(ThyBlackMan.com) According to KATU.com a woman came to work to find the kind of surprise that no one wants to face on the job. She says that she arrived and found that a noose had been left in her cubicle, possibly as a sick prank or even a threat. Even more startling is that the noose was allegedly delivered by one of her supervisors.
“This is 2014 and a supervisor brings a noose to work and nothing is done about it,” Vanessa Savage told KATU.
Savage, who lives in Washington County, Oregon, says that besides the noose being in her cubicle, she also found a note with the words “termination notice.” This is when she became alarmed and alerted authorities. To her surprise, an investigation by the county concluded that there was no racial motivation for the noose. They then ordered all
employees to undergo sensitivity training.
But despite the odd conclusion