JC
Have you ever thought that someone in your office was being too sensitive to race? Or have you felt offended by something and were told that you were being too sensitive? Well, the sensitivity needs to end. This is the advice of Kenneth Arroyo Roldan in his new book, Minority Rules. This review explains that the book deals with the issue of people of color “playing the race card,” noting that it is not the smartest way for individuals of color to move up the career ladder (We could also have a whole discussion about how problematic it is that “playing the race card” clearly has a negative connotation, and probably was born out of others not wanting to hear real issues of discrimination and racism in the workplace. The perfect way to discount it all is to say, “Oh, there she goes again, playing the race card!” But yes, that seems like a whole other can of worms….)

Ambitious minorities, says Roldan, who is Puerto Rican, cannot afford to view all criticism as racist. “As minorities, we tend to be oversensitive and often get bent out of shape when criticized or questioned, which hurts our chances of moving up. Learn to play the game. Don’t take the criticism personally,” he writes.

I have to say, there have definitely been times in my career where I jumped to conclusions and assumed that I was being treated the way I was because of my race. I have seen this same thing happen with friends and colleagues. I think that people of color expect the worst in the workplace because so many of us have experienced situations where we were being discriminated against. It’s understandable. However, I think we can definitely afford to let our guards down a bit and not always assume racism — when we do that, we tend to lose credibility and get caught up in office politics rather than focusing on producing really great work, which then in turn (hopefully) leads to bigger and better opportunities for us. I definitely think that we should strike a better balance — being aware of what dynamics are at play (being sensitive to even the subtlest racism), but at the same time, also toning down the suspicion a bit, in an effort to end at least our piece of the vicious cycle. What do you all think?