The topic of racial microaggressions is probably one that I get asked about the most in my line of work and in conversations with Black people and people of colour. I receive numerous stories of seemingly harmless interactions that leave people feeling exhausted, confused, slighted or disrespected. These experiences range from compliments that express surprise that they are “smart and articulate”, random hair touching to being constantly asked where they are from, even when they are Australians.
Microagressions are brief, subtle, and “put-downs” that communicate a pattern of negative attitudes towards racially minoritised groups. Unlike explicit and overt forms of racism, racial microaggressions are benign and so hidden and embedded within the commonplace ordering of things in our society. This means they are more difficult to name and decode. As Beverly Daniel Tatum states, the nature of this benign form of covert racism is “like smog in the air. Sometimes it is thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent, but always, day in and day out, we are breathing it in.”
Racial microaggressions in the workplace are “passive” or “casual” racism. They occur within the parameters of what is considered appropriate within a work culture. In my research on racial microagressions, participants reported experiencing relentless patterns of disrespect that they described as being so subtle that it made them question whether it was ‘all in their minds’.
Microagressions can be enacted through comments, jokes, humour, and subtle acts of exclusion. Despite their hidden and subtle nature, there is nothing micro about microagressions. There lies the paradox of naming them as microaggressions despite the significant impact they have on the recipients. Here are six common forms of racial microagressions in the workplace:
Micro-assaults
Although micro-assaults are often intentional and deliberate, they are communicated in a way that isn’t obvious that it’s about someone’s race or ethnicity. For example, Black people report receiving poorer services as patrons in restaurants or beauty salons as compared to white clients. They may also be denied job opportunities or promotions, and in some cases have to anglicise their names to get any call-backs for job interviews. Black people can be seen as lacking ‘appealing’ factors for employability despite high tertiary level qualifications.
Micro-insults
These are verbal and nonverbal communications that reduce a person’s racial identity to a stereotype. In the workplace, an organisation might always expect their colleague of colour to offer free labour when diversity discussions are being held. Another example is offering comments that imply Black people are hired only to diversify a workplace and not out of merit. These micro-insults may also include ridiculing people’s ethnic names or refusing to learn how to pronounce them correctly.
The other common micro-insult is the constant mistaking Black people and people of colour for each other. This lumps people into a monolithic group. They look alike, think alike, and behave alike. This assumption does not allow Black people and other people of colour the dignity of being individuals as they are often seen as a representation of their entire race. The psychology of minoritisation is that it reduces the complexity of a minoritised group into a singular.
Micro-invalidations
These are minimisations of the very real experiences of racism. Gaslighting Black people and people of colour for highlighting the experiences of racism at work by telling them they are too sensitive is a common example. By the time a Black or person of colour decides to report an incident of micro-racism, they have probably overlooked many other incidents because often they are terrified of being seen as “troublemakers”. Many only make these reports when it becomes unbearable. Organisations might be too invested in “proving that they are race-free workplace” that they seek to protect their image rather than responding to such reports with consideration.
Micro-suspicions
Black people are often treated with suspicion in schools, workplaces or in public spaces. This is a form of racial profiling that assumes race informs incompetence and sometimes, criminal behaviour and habits. My research participants reported that the workplace is a place of constant scrutiny where they are often assumed to be incompetent or out of place.
There are several examples of micro suspicions including; assuming an excellent project written by a Black colleague was led by a white colleague or refusing to give credit for work done. Others include being hesitant or hostile when being served by a Black professional in the workplace by assuming they do not have the appropriate expertise.
Micro-burdens
There are expectations that Black people to constantly “prove” themselves either to be decent human beings and/or competent professionals. In my research, participants reflected on the heightened “burden of proof”. Black colleagues are more likely to be subjected to increased surveillance because of micro suspicions. This produces the burden of having to work twice as hard not only to prove competency but also as being worthy of the respect their white colleagues experience.
Micro acts of exclusion
These are subtle experiences of exclusion that leave Black professions feeling “out of place”. This includes being excluded from group activities, not being included in important correspondence, not being informed of promotion opportunities, or not being offered mentorship that may be available to others. Micro acts of exclusion are also enacted through accent discrimination. People with non-Australian accents are often excluded from social events are they are assumed to be hard to understand because of the negative stereotypes summoned upon ‘foreign accents’.
What we learn from research on microagressions is that trying to decode the meanings behind these subtle acts is a burdensome and confusing process which impact people’s physiological and psychological wellbeing.
This article was first published b y SBS. Read the original post here
Kathomi Gatwiri is a Senior Academic at southern cross University, a trauma and race researcher and psychotherapist. She is the founder of Healing together, a service that provides culturally informed therapeutic services to Black people and people of colour in Australia.
