ve seen other races in the same settings with no judgment. Today, there is still discrimination against how black people have their hair, how they dress, to how they don’t get treated fairly or receive the same opportunities. This relates to structural racism, which links to capitalism. They are slowly pulling away at our social values.

       There has been plenty of viral post about black girls and boys being discriminated against because of their hair which caused an uproar. Schools and workplaces wouldn’t allow men with dreads of any length or long hair. There was an incident once where a female with dreads got the job, but on one condition, she cut her dreads. According to https://law.stanford.edu/, “The EEOC argued that Jones’ dreadlocks were a part of her racial identity and therefore “to ban dreadlocks …. discriminates based on race”. In my opinion, dreads are a protective style for black people. Same thing with natural hair; 4c and all types of curl patterns are simply a hassle. As a form of reparations for the black community, a CROWN act was passed in 12 states.  Www.thecrownact.com/, states, “While progress has been made, race-based hair discrimination remains a systematic problem in the workplace- from hiring practices to daily workplace interactions.” Although it hasn’t passed in every state, it’s a start and finally gets recognition.

       Another problem with racial discrimination against black people is how they say our clothing is too sexual because of its shape. From experience, If I wore shorts the same size as a white girl, I would get sent home, because mine were distracting or too revealing. Teachers could get fired because her clothes were too sexual for the students when she would only have on the pants suit. The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law, “A 2017 Georgetown University study found that Black girls as young as 5 years old are already seen as less innocent and in need of less support than white girls of the same age. This presumption leads teachers and other authority figures to treat black girls as older than they are and more harshly than White female students”. The same hate we get from wearing a simple outfit; white girls are considered acceptable. 

           Another point is that black people don’t get the same treatment and opportunities in these settings. During applications, many black people get denied just for putting their race. 

https://www.cnbc.com/ states, “Black workers, on average, are not being hired, promoted or paid according to what would signal their level of productivity based on their experience or their education,”. It’s enough that we must strive our hardest just to get into the places, but when we are there, we must change so much about ourselves just to remain. Https://news.cornell.edu states, “Black employees who engage in racial codeswitching are consistently perceived by both black and white people as more professional than employees who don’t.” This relates to when we are on the phone and put on our “professional voice.” 

       In conclusion, so much of our identity and culture is being stripped away just to be accepted in these places. Being black in America is a job in itself. We must continue to make laws that support us Black people and all those who experienced discrimination.