My mother sat quietly while the woman spoke on the phone. She talked about my mom’s experience and education and then said, “No she is not negro. She is white.”
“No, I am negro,” said my mother.
The interviewer looked at my mother, slightly dumbfounded, and went on to say, “She is a negro but she’s very light-skinned.”
She hung up the phone and informed my mother that the job was no longer available.
While I never had the same experience when I was in the interview chair, I don’t know for certain if I was ever hired because someone assumed I was white.
A lot of black people have asked me if I have ever received preferential treatment from white employers who thought I was white. The answer is: I don’t know. No one has ever indicated that I was hired for reasons other than my experience or knowledge. After a period of time, my race always comes up in the workplace. And someone usually ends up telling me, “I didn’t know you were black! I thought you were [insert the race of your choice here].”
Now I know what you may be thinking: Surely you’ve witnessed someone treat you differently than someone else who was (obviously) black? The answer is: Yes I have. And nowhere is that more evident than at the cash register.
More times than I can remember, I’ve observed cashier’s turn their customer service training off and on so quickly. A white cashier is rude and short to a black customer in front of me, hands them their receipt and instantly finds their manners when I approach the register because they assume I am white. Or a black cashier is polite and patient with a black customer, hands them their receipt and instantly looses their manners when I approach the register because, you guessed it, they assume I am white. I’ve also been followed around in stores, received poor or no service at all in retail settings, perhaps because someone thought I was black or biracial.
I’ve learned not to hold these reactions against people. I’m not getting any darker and some people aren’t getting any kinder.
Light and All Write 