We’ve all heard the “career wisdom” that says to us…..

• “Don’t burn any bridges.” (even a bridge that needs to be burned down)
• “Don’t speak ill of a past employer.” (even if your lived experience backs it up)
• “Don’t say anything negative about a previous boss.” (even if your lived experience backs it up)

You do realize that it’s not “career wisdom,” right?

It’s compliance talk.

It’s the advice pushed by…

• human resources gatekeepers who work for status-quo preserving companies
• recruiters who are paid to source “culture fits” for status-quo preserving companies
• career strategists who are perpetuating systems, either knowingly or unknowingly
• anyone with an expressed or unexpressed vested interest in keeping the controlled, controlled

The “career wisdom” we’ve all heard for our entire career has always been the status-quo protecting itself.

Status-quo knows that if enough of us speak up, we can deliver a huge blow. So…voila…we have “career wisdom” appearing as etiquette to keep us in our place and uphold the racial capitalist system aka white supremacy aka “beast system.” IYKYK

And when “career wisdom” is directed at Black employees, it’s especially egregious and especially sinister.

The expectation is that we will continue to be compliant with the “professional” rules of whiteness.

After all, it’s “unprofessional” to say anything negative against the power centers known as companies, organizations, institutions and their agents.

Many of us know how it all works.

About that “Career Wisdom”

All one needs to do—in determining who “career wisdom” is wisdom for—is to consider the answers to the following questions:

Who benefits when we leave a racially toxic environment and keep it hush-hush?

Answer: the organization.

Who benefits when we don’t speak up about that nightmare of an organization from which we are escaping and liberating ourself?

Answer: the organization.

Who benefits when we stay quiet about the sheer hell a boss put us through?

Answer: the organization.

Have you picked up on the pattern yet?

It’s always been hiding in plain sight.

When we allow these organizations “to get away with it,” we are in essence giving away the only power we have as the disenfranchised, the marginalized—the power of our voice.

I’m not giving away my voice. And I’m using mine today to call out several companies who have shown that they don’t do the right thing…not from the standpoint of a moral imperative and certainly not from the standpoint of their own professed commitment to DEI.

So, without further ado….. I present the companies that have “won” a spot in the Hall of Shame.

Hilton Grand Vacations

Despite having a great track record and receiving positive feedback from her controller boss (literal title and happy pun coincidence), and also from her boss’ boss, a newly hired Black accountant in Resort Operations (Let’s call her Grace) recently received the “Black treatment” from Hilton Grand Vacations. Grace was informed that it takes 90 days to be fully familiar with Hilton’s process, and yet after being employed for only 45 days, she was told by her boss that she has not met requirements.

When they terminated Grace immediately after delivering that feedback, she was told that the reason was that she “did not complete her tasks”—a reason that just didn’t jibe with a role that requires daily completion of tasks, which she had been completing.

As many of us know, when we get the “Black treatment” and end up fired, it leaves us feeling confused and it leaves us questioning ourselves. It’s been no different for Grace, who has the knowledge, skills, and experience for the role and who had worked tirelessly to complete her tasks within the appropriate timeframe. Plus, remember, she had been receiving positive feedback about her work from two levels above her. (Alas, that may have been the issue—a “phenomenon” Black women experience known as the jealous-driven sabotage of white women. Yes, it’s a real thing.)

For those of you familiar with the Hilton brand, it boasts of the following acronym in communicating its values to employees:

H   hospitality

I     integrity

L   leadership

T   teamwork

O   ownership

N   now

Contrary to the “Hilton values” and according to Grace, her controller boss “ostracized me, manipulated me, micromanaged me, and used me as a scapegoat. Her emotional attitude towards me was awful. She cut me off from asking her questions and raised her voice at me when no one was around, and because I liked this job, I was stuck being submissive and would stay calm and apologize to her. I never reported her to upper management.”

Methinks that at the 45-day period, Grace’s controller boss realized the talents and growth potential of her Black female direct-report, grew jealous about the possibility that a Black woman might rise higher than her at some point, and decided to activate operation “Black treatment” to get rid of Grace.

And here’s the icing on the familiar cake…..

After her firing, Grace did finally speak to human resources. And as we know, this move sealed her fate as permanent and irreversible. Hilton refused to address “her case” and turned their backs. I guess the only letter that holds up in their acronym-inspired values list is the “N” for “now”…. i.e., let’s get this Black woman out of here “now.”

