I Once Heard A Hiring Manager Say The N-Word
Shauna Cole is a human resource consultant and lecturer in the MBA program at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. She will be a guest on the next episode of Huddle’s Home Office podcast. This post originally appeared on Cole’s LinkedIn page.
I heard a hiring manager say the N-word.
He didn’t know that I am black. Because I am white too.
I have heard things that white people may otherwise censor in their conversations, because they assume I am white.
I listen to R&B music.
My kids have blonde hair.
The first time I heard the N word I was in kindergarten.
I saw my black cousin attacked.
In Grade 1, a white classmate told me my Dad was “poopy.”
In Grade 12 that same classmate apologized to me. It bothered her all those years.
Straighten your hair they tell me, you’ll look more professional.
I was never more uncomfortable than when we read To Kill A Mockingbird in Grade 4.
My three-year-old thinks we change color as we get older. His grampy is black.
I was scared, sad and angry when I heard the hiring manager say the N word.
He didn’t want to interview the candidate. His name sounded too “black.”
I said nothing. I only told my mom. It made me cry. It made my mom cry too.
The next day I put a photo of me and my interracial family on my desk. I’m holding my black father’s arm.
The look of fear on that manager’s face told me he knew what he had done.
We have responsibilities at home to educate our children about anti-racism.
We have responsibilities at work too.
Huddle publishes commentaries from groups and individuals on important business issues facing the Maritimes. These commentaries do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Huddle. To submit a commentary for consideration, contact editor Mark Leger: [email protected].