Black Google Engineer "Google hires the whitest black candidates"

[Beruseruku Desu]

So she’s calling herself the whitest black person technically since she’s a google employee lol

 

[dman14]

Google has tons of employees in non technical roles as well as other tech companies

tech bros/sis that still think they are in greek life

 

[jjs07]

to be clear what i'm talking about is

being indoctrinated/brainwashed into looking down on ppl that look like you and believing that you have to be like stereotypes (based off of nothing but the suppression of everyone else) of "someone else" in order to succeed in life and
the creation of...everything to support that you basically do have to shuck and jive in order to succeed within corporate America.

THEN them pitting both groups of ppl against each other as they sit and watch/go on about their business/check a box of inclusion OR while someone of that group might not openly block someone else from succeeding they somehow become the example of how to be in order to succeed.

its disgusting and shouldn't be a thing but it is def a thing and there is no foreseeable end.

ahhh....ok. Makes perfect sense. Seeing the same thing going on right now with the NFL/Jay-Z.

 

[suprduperfly]

This isn't something easily put into words without offending someone.
If you haven't seen the first season of "Insecure" (episode 3), they do a good job of displaying the disconnect on screen.

Spoiler

In an interview after this episode aired, one of the cast members confirmed that the character "Rasheeda" was fired.

It varies from person of color to person of color, but when you work in an environment where the majority of the staff is White, there is a cultural disconnect (IN ADDITION TO the reluctance to learn about someone from a different background than you) that happens on a regular basis.

I imagine when one suppresses the cultural part of their personality that makes someone White uncomfortable or feel out of place, it can be seen as "acting white".

 

[jjs07]

The topic of code switching probably needs to be addressed also....

I think most people are guilty of this.

 

[sharpshooter718]

Significant progress, but there is still room to grow.

The "whitest black candidates" is inherently racist sounds like self hatred.
Please define "acting white". Do they use proper grammar and syntax?

You know them when u see them. I've met brothers that spoke proper but still didn't come off "white". Its not about vernacular because TI is far from acting white.

 

[moderndarwin]

i think we need the reclaim the word American. There seems to be this tenet of our society where stuff like this is said and it’s “acting white” whereas really it means acting American.

The asian kid Eddie from Fresh Off the Boat for example can either be said to be acting “white” or acting American. I think it’s a disservice to all of us to equate American with being white. I don’t want to have beers and watch football on a Sunday and feel like i’m “acting white” but rather that i’m acting like what consider the norm of society for being American.

 

[debso]

Acting American in many ways is acting white...whether we like it or want to admit it or not. Easy to see as we see the president trying everything in his power to "make America great again" which has translated into making sure immigrants from perceived non white countries cant get in and those already in get pushed out.

Also easy to see as you compare any of us to our African counterparts. We all sound European, have European names, a certain mindset, etc.

I'm not sugar coating anything. I'm just going to speak from the heart and be honest.

White ppl created this country and they run this country And they dictate what it means to be an American. Them and nobody else dictates it. You cant reclaim something you've never had and something you didnt create in the first place AND something they won't actually include you in 100%.

 

[KHUFU]

Acting white while being Black is pretty simple.

 

[solewoman]

My question would be how many of us are actually working in IT or even stem jobs for that matter. My guess would be not very many and those that do I don’t expect necessarily be what she’s trying to describe.

I think there are a lot of blacks in IT but not to a coding engineering level.

There’s a NT’er that’s works at google I think. I don’t want to put him out there in case he dosent want to be lol. But he seems to have his black card still in tact...jk

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

@dcallamerican

You applying?

 

[sfc415]

I'm not black, but I'm sure many minorities have "acted white" for work, so I think it's unfair to look down on fellow minorities trying to make it in a tough field. I work at a tech company and pretend to enjoy my coworkers' corny jokes and stories and then clown on them with my friends and family

Is it fair? No, but the reality is that they think this is their country, and they expect us to follow their culture. As long as I'm getting paid well and not facing/witnessing any type of discrimination at work, I don't mind listening to people talking about their favorite kombucha or White Claw flavors.

 

[2pacalypsenow]

Acting American in many ways is acting white...whether we like it or want to admit it or not. Easy to see as we see the president trying everything in his power to "make America great again" which has translated into making sure immigrants from perceived non white countries cant get in and those already in get pushed out.