Because Grace remains in search of new employment since her termination in early June, if you know of any leads or opportunities for an experienced accountant, please DM me so that I can connect you to her. Let’s get her a new role with an organization that will value her and the experience she brings.

Shame on you, Hilton Grand Vacations. We see you.

Assurant

Things are getting “spicier” with the class-action lawsuit filed June 2, 2022 against Assurant. Assurant leadership named in the lawsuit are BRANDON BROWN, ASH BAUER, and JOSEPH (JOE) AMENDOLA. Since my initial spotlight of this insurance company, more and more current and past employees have come forward to attest to the egregious racism and discrimination. Because of these developments, attorneys have filed an amendment to the original 54-page lawsuit. Though I don’t have access to the amendment, here is the original complaint which names the three main Black plaintiffs. As you read it, keep in mind that it’s even worse than what’s laid out…..i.e., that’s the reason for the amendment.

When it comes to its Black employees, Assurant is in the “under” business – underemploy us, underpay us, under-promote us.

They also have a strict policy of swift retaliation against those that come forward and “complain.” One of the three main plaintiffs was fired as soon as he “complained to human resources.”

Sound familiar? It’s a “common play” from the “Black treatment” playbook.

What I didn’t do in my original post was to include a gallery photo of the Assurant leadership team, which I’ll include now for your “discerning pleasure.”

What do you notice? Yeah, I notice it, too.

Here are some of the soundbites comprising the lawsuit:

• A white manager told Black employees that “slaves should have been happy they were no longer in Africa” and that “slavery was not all that bad for slaves because they had food and shelter from slave owners.”
• “Assurant has become a place of ‘devastating ongoing racial discrimination,’ where white employees are promoted faster than Blacks.”
• “White employees often get higher base salaries, bonuses and commission.”
• “Complaints about the unfair treatment went unresolved whenever [the three main plaintiffs, William Judson, Daris Steen, and Richard Stein ] informed human resources.”

According to Attorney Jeanne Christensen, “Assurant engaged in this disgusting conduct for years while promoting the white managers responsible for the unlawful acts. We look forward to holding Assurant accountable for its unlawful discrimination.”

Yaaassssssss…..to that “accountable” part!

Shame on you, Assurant. We see you.

Google

A class action lawsuit against Google was filed March 18, 2022. The 24-page complaint, which names April Curley as plaintiff, begins right out of the gate with…..

“Google famously adopted ‘don’t be evil’ as a core value in its early days. Yet as it grew into one of the world’s largest corporate behemoths, Google practiced one of this nation’s oldest evils—race discrimination.”

“Google is engaged in a pattern and practice of race discrimination against its African American and Black employees. Google’s centralized leadership, which is nearly devoid of Black representation, holds biased and stereotypical views about the abilities and potential of Black professionals.”

“As a result, and pursuant to company-wide discriminatory policies and practices, Google hires few Black employees and steers those few Black employees into lower-level roles, pays them less, and denies them advancement and leadership roles because of their race.”

“Black Google employees face a hostile work environment and suffer retaliation if they dare to challenge or oppose the company’s discriminatory practices. As a result, Black employees at Google earn and advance less than non-Black employees and suffer higher rates of attrition.”

According to the lawsuit, Google is “not genuinely interested in actual diversity and equal employment opportunities but wanted only to burnish its public image for marketing purposes. Google wanted [the] Plaintiff, as an African American woman, to quietly put on a good face for the company and toe the company line.”

Where have we seen and heard that before?

It’s the drive behind performative DEI and tokenism. Just don’t look behind the “display.”

Google didn’t count on Ms. Curley not going along with their “show.” And when she didn’t, they fired her.

Again, the go-to move in the “Black treatment” playbook is termination.

Evidently, terminating Black employees is preferable to treating us fairly.

The 24 pages of the complaint are chock-full of jaw-dropping bombshells. Everything Black people know and experience when “working while Black in corporate” are outlined in detail. You won’t regret reading the entire complaint. I plan on using portions of it in my consulting work.

Shame on you, Google. We see you.

Wells Fargo

No Hall of Shame would be complete without repeat-offender Wells Fargo, which has a “rap-sheet” of racial discrimination and a ratched scheme that would rival any pharmaceutical company’s track record.

Wells Fargo has perfected the “Black treatment” to be all encompassing, which targets employees, customers, and employment candidates with no chance of being hired…by design.

Here’s a re-cap of some of the most damning information about Wells Fargo and its long history of racist practices:

“A federal investigation found that from 2004 to 2009, Wells Fargo harmed Black and Hispanic communities through engaging in discriminatory lending practices against 30,000 Black and Hispanic borrowers. This ultimately resulted in Wells Fargo paying over $175 million in a 2011 settlement with the United States Justice Department.”

“In 2011, Wells Fargo became the second largest investor in GEO Group (one of the two leading corporations perpetuating modern-day enslavement of Black Americans through the private prison system), with 4.3 million shares in the company.”

“In 2012, Wells Fargo was named as the issuing lender on a $785 million line of credit for CCA (the second of two leading corporations perpetuating modern-day enslavement of Black American through the private prison system), presently known as Core Civic, and was also named as the trustee for a $300 million GEO Group bond.”

“Wells Fargo is among the top sponsors, funders, and board members for police foundations of multiple major cities, including Charlotte, Sacramento, Seattle, Atlanta.”

“Continued discriminatory practices against Black homebuyers prompted the city government of New York City to divest, in April 2022, from opening any new accounts with Wells Fargo.”

Fake It So Blacks Don’t Make It

Not only is the list above not comprehensive of all of Wells Fargo’s wrongdoings over the years, it doesn’t address the fake interview scheme, the latest in Wells Fargo’s ongoing dumbfukkkery-spree.

When Joe Bruno, then executive in the wealth management division, complained to his bosses that certain candidates were being interviewed for positions that had already been promised to someone else, they dismissed his claims. Last August, Wells Fargo fired him.

Sure, Joe Bruno is not Black, but he received the “when you speak up for Black people, you’ll get the friend-of-Black-people” treatment. Wells Fargo retaliated against him for telling leadership that the fake interviews were “inappropriate, morally wrong, ethically wrong.”

Here’s are some highlights:

• Seven Wells Fargo employees (including Joe Bruno) were instructed by their managers or human resources managers to conduct interviews even though roles had already been filled.
• “Five others said they were aware of the practice, or helped to arrange it.”
• “The interviews seemed to be more about helping Wells Fargo record its diversity efforts on paper — partly in anticipation of possible regulatory audits — rather than hiring more women or people of color.”

Boom! There it is again. The illusion of DEI is what Wells Fargo was prioritizing.

What makes the Wells Fargo fake interviews particularly disturbing is that it demonstrates the lengths to which a company will go in side-stepping and making a mockery of DEI. Fake interviews are so cunning, so calculated, so devious. What then does this say about the folks who “lead” Wells Fargo?

Shame on you, Wells Fargo. We saw you then. We see you now.

Truths and Trends

• Human resources is not your friend.
• Human resources is not pro-human but rather pro-company.
• Know your rights and document everything.
• Reporting discrimination, yours or others, will likely get you fired. That’s why it’s important to be ready and have all your documentation for pursuing legal recourse.
• Reporting discriminatory policies/practices will likely get you fired. (See the expanded note above)
• The “Black treatment” at work is alive and well and is utilized by more companies than you realize.
• Performative companies are more committed to “collecting tokens” than they are to real DEI.
• When you keep “it” quiet, you allow offending companies to be repeat-offenders.

 

Last Words

We don’t change anything when we stay quiet or abide by the rules put in place to keep us in our place. We need more serious boots on the ground. I have no bandwidth for intentionistas, but I do have bandwidth for impactivists™.

/intentionista/ noun. One who talks a “good game” and puts on a “good show” while attempting to blow “sweet-smelling smoke up the asses” of others.

/impactivist/ noun. One who consistently translates intent into concrete actions that make the difference.

Serious, reachable, and teachable folks are exactly the ones I’m calling on. The ones who use their privilege and influence to advance the work of anti-racism in TANGIBLE ways. The ones that have the humility to know that they still have much to learn and unlearn. I issued the call in last Thursday’s newsletter, and I’m issuing it here again. What’s needed are activated folks making an impact. I can help you with that.

For the folks that heeded last week’s call, the first of the notifications are going out today to admitted members of my new “True Anti-Racism Allies Academy.” I’m holding space for 50 folks who are serious about doing the work. Membership isn’t automatic. There’s an application to join the asynchronous community. If you want to dive deeper and have support and guidance for the journey, if you want to be an impactivist™, then this is the community for you. Virtual doors open August 1.

Have a few minutes? Take the Ally Challenge consisting of 10 multiple-choice items and see how you do. I can’t think of a single person or entity on this planet that doesn’t have something to learn….and unlearn.

I’m looking at you next, Starbucks and Walmart.