Taken Somewhat Seriously
Black women experience racism in America
By: London Pearson
Racist attacks have become more common recently with the current administration celebrating influencers like Charlie Kirk who spoke of former First Lady Michelle Obama: “You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.” Three black women from the Co-op community spoke about their own experiences with racism – some happening in our public schools.
Zyhann, a Co-op junior, experienced racism in fourth grade at King Robinson school in New Haven. She said that students in her class were being noisy and the white teacher yelled at the class using a racial epithet “n–s shut up!” Zyhann and her classmates were shocked and felt traumatized by the experience.
Tameka Pearson, a Co-op parent, spoke about applying for a supervisor position she was educated and qualified for and being passed over due to her race. “I was qualified to become a supervisor and the manager at the time who was my boss was Caucasian,” explained Pearson. “He decided to hire another young lady who was also Caucasian and had no experience to hold the position of supervisor. I resigned from my job due to being passed over. I had a clean work record and showed up on time. I trained the Caucasian lady who he hired to be the supervisor.” Pearson reported the workplace discrimination in her unemployment filing.
Ms. Webber, a Co-op alum and English teacher, also experienced racism when she attended Polk Elementary School in Watertown, CT. The school was predominantly white with only two other black students who attended with her. Ms. Webber recalled how a white teacher forced the black students in class to hug with the white students which made Ms. Webber feel “objectified”.
Hearing racial attacks in the news headlines and classrooms is a clear example of discrimination. But racism can also appear in more subtle ways like a promotion that is earned but not applied or an ill intended bonding experience where black women are forced to sacrifice their bodily autonomy to make white people feel more comfortable.