Monday's Opening Thought: August 30, 2021
Monday’s opening thought, a pro tip for white people and people of color with power, privilege, and positionality in companies: Y’all do realize that you can hire global majority folx, Black and Brown folx, marginalized folx for positions in your companies that aren’t related to EDI work, right? Just making sure y’all knew that we have a myriad of skills and career aspirations that aren’t connected to “making your company less racist.” Take note that all of us aren’t looking to be or even want to be an “EDI expert.” You can hire us for any other job openings y’all might have. We do other things, you know. We OFFER other things. We should be more to your company than what you think you can “learn” through our pain and generational trauma.
Besides, y’all be out here looking for a Pegasus in a world full of horses. Y’all be out here looking for a mythical negro, person of color, queer-identifying person, or person with a disability who somehow has 10 years of experience in a field that didn’t really exist 10 years ago who’s doing palatable and watered-down “EDI work” that won’t offend white people that work for your company that is happily willing to accept 50K a year, if that, because that’s what your company thinks their labor is worth.
Quit looking for something that doesn’t exist.
If we’re talking about racism, white supremacy, and oppression white people and people of color with privilege and power in your company aren’t supposed to be comfortable. Accept that. And pay global majority folx and marginalized folx real equitable salaries for the mental, physical, and emotional energy we have to expend while doing this work with y’all. Better yet, pay us real equitable salaries even if it ain’t EDI work just for having to exist and try to thrive in white workplaces with little to no support.
