I know we like to think about the actions we take and feel like the decisions we make about how we show up comes from us.
But, when we REALLY dig into it, we start to realize it comes from centuries of conditioning.
Code switching…
Shrinking…
Performing professionalism…
Why do these behaviors exist in the first place?
Let’s start from the beginning:
Pre-1865 | Enslavement
Black women were slaves. I think we know what that entailed.
Shut up and do what we’re told or die.
1865 | Emancipation
Slavery ended but the work available to Black women barely changes.
They did housekeeping, domestic service, laundry, cooking, and childcare and were pretty much paid shekels for their hard work.
You better take whatever you can get.
1896 | Jim Crow
Segregation becomes the official law of the land and Black women are locked out of most professional opportunities entirely.
You’re not good enough to work among us.
Early 1900s | Black Wall Street
Since they were shut out of white spaces, Black folks built their own communities and thrived.
We had doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, hotels, theaters, grocery stores and of course the evil, vindictive whites had to come burn it all down.
There are consequences to being too successful.
1940 | Women’s Bureau Survey
This is where a study found that more than half of U.S. employers had a formal company policy against hiring Black women as clerical workers.
Working with us is against policy.
1941-1945 | World War II
Black women entered the workforce in larger numbers as factories needed labor during this time, but of course, they are segregated into the dirtiest, hardest parts of the work for less pay.
You’re less than.
1960s-1970s | Corporate
Black women started entering professional spaces in larger numbers.
But the price of admission is assimilation. You better not dare come there with your culture, hair, clothes, or vernacular.
You can be here, but only if you act accordingly.
2002-2017 | Fortune 100
Over 15 years, Black female corporate officers in Fortune 100 companies increase by 0.02% — from 1.1% to 1.3%. Over 15 years, our presence increased by a fraction of a percent (0.02%).
No matter how qualified you are, we still won’t hire you.
2020 | George Floyd
After George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, there was backlash about how Blacks are treated in this countries. Companies made public pledges to put $ billions toward racial equity.
Black women were finally centered in corporate conversations about inclusion.
Fine, we’ll listen to you, but only because it impacts our pockets.
2024 | The Presidential Election
Trump and his goonies get elected and immediately started to dismantle anything remotely related to DEI and we are now under attack.
Nope, we as a nation reject you and don’t care about your experiences.
2025 | The Exodus Over 300,000-500,000 Black women have exited the workforce and have become the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S., but the conditioning is centuries deep and the survival branding comes with them.
Yall…the opportunity to unlearn it has never been greater!
Til’ next time, remember: your identity is the strategy.
If you had some triggers, some aha moments, or just have something to say, leave a comment or join us in the chat where its safe to share your truth.
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