Companies want to hire Black people they don’t think are actually “Black” and they want to see indicators of that in aspects of your life...from your skin tone to your romantic partner to how you speak and your personal interests.

They think they KNOW “Black” well enough to decipher between who is “Black AF” and who, to them, just has a chocolate coating

Because people think Blackness, particularly in the US, is one general thing. You all got “monolithic” a few years ago and run it to the ground, but this is actually relevant.

You’re allowed to be Black but not BLACK

So it starts with skin tone, which is the easy one. We know enough about colorism now to see how it’s working out in this time when companies are trying to show they care—all the lighter folks are inundated with work

But it doesn’t stop there

Because they realized a lot of lighter Black folks are wildly militant and they need to decipher better

So then they look at friends and lovers. Are they not Black? Does this person have a white spouse or non-Black romantic partner?

Ok, they can’t be BLACK Black, right?

Like they’re Black but there’s some kind of we-are-the-world thing going on where companies won’t have to worry about you tweeting “Kill Whitey” cuz your partner is white.

Follow me...this is real logic lol

Then they look at your interests

Are you BLACK or are you, like, you know, a Blerd? Are you into anime? Comic books? D&D? Gaming?

Are you a Dr. Who stan? Do you love Celine Dione and Lady Gaga?

Ok ok ok you’re Black but not BLACK and that works for them

You aesthetic matters, be it physical or social media. How European is your presentation? If they close their eyes and listen, would they know you’re Black?

That’s the Black they want. For them, there is nothing threatening at all about that kind of Black.

And what ends up happening is WE end up arguing amongst ourselves about what is Black and what is BLACK as if the distinctions made by THEM actually matter or as if we need to define ourselves by their nonsense

African culture is a thing (there are distinct cultural markers that describe and explain who we are) and yes, some of us are more connected to those things than others, generally as a result of displacement and colonization. Physical location isn’t important actually.

If you’re a Black person who presents more European aesthetics or cultural markers (I’m speaking so generally here bc fuck this app and the people on it), you’re going to he more appealing to companies doing Colored Outreach at this time.

Your name
Your appearance
The tone of your voice/ accent
Your friends and lovers
Your past work
Your educational background
All things considered when deciding whether or not you’re the kind of Black that is safe enough to hire and work with to prove all Black Lives Matter

I just want those who benefit from these designations to own it and acknowledge that while you can be quite talented at what you do and deserve every opportunity, there’s a good chance you were chosen over someone equally as talented who doesn’t make companies feel as safe

Please don’t do the thing 2520s want you to do and read this w/o range and nuance so you end up being mad at me (not them) for making plain their behaviors.

That would be so, so corny.