The Black Woman Who Works for Unilever
Dove soap is the latest to create, cast, approve, distribute, promote, and quickly retract a racist ad.
Somewhere in the world, there is a Black woman sitting at home, thinking about returning to her office at Unilever, the company that owns Dove. She is either:
A) Smirking. Because she told them the ad was racist and they didn’t listen. And she is secretly looking forward to watching them scramble to put out fires while she uses them to boil her tea.
B) Shaking her head. Because she told them about the LAST racist ad, and they shut her down and went through with it. So she didn’t even bother say anything this time.
C) Job hunting. Because this won’t be the last racist ad, and she doesn’t know how long she can fight this battle before she forgets to codeswitch and says how she really feels.
When that Black woman gets to that office on Monday, her co-workers will either:
A) Ask if she thinks it’s racist. With no regard for how this has weighed on her, how it may effect her trajectory at the company, or how very inane and insulting it is to begin with.
B) Expect her to be the expert on all things Black and explain WHY this was racist. Even though diversity training is nowhere in her job description.
C) Express outrage that this could have happened and that noone in the chain of command caught this before it went out. Even though this same person was part of a team/department/committee that had a role in approving the ad.
D) Insist that “It wasn’t meant like that” and seek her absolution as if she, the “Black friend” they reference on Facebook who has never been to their home or met their partner, has some holy power of Black forgiveness.
E) Quietly, privately, covertly and VERY subtly: Apologize for ignoring her.
I’m sure Unilever has some statement about their commitment to diversity that they’ll pull out this week to back up
An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused.
— Dove (@Dove) October 7, 2017 “>that lukewarm apology. I’m sure they’ll post stats on the company’s racial diversity (and of course, any philanthropy to Black communities or causes).
It doesn’t matter who you let in if they don’t have a voice. Don’t just hire Black women. Listen to them. Make your company an inclusive environment that allows them to speak up. Implement and follow progressive policies that allow them to advance. Otherwise you will continue to “miss the mark”.
This is not an experience exclusive to corporations. I have been this Black woman at a nonprofit. I am this Black woman in the classroom. I know these Black women at universities, schools, law firms, fast food restaurants, and retail stores.
The 95% knows. We vote. We act. We teach. We give. We protest. As the adage goes, We don’t always do what we want to do, but we always do what we have to do.
And as Celie so eloquently told Mister: Until you do right by us, everything you think about is gonna crumble.