Stronger, Smarter, Faster, Better
Systemic racism has affected me on a personal level and shaped my life in ways that are sometimes infinitesimal, and, at others, of great magnitude.
Those who would say, “Well, why don’t they just get over it and move on,” simply do not realize these remarks are tantamount to telling the victim of rape to just get over it, or those suffering from PTSD to just buck up, or someone with dementia to remember. The challenge for most African Americans of my generation is we have always made every attempt to not just get over it, we have attempted to always get around it, under it, and through it with our dignity intact---displaying, for the most part, a very calm and stoic exterior while inwardly screaming.
We are the generation who would supposedly reap the benefits of the equal rights and employment opportunities which were so begrudgingly given. You must represent your race you have to learn the job faster, always do over and above what is expected no matter what the cost. That was “the talk” mother so eloquently gave me and the one all Black parents probably gave their children entering the all-white work force of the turbulent sixties. You have to work harder smarter and better than your white counterparts because they don’t want you there, and they are always going to look for ways to get rid of you. You must prove you deserve to be there. If you do not do well then other Black folks will not get a chance!
This was the pressure placed on a 17-year-old, high school graduate entering the work force. I was the daughter of a waiter with a third-grade education and a home maker mother who had not completed high school, both of whom had migrated from the Jim Crow South. When I talk to my contemporary African American sisters and brothers, they all have similar stories, and they all got the talk, and all were successful in their employment despite challenges. They seized every opportunity given for advancement and proved themselves worthy and valuable assets to the work force. We were the breakthrough generation. I will never forget overhearing one of my co-workers saying to a group of other employees, “Well, you know why she is here; they had to fill a quota, and they have to hire them n____s.”
My career of 37 years far eclipsed this insignificant bigot, and, ironically, I have her to thank for it in some ways because she confirmed what my mother told me. Her callous remark only made me more determined to be stronger, smarter, faster, and better on every level! And not to just get over it but to rise above it, stand on it, and conquer it.