Also easy to see as you compare any of us to our African counterparts. We all sound European, have European names, a certain mindset, etc.

I'm not sugar coating anything. I'm just going to speak from the heart and be honest.

White ppl created this country and they run this country And they dictate what it means to be an American. Them and nobody else dictates it. You cant reclaim something you've never had and something you didnt create in the first place AND something they won't actually include you in 100%.

But what is acting American and what is acting white? There’s a definitive line between being articulate in your own craft and being dubbed a cornball white. We don’t know this guy, and only know him by her perspective.

I understand her concerns, and it is an issue. The article does leave out statistics of black software engineers who actually apply for the role (unless I missed that part).

For the big tech companies, it is a top recruiting game. But they shouldn’t be the ones to blame, it’s the institutions not providing a leveled playing field for those seeking higher learning. Add to the international students who come to seek American learning. The education system is more of a problem, but it’s up to the individual to show how hard they want to achieve their own goal.

 

[heatpinoyboy]

I work in big tech here in the South Bay. There is a lot said here that I think sits well:

1) The definition of whiteness here being used...we're not clear if theres a sense of colorism, if they come off a certain way in speech of presence, or if they may come from predominantly white upbringings and proliferate white supremacy in the workspace. All of these things can be true.

2) Criticisms are valid, but we cant surprised that a Tech company holds up white normative policies/ideologies? Google/FB/Apple/Twitter/Netlifx/AirBnB/Uber/Lyft might be more progressive than a Deloitte/KPMG/EY/Bane/McKinsey but they draw from the exact same deck of American White supremacy. Because a company has a more relaxed dress code doesnt excuse it from the pervasiveness of white supremacy.

3) It's hard to reconcile being a part of a giant company like a Google or a FB that directly/indirectly has negative impacts on Black and Brown communities. And the lenses that view US differ from person to person...some of my folk think I'm doing great work (I'm in the DEI consulting space) while some of my cohorts who are more grass-roots oriented think im the Devil reincarnate. The pressures she's feeling ARE real and it's great her immediate team supports her, that kind of thing really is rare.

The DEI space in Tech is hard and over complicated. It's littered with red tape, and leaders who are skeptical. It doesn't help if your leader is international and it even less familiar with American history and underpinnings of white supremacy. It's tough work and this written article is important to remember that companies no matter the progress have so much to improve on.

 

[debso]

But what is acting American and what is acting white? There’s a definitive line between being articulate in your own craft and being dubbed a cornball white. We don’t know this guy, and only know him by her perspective.

white ppl have dicated what it means to be an American and who is or isn't truly American. they have allowed groups of ppl into their circle and have shunned others. the umbrella of whiteness has increased and the umbrella of who is considered American and allowed to truly assimilate has increased.

American culture is based off of European culture and the oppression and suppression of various groups of ppl but mostly black ppl. American culture is built off of the backs of the enslaved and the robbed, the raped, etc. and its European in origin.

when most ppl, white or not, think about what an American looks or sounds like, historically they think of a white person. the fact that ppl still say "oh, that girl over there." "no next to the black dude" says a lot. we can't just be American. we have to be *insert race first* whereas white ppl are the default. its in the imagery, its in the literature. its in what becomes curriculum for schools and what is left out and why. its at every level.

anything black ppl have done that's positive that's considered part of American culture comes out of struggle, oppression, etc. and adapting to it and making a way.

now as far as being articulate or educated; i'm both. i'm articulate in a language not native to my ppl and i'm educated in their schools based off of what I've learned from their curriculum.

as far as cornballs, think of larry elder, Candace owens, etc. those types.

For the big tech companies, it is a top recruiting game. But they shouldn’t be the ones to blame, it’s the institutions not providing a leveled playing field for those seeking higher learning.

its bigger than that but sure, institutions deserve some of the blame.

Add to the international students who come to seek American learning.

many of which come from countries that have had a bad shake based on colonization and/or them being destabilized by the west...

The education system is more of a problem, but it’s up to the individual to show how hard they want to achieve their own goal.

that's both not how white supremacy works and is exactly how white supremacy works.

