Anonymous Anonymous said...
Hi Di,
Since I'm the only African-American in my office, my co-workers act like I'm the BFE - Black Folks Expert. They constantly ask me questions about my race! Usually, I respond jokingly, "Are you saying that all Black people know each other?" I'm sick and tired of being bombarded with their clueless questions. I've been as tactful as I can; however, one day the sister-girl might . . . Help me to respond in a professional manner, because I need to keep my job!
Hey Anonymous,
Your question reminds me of a scene in the movie Freedom Writers when the teacher asked the lone black student to share the black perspective on the book, The Color Purple. In her head, she immediately said something like, "What am I - the Rosetta Stone for all black people? What - black people learned to read and we all came to the same conclusion?" I'm sure you can relate especially when your co-workers assume that all black people vote, worship, eat, think and live alike. If I were you, I'd consider continuing to respond with humor and tell them that you missed the last national meeting of all black people but that you'll get back with them as soon as you get a copy of the minutes. Yes, their questions are clueless and reflect a basic ignorance about the vast diversity that exists within the black experience. But this isn't worth losing your job over - especially not in this economy. So break out your fabulous wit and try flipping their questions. Ask them if all white people belong to the KKK or if all white people are college graduates? Or if all Latino people are great salsa dancers or wear sombreros? Or if all Asians are math geniuses or photography experts? Or if all tall people are great basketball players? Or if all women are great cooks and all men are great mechanics? They'll get the message and understand how ridiculous their questions are and how stereotypical their thinking is. And after you get them to laugh at some of the stereotypical questions you pose, suggest that you all make time to learn more about each other as a means of becoming a more cohesive and inclusive work team.
Inclusively yours,
Di Versity
About Me
- Di Versity
- Have you ever wanted to ask someone a question about their religion, or their race or their disability but you didn't want to seem rude, tacky or just plain ignorant? Ever wanted to know something about people from another ethnic group but you didn’t know who to ask? Don't feel bad - most likely you're not the only one wanting answers and not know the correct way to get information without appearing insensitive. Now you can submit all of those questions that you've been too ashamed to ask to Di Verity - a reliable source who will provide accurate and non-biased information. Di knows about other cultures, nuances, and Di knows who to ask when she doesn't know information that's not readily available. Di is not a know-all-see-all oracle, she will research the answer to your questions and share both the question and the answer with her readers so we can be better informed about cultures to which we’ve had little exposure. So if you've got a question about someone else's diversity (or your own) ask Di for the 411! The contents of the web page is provided as general information only. It is given as advice and should be relied upon at the reader’s discretion.
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