Over the years I have found that one of the greatest skills of successful Black professionals has been their ability to work as well with other African Americans as they do with professionals from other races. This may sound a little backwards to some of you, but to some, I have just "pulled you out of the closet." The inability of some African American professionals to work well with their own has caused many to miss out on excellent career opportunities, hindered their ability to lead comprehensive initiatives, and created a disconnect for many Black professionals from critical networks, personal support and other resources that could have advanced their careers and businesses.
Like many Black professionals, some of my best and worst experiences have come from working with other Black professionals. I am not convinced by anybody's race that they are the best or worst at what they do--I just want to know if you can step up and deliver. If you can deliver, we can work together, but if you are a messy and inconsistent "bit-ness" person, you can waive your Black business flag all day, I don't want to work with you.
Black professional excellence is at the core of our people's ability to strive and succeed through decades of harsh personal and professional discrimination. As a matter of fact the recent census reports show a 45% jump in African American owned businesses since 1997. We have all also felt a sense of pride seeing the growing list of African American CEOs and senior executives in the private, public and other sectors. So don't hate a brother or sister who is trying to strive for professional excellence, and don't try and question the "Blackness" of others because of their verbage, or because they are not willing to tell you all of their business. Some of you need to stop seeing the workplace (and even school) as a place to make a lot of friends, and need to concentrate more on the business at hand. Work is not high school and if you intend on being successful you will need to examine your own social and professional concepts, and for many of you it will start with how you deal with your own people.
Another issue I have observed over the years has been that some Black professionals don't respect the position or authority of other African American professionals they work with. Don't assume that because a senior person in your organization is Black that you can speak out of term with them. Respect his or her position, accomplishments, and authority, and maybe he or she will work with you as mentor in your career. Getting "too common" with anyone too quickly is usually a sign that you haven't been anywhere, or that you simply aren't ready for prime time as a professional.
Some of you also need to pull down that iron curtain you raise every time you have to work (study) with other African Americans...especially if you have an open door policy for everyone else. As some of the old timers at Howard have shared with me, eventually you will need your own people in life for personal or professional support, don't burn that bridge trying to fit in with some other groups. Some of you don't realize that you are acting like the blind man in the famous Dave Chappelle skit who was a racist and didn't know that he too was Black---when you discriminate against your own you look just as ridiculous.
If you are going to succeed as a young African American professional, you will need to be culturally competent just like everyone else. Don't think you will get away with "color-coding" other Black people to get ahead; instead focus on professional performance and healthy working relationships with all professionals you work with.