 

[debso]

cornball = smile and laugh at jokes that aren't funny for the sake of fitting in or to appease/make ppl feel comfortable with your existence.
cornball = you can't be yourself to succeed. you feel like you have to be how you think they want you to be in order to succeed in life.
cornball = you're willing to be a gatekeeper and crush others that look like you so you can get ahead, feeling (not knowing) that you're securing your position.
cornball = you have a phone voice specifically to "pass" so that the person on the other end feels more comfortable speaking to you.
cornball = turning the other cheek/being quiet when you're wronged by a counterpart but when somebody like you does the slightest of things you disagree with you have all the energy in the world to go at them.

all i'm saying is that:

a. i'm not doing that.
b. i'm not encouraging anybody to do that.
c. we should not have to do that.
d. its sad, frustrating, hurtful and wrong that we as ppl feel like we have to do it in order to survive
e. our time is coming.
f. know that all of us aren't docile and all of us don't care about your comfort.
g. our time is coming.

 

[KHUFU]

To become american means to compromise your core principles, if you have any, in order to get what you want in this country. The key phrase is to make white people feel comfortable enough, so that you do not feel as a threat to them. In order to do this, you then begin to embrace everything that is considered white, then viewing what is good through a white supremacist lens. You try and become what is called a team player, which is the team that will only benefit those who are white, or the heads of an organization while being white. If you are a god fearing, good person, you may catch some of the crumbs off the table.

Black people who behave this way are either ignorant of their history in this land, or simply do not give a damn, therefor ready to bend over, then submitting to the will of white supremacy.

 

[KHUFU]

BTW, there are several names that would have popped up on this thread, that seem to no longer post here.
@blastercombo
@Maximus Meridius
@hand2handking

This is a bit of a concern to me.

 

[finessence]

The Coleman Hughes’ of the world

 

[Xennial]

From what I seen in the SF startup scene that's usually the Sales teams, sometimes AMs and CSMs and other client facing roles, tech bros that live in the Marina or Cow Hollow

tech bros/sis that still think they are in greek life

 

[nawghtyhare]

So disheartening when blacks label each other as cornball brothers or "acting white".

So Ben Carson doesn’t fit into this???

 

[kingkoopa]

So Ben Carson doesn’t fit into this???

He's still just as black as you.

You may not like how he carries himself or his political views, but he's black.

Not white/black or acting white.

 

[2pacalypsenow]

white ppl have dicated what it means to be an American and who is or isn't truly American. they have allowed groups of ppl into their circle and have shunned others. the umbrella of whiteness has increased and the umbrella of who is considered American and allowed to truly assimilate has increased.

American culture is based off of European culture and the oppression and suppression of various groups of ppl but mostly black ppl. American culture is built off of the backs of the enslaved and the robbed, the raped, etc. and its European in origin.

when most ppl, white or not, think about what an American looks or sounds like, historically they think of a white person. the fact that ppl still say "oh, that girl over there." "no next to the black dude" says a lot. we can't just be American. we have to be *insert race first* whereas white ppl are the default. its in the imagery, its in the literature. its in what becomes curriculum for schools and what is left out and why. its at every level.

anything black ppl have done that's positive that's considered part of American culture comes out of struggle, oppression, etc. and adapting to it and making a way.

now as far as being articulate or educated; i'm both. i'm articulate in a language not native to my ppl and i'm educated in their schools based off of what I've learned from their curriculum.

as far as cornballs, think of larry elder, Candace owens, etc. those types.

its bigger than that but sure, institutions deserve some of the blame.

many of which come from countries that have had a bad shake based on colonization and/or them being destabilized by the west...

that's both not how white supremacy works and is exactly how white supremacy works.

Totally agree with all of this and how white people are the archetype for an ‘American’. But are we really going to label the dude she claims a cornball a cornball? Are we going off by what she says without knowing the dude? She’s a cornball too for being a software engineer at google.

I’m just saying, she may have her own insecurities and it’s not fair for that guy to be the main culprit in this whole article when she’s in the same position as him.

 

[KHUFU]

He's still just as black as you.

You may not like how he carries himself or his political views, but he's black.

Not white/black or acting white.

Not according to him. He is Christian first, American second, with being Black bringing up the rear.
“There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships,” he said. “They too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...alks-fairness-calls-slaves-immigrants-n729816

 

[kingkoopa]

Not according to him. He is Christian first, American second, with being Black bringing up the rear.
“There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships,” he said. “They too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...alks-fairness-calls-slaves-immigrants-n729816

He claimed black though.