A Black Man Working in a White Man's World
...ession that the blame lies with someone else. Black adults must prepare young blacks to be more equipped to compete. Black adults must change their attitudes about how one gets ahead and stop uselessly resenting the white man for what his forefathers have done. Blacks must no longer live in the past. We must instead put community first and eliminate problems such as gangs and drugs that hurt our image and more importantly the quality of our present lives. For many black men time in the workplace is like being on foreign soil. They are not at ease with coworkers or customers. Every hour of every workday they are on the lookout for evidence of discrimination, or are looking for some way to “get one over” on the company. Now, this doesn’t represent the attitude of every black man in the workplace, but keep in mind that this is the perception the white man has of the black man. It is a heavy burden to overcome, but overcome it we can! Many blacks arrive at a company with a grudge and a chip on their shoulder. They are looking for slights and unfairness. Because most blacks are isolated from mainstream white society, they have no idea how to interact with people outside of their race. And when they try to become a part of the crowd at the work place, they find that the expected common ground and their ideas of fun and leisure are totally different from the others. It is very difficult to perform your job while trying to be someone you’re not. This is one of the leading causes of stress. You must feel comfortable in your workplace and with the people around you. Don’t feel like you have to be best friends, or that you have to agree with them all the time, but you should make an attempt to get to know and enjoy them. You must be sure to develop your work ethics no matter what job you have. These ethics will define your place in the working world. They will earn you the respect of your peers. The work ethics you develop while getting started in the game will be invaluable to you once you find your niche. We must understand that the white man wonders if the black man has the same interests as he does. And if not, why not? He fears all the things he has heard and read about the black man, no matter how incorrect they may be. It is up to us to put his mind at ease, to make him understand that we are not monsters but simply people with a different heritage. It is our job to try to make the white man feel at ease around us and the best opportunity to do that is in the workplace. We can make him understand that our hopes and dreams are fundamentally the same as his, that we wish to excel in our careers and to provide for our families as he does. The white man thinks he has the power. In order for us to share in that power, we must change our ways. White people in the workplace have said to me, “You’re not like most of the black people I’ve met.” I’m always at a loss as to how to respond. Do I thank them? Do I take offense? Do I ask what they mean? Although the white man invented the game, there is no reason why we can’t play it as well as he does. We must show the white man that our work ethics are like his. The black man must realize that he will have no well-defined role in the Game, because relatively few of us have embarked upon the road to success in the corporate world. We have few precedents to follow. This is why the work ethics you develop for yourself are so important. You must put your best foot forward at all times. When you make it, you must always be ready to show and tell the younger brothers of the life you’ve achieved and how you’ve achieved it. Tell them what worked and what didn’t. This is where the next generation will get their success stories and their role models. I live my life in the white man’s world. My work and recreational lives are spent with him. I have only a few black friends, and they too live and work in the white man’s world. This situation has not arisen by choice. It has happened because my job very seldom deals with black businesses, or blacks at all, nor do I live in a black-populated area. I don’t know if this is good or bad. It’s just the way it is. The white man’s way of life is the one I grew up observing and studying. I don’t wish to sound as if I’m trying to be white or that I’m telling you that the white man’s way of life is the right way. The way I choose to live is my decision. I do not expect all black men to adopt the white man’s way of life, but I think it’s obvious we need to try something different. I have such contempt for the way the black man lives his life and then comp...