Microaggressions at Work

For twenty years, during my entire working career, I experienced microaggression up close along with many of my colleagues of colour. Time after time these negative instances and attacks were reported to human resources and top leadership without any feedback or changes in the work environment. In fact, most things became worse for many staff people because the aggressors knew they could get away with almost anything and receive support from management. Most staff with top notched skills would leave their jobs to seek a better work environment, even if it meant taking a cut in salary. I was one of them.

Upon leaving several fields that I loved and was trained for, I decided to start my own business. Graduating from college I was confident that I would be a great asset to the field of Advertising. I fell in love with it and strived to do a great job. None of it meant anything to the racist leadership in charge of deciding what accounts the people of colour would be allowed to work on. After moving from one firm to the next, I realised that the attitudes were the same and only the faces and names were different. From there I was recruited to work in the field of broadcasting. Being a young naive man, I was thrilled and jumped at the opportunity. I loved broadcasting because it gave me the opportunity to support communities that would never get coverage. Being in the field was a delight. Being in the…