White America: The Dilemma of Racism in the Work Place

HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH QTs!!

So far, 2018 has been going down hill for me and at this point, it's hard to tell if I am making the right decisions. God puts us in situations to test our faith, but sometimes these tests are harder to get out of than we think.

I was working at a hotel as a Guest Services Agent for about 4 months and realized that the job came with a lot more than what was in the job description when I first got hired. There were things that were miscommunicated, tons of DRAMA, and a little bit of racism going on at the workplace. My paycheck seemed to be getting smaller and smaller and somehow when I came into work, I was exceeding the expectations of my managers, but no one would ever recognize my strong work ethic. Upon being hired for the job, I was promised "this" and "that" and after dedicating 4 months of my life working there, I noticed that a lot of my colleagues felt the same way; but no one said anything. However, I AM NOT ONE SIT TO ON MY BEHIND AND DO NOTHING.

I weighed out my options and while standing on my feet for my 8 hour shifts, I was eager to find new jobs elsewhere. I found a job not too far from where my hotel job was and thought I would give it a try. It was a position at the Chevrolet car dealership as a Front Desk Receptionist. I was called in for an interview, spoke with the manager, got another call back and I felt overjoyed that another company recognized my bubbly personality. The pay was a little bit higher so I thought, what the heck? Why not?

I put in my letter of resignation from the hotel and gave them a two week notice. I was over it. After telling them when my last day would be, I soon noticed that the day the new schedule came out, I was scheduled to come in on Christmas Eve.

My last day of working there was the Friday before Christmas Eve so I went up to my manager and told him that I couldn't come in. He said in his geeky voice, "did you not say you were leaving in 2 weeks?" I told him that it was 2 weeks ago that I said Friday was going to be my last day. Instead of wishing me well with my future endeavors, he ignored me and never looked up to say farewell. I hugged the coworkers that I actually got along with and hung up my uniform with an attached note for my managers to see that I was not coming back.

The day after Christmas was my first day at the new job. I was excited and nervous at the same time, but I knew I never wanted to look back at my previous job. I walked into the car dealership and felt shy because so many people were staring at me as if I had shit on my face. I stood tall, introduced myself to whoever came across me, and showed them that I was confident. I met up with the General Manager of the dealership and he explained to me that they opened up a new position for me in the Service Department of the car dealership and wanted me to give it a try. I hesitantly said, "Okay." One of the Office Managers brought me to where I would be working and introduced me to my Supervisor; a 23 year old Italian girl who stood about 5 feet.

The day was slowly but surely going by and she attempted to train me the best she could but did a horrible job doing so. She gossiped, took about 3 cigarette breaks, and I noticed that I never took a lunch break like what I was used to. I said to myself, Lord, please let me give this girl a chance. It was about 3 o'clock so she told me it was okay to go home and that she would see me tomorrow morning. I went in the next day, smiling and seeing more new faces. I plopped down into my seat in the office and my snooty supervisor walks in without saying a word. Like does she really think I'm gonna break my neck to say good morning. Who raised you? I observed more of what my duties would be and answered the phones to get familiar with the phone greeting. She was blown away at how educated and poised I sounded when picking up the phone. That day gradually came to an end and once again, still no lunch break. I WAS STARVING, but before I left, this time I asked her does this department not get lunch breaks because this is kind of weird. She replied, "Oh, you just kinda work through, but there are vending machines so you can grab something quick."

I was appalled.

Soon enough, days turned into about 2 weeks and her blunt personality started to conflict with mine. She demanded that I "get off my phone" (even though I was briefly just counting down the minutes that I could finally leave) and said, "start doing something for once", but with me being the Black girl that I am, I didn't want to come off rude so I simply tucked my phone in my lap and sternly told her that I wasn't on it. That very same day, I made it my duty to speak to the General Manager to tell him how I was feeling. He politely welcomed me into his office once my shift was over and told me that she was a 'little' rough around the edges. WHAT?! I thought to myself, let that be a Black girl in her position and she would be viewed as being a bitch. He told me to give it more time and that there were other positions open that I could look into if I don't like it.

I went in the following week after my first weekend and gave it another chance. That bright and early Monday morning, my supervisor walked in 20 minutes late smelling of cigarettes and cheap perfume. I gave her a dry smile and said a prayer hoping the day would fly by. I met some other coworkers that worked in the same office as I did and I noticed that she was very demanding to the Spanish girl that sat next to me. Race was becoming more of an issue in this work environment.

Something wasn't right. I couldn't be the only one that felt she was coming crazy.

I immediately sent my General Manager an email and told him that she was being rude and I can no longer work here. She was always stepping out to take MULTIPLE cigarette breaks MULTIPLE times a day and I STILL never got a lunch for the 3 weeks that I worked there. I later told my manager that Friday was going to be my last day and he understood and thanked me for giving it a try. The day came to an end and I couldn't find my supervisor anywhere; she had been MIA for about 30 minutes yapping away...so I left.

That evening when I went home, I sent her a formal text message letting her know that Friday would be my last day and that I spoke to the General Manager who said it was okay. She took it upon herself to then call the GM and tell him that she was "letting me go" that day and I can pick up my last check on Friday. Excuse me?

My supervisor wanted the upper hand to try and 'fire me' but clearly the General Manager had something to do with this too. I went on and sent him a detailed email telling him how disrespected I felt when she was texting me and why my last day was sooner than expected if I had already gotten the OK from him.

Later that evening, he emailed me back and said that it was unnecessary for him to speak to me anymore and wished me luck.

I felt like I was being backed into a corner.

I went to pick up my check on that Friday in hopes to walk past her. I walked up to the receptionist and politely waited for my check. All of a sudden, I see the General Manager speaking to the owner of the dealership (another old white man) and as he glanced back, our eyes met. He knew that I wasn't very happy. He walked out giving me a dry smile and said, " you're not here to see me are you?" I said, NO without looking him in the eyes. He ran and quickly gave me my check, but before I left, I took it upon myself to speak to the owner about all of the crap I was experiencing. Long story short, I told him everything that was going on and the fact that I never got a lunch break. I also expressed to him that my supervisor was extremely demanding and bossy.

He promised me a follow up phone call and yeah, you guessed it...HE NEVER CALLED BACK. I gave him a call several days later and he nonchalantly said that he 'spoke with my supervisor' about everything. BS! I didn't believe a thing that came out of his mouth. I was upset and frustrated that I was dealing with this racist ass work environment in the first place.

The moral of the story is, we live in a nation where Trump has become president and some White folk feel that they can speak to US however they like. I dealt with this entire situation for almost a month and nothing was ever done. My supervisor is still in her undeserved Office Manager position, my General Manager is now looking for another employee to take my place, and several coworkers relayed the message to me to let me know that the dealership was outrageously getting out of hands with racist comments.

I was glad not to work there anymore, but it brought me right back to square one: UNEMPLOYED.

I am learning that in this season of delay, God wants me to be patient and listen to His voice. This doesn't mean that I will give up on my initial goal nor will I settle for anything not worth my time or talent. This dilemma has toughened me up, gave me a stronger back bone, and gave me more knowledge that racism and unfair treatment still exists.

Keep fighting. Keep praying. Keep pushing.

Until next time!

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