Black Girls are Businesslike

Photo Source: Kadejah H. @baby_butta on Instagram

My name is Daijha Thompson and I am a second-year public relations and political philosophy dual major at Syracuse University (SU). My preferred pronouns are she, her and hers and I identify as African-American or black. With all that being said, I think it’s important to explicitly state that I identify as a Black woman. Even more specifically, I identify as a Black woman in the communications industry.

When I was a freshman at SU, I struggled with finding the balance between being a Black woman and being in communications. Having spent four years in a predominantly white, private high school, I felt as though I knew myself well enough to stand confidently in my Blackness and own my identity. But suddenly I was faced with a new identity crisis: how was I supposed to uphold the professional expectations as a public relations professional and still maintain my identity as a Black woman? I wanted to speak my mind, but I didn’t want to be called “the angry Black woman.” I wanted to be able to wear my pineapple wrap scarf without being thrown judgmental glances or told that it was against the professional dress code.

My biggest dilemma came in the middle of my freshman year when I decided to cut my hair and begin wearing my natural afro. Before I made the decision to make the big chop, I struggled with how other people, particularly future employers, would view me with my afro. Would they be able to look past my appearances and hire me based on my education and merits, or would my afro be an obstacle to my professional career?

In the Netflix original movie “Nappily Ever After,” Violet, played by Sanaa Lathan, has been raised to believe that in order to live her best life, land the man of her dreams, and maintain a high profile at her job at an advertising agency, she must keep her hair long and straight. And, although this is a movie, these types of issues occur in real life. According to The New York Times article, When Black Hair is Against the Rules, “After Emancipation, straight hair continued to be the required look for access to social and professional opportunities. Most black people internalized the idea that their natural hair was unacceptable, and by the early 20th century wore it in straightened styles often achieved with dangerous chemical processes or hot combs, or they wore wigs.”

My and Violet’s fear of the scrutiny that we may face if we decided not to straighten our hair or decided to cut it all off was not unfounded. One woman seemed to state our feelings correctly when interviewed by the Harvard Business Press. She said, “[As a Black woman], your work is judged plus other intangible things. You second-guess yourself and that affects your confidence.” While I do not speak for all Black women, I can say that some, if not most, agree with this statement. Most Black women face criticism that is unrelated to their work and are judged based on their appearances and behavior rather than their education and experience. I, personally, experienced this scrutiny after cutting my hair. Upon returning to campus, a group of Caucasian women approached me and began pointing and laughing at my afro because it was “so different.” As I sat in class that day, my mind drifted to all the possible things the people sitting behind me were saying and thinking about my afro and, at some point, I altogether stopped paying attention to the lecture at hand. I sunk further and further into my chair until I felt I could no longer be seen.

To combat this issue of insecurity for many people across multiple industries, Dr. Regina Luttrell, an assistant professor in the public relations department at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, proposes in her book “Social Media: How to Engage, Share, and Connect,” that each organization develop a respect policy. She writes, “Respect is a core value often found within many organizations. It might then make sense to include a point within the social media policy related to respecting others’ opinions and valuing all contributions. A policy addressing respect may read as follows: ‘It’s OK to be yourself and say what is on your mind, but do so respectfully. We want to connect with colleagues and engage with the larger community.’”

I agree with Luttrell: all organization’s need to institute a policy that gives everyone equal opportunity to express themselves and speak their minds without fear of being judged. My issue with this policy is the word “respectfully.” Who gets to decide what is respectful and what is not? Being a Black woman often means that I must code-switch or bite my tongue because anything I say is liable to be misconstrued as rude, disrespectful or aggressive just because of the color of my skin.

One piece of advice that my mother gave to me during my first identity crisis in high school was this: “People are going to talk about you whether you conform to what they say or not. They are always going to find something to talk about, whether it be your hair, your clothes, the way you say certain words, or even where you come from. So, wouldn’t you rather be the person you were created to be and stand in your own truth no matter what anyone else says? Because at the end of the day, it’ll be you who would have changed for their benefit, not the other way around.”

So, my advice to you all is to stand confidently in your truth, know who you are, and never compromise who you are to benefit someone else. Marianne Williamson said in her poem “Our Deepest Fear,” “And as we let our own light shine/We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same./As we're liberated from our own fear,/Our presence automatically liberates others.” I charge you all to be the light that ignites that path for younger Black girls to use as they begin their journeys of finding themselves.

Photo Source: North Carolina Central University

To give us all a little inspiration to stand in our truths and be confident in our identities, I look to Symone Sanders, a political communications strategist who served as the press secretary for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. At 25, she became the youngest presidential press secretary to date. Today, Sanders serves as a strategist and political commentator for CNN, and she has also become well-known for her candid tweets about race, gender, discrimination and Donald Trump. While she continues to break glass ceilings, she rocks her short, natural hairstyle accompanied, always, by her daily choice of bright lipstick. It is clear that no matter what profession Sanders chooses to stand in today, she will never dull her voice or lose her identity, and neither should we.

#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackGirlsRock #PublicCommunications #BlackProfessionals #BlackHair