You are at the social hour of a business function and during the cocktail hour, and another sales professional takes an opportunity to give you, your manager, and the other individuals in your conversation group his “two cents”:

“I believe that this thing with Black athletes in the NBA is sickening. They are selfish, tattooed animals that make money from bouncing a ball and shooting it into a basket.”

_________________________

You might not even like the NBA, but you immediately feel your temperature increasing because it was an overtly racist statement.  Statements like this do happen, and are not only offensive but also very revealing about the one who speaks them.

How should you react?  What actions should you take?  Are you in jeopardy when you make a complaint?  We will examine these issues in this post as you have probably heard comments that are offensive more than once.

Measured Reactions When it Comes from “the Side”

What do you do when these comments come from a coworker?  That is why I am referring to it as “the side” as opposed to “from the top” which would be management.

This may sound like a pretty simple question, yet it should be discussed.  Above is an example of an overt racist comment.  He specifically noted Black NBA athletes in his comments, and made a blanket statement about a league which is approximately 80% to 82% Black with an average annual income of $2.4M.  Regardless of his reasoning, he said it.  Additionally, whether he was right or wrong, the statement should not have been made.

Statements like this are “baiting” and designed to get you to move to the defense. In some situations they are clear indications that they forgot who was in the audience.  I aver that regardless of the reason, our response should be a simple and demonstrative as what I will describe shortly.

I certainly believe that any comment that disparages race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religion affiliation should be met with an immediate response.  Whether they are veiled or not, you have the right to remove yourself from that conversation, and by doing so you will send a clear signal to the individual and the rest of the group that you are a professional.

At the first utterance, my suggestion is to not legitimize the comment by engaging in conversation or argument.  Comments like this are offensive and designed to get a reaction.   Having a discussion or even a moment of argument about it gives them what they want.  Even if you are incensed, I urge you not to legitimize it, but to take the following actions after the comment:

Think about the comment briefly and if it is racist, or darn close to it then I suggest you state one of the following, or something you have crafted for this type of occasion:

• “I have no desire to discuss this issue”, then exit the conversation.
• “I will not legitimize your comments with discussion or my presence”, then exit the conversation.
• “I am as surprised that you have views like that and even more surprised that you would be insensitive enough to state them.  You will excuse me?”

Everyone in the group will know why you exited the conversation.  As a matter of fact this will give you a good chance to see how many of those individuals you work, including those you consider friends, have the intestinal fortitude (guts) to do the same thing.  These types of comments have no place in a work setting, and you cannot be selective about which ones to listen to, they need to all be met with the same response.

When someone makes comments like this in your presence, you can imagine what they say when you are not present.  Remember, you probably have the right to “go off” about the issue.  The problem is that you don’t want to give someone the power to be able to “push that button. “   They have shown their ignorance; now your demonstration of the fact that you will not listen to that garbage puts that individual’s action, as well as the actions of others that you work with in the spotlight.  Will they listen to these disparaging comments?  Will they partake of this type of racism (or sexism, or religious intolerance)?

If It Happens Again…

You must remember that everyone that you work with is not your friend.  You should show respect initially, yet that can change if they continually abuse it.  Note that if there is a second instance, then a discussion with Human Resources should be the action taken.

Any discussion with HR should be factual and clearly state the your objection to the comments as well as who was present as witness to the comments.   This is not “tattling” it is working to correct a wrong.  We know that sales people sometimes push the “envelope” in their comments and views.  Regardless, this type of scenario is unacceptable.  It should be clearly discussed that this is not the first time, and the date and time, and witnesses to the initial comment.  If you are truthful about what has happened you should not create any jeopardy for your job in this action.

I have seen jobs endangered, and terminated for comments that disparage racial groups, genders, and other items.  Your comfort should come in that you had the courage to speak up because chances are this is not the first time that a disparaging comment was made.

We appreciate your comments, I can be reached at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.

I run this post every every once in a while.  It will always be relevant and I believe it is true.    Do remember that the no matter what your color, the your use of race  or ethnicity in your assessment of whether you were treated fairly in receiving a promotion or favor is in essence ‘playing the race card’.  Only involve race, color,  or ethnicity  when you really believe it was truly unfairly utilized against you, and you  have some substantiation to  prove it!

______________________

Are you playing the race card?  Without doubt, this is a loaded question.  Playing the race card in the work setting is similar to dropping a hand grenade in a prayer session.  It is polarizing and negative and changes the landscape and the game.  Quite frankly, it creates an explosion when you do it, and even if there are no casualties, you have created strident enemies all around you.

What is this ‘thing’ we call the race card and is there ever a time to use it?

Simple Definitions

To capture the definition of race card, I visited Wikipedia.  It is not always the most credible source, but it puts a stake in the ground of controversial subjects including this one:

According to Wikipedia:

In the less critical sense, the phrase is commonly used in two contexts. In the first, and more common context, it alleges that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage.[1] (Continued)

In the second context, it refers to someone exploiting prejudice against another race for political or some other advantage. The use of thesouthern strategy by a political candidate is said by some to be a version of playing the race card, such as when former Senator Jesse Helms, during his 1990 North Carolina Senate campaign ran an ad showing a black man taking a white man’s job, intended as a criticism of the idea of racial quotas. The ad was interpreted by many people as trying to play to racist fears among white voters.

Excerpted from “Race Card”, Wikipedia 9/3/2011

The most important portion of the definition of “race card” from Wikipedia above is accentuated here:

“…it alleges that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage.”

Quite simply put, the race card manifest itself in our business environment in a couple of profound ways:

• An individual (let’s say Black employee) suggest issues involving race as the reason for some less than desirable action on the part of a manager or superior, which results in an impairment or disadvantage.  The employee specifically cites race or racism as being evident.
• A manager or another employee attempts to discredit an employee (let’s say Black employee) by falsely suggesting that the employee has cited race as the reason for a particular treatment or actions.

There are other ways that it can play out, yet these represent some of the more prominent issues that have to do with this interchange.  No one wants to be discredited.  Not the manager, nor the employee.  The mere mention that one feels discriminated against is toxic in an organization, so both of these are problematic.

Falsely accusing someone of being racist is a simple concept.  It is wrong and playing that card is detrimental to all Black professionals who are working to be the best that they can be.  Misrepresenting what an employee thinks or feels about any aspect of discrimination to pre-empt an action or discussion is just as wrong.

So playing the race card can mean a lot of things, but it happens both ways.  Both ways are detrimental to good relations, and we should be real careful about alleging that race and racism is a motivation unless it is quite evident.

What if it is true?  If it is true, you might phrase that as ’playing the race card’ as well, yet be very careful as being able to prove the truth is not an easy task.  Even though ‘the truth will set you free’, it may not get you justice in a case like this.

What Can You Prove?

It is always smart to avoid any claim that you cannot prove.  Remember, “It is not what you know, it is what you can prove!” With that in mind, your claims regarding management should be restrained when it comes to racism, and always yield to that which you can substantiate.

If you have a provable claim of disparate treatment, you should have discussions on the basis of that treatment, not racism.  In other words, if you are being treated unfairly, have those discussions with the manager or HR; yet be reserved with any race card.   The best HR professionals will understand you and your claim if you are clear, and if the claim is actionable, they will act on it.  Good HR professionals consider the possibility racism, whether they tell you or not.

I always say “what you can prove” because racism (in this case) is an attitude which is evidenced by how a manager treats his/her employees.  Proving that there is a racist attitude means nothing if it is not accompanied by activities that show discrimination.  What are you trying to prove?  Proving that you are discriminated against is difficult, yet doable, but it is not easy at all

Win the Smart Way

Don’t make assertions based on the race card.  Challenge management to be fair and unbiased, and you can do that without charges that are extremely difficult to prove.  Stand up for yourself and keep good objective records that will substantiate any objective complaints that you might have.

If you suspect that there is a problem, bounce the situation off of a mentor (if you trust him/her) or a confidant in another field or industry for tips on how they would handle it.  Most bona fide professionals can ‘smell’ racism when it is present.  Always base your complaints on fairness and equity unless it is something simple to prove.  Fairness and equity are important and lend themselves to reasonable proof.  Unfortunately racism is insidious and it is never lends itself to easy proof.

An example of fairness and equity is illustrated in this example:

Your manager is giving all of the new prospects to someone else, and you need new prospects, you should consider approaching that on the basis of fairness and equity, even if  you suspect racism.

Benefit – It puts everyone on notice that you recognize that you are not being treated fairly.

Weakness – You don’t change what has happened in the past, only going forward.

In this situation, you speak to the manager openly and frankly about what you believe is the disparity.  The manager should be the first stop, and he or she will recognize that you are being a professional by bringing it to him/her first.   If it persists, your next stop is HR to discuss the actions.  You will get some advice from there about how to proceed, yet realize that you need your “ducks in a row” as you consider going above your manager.

If it is repairable, it normally can be done at that level.  Always be the professional in your actions.  It will pay dividends.

Your comments are appreciated.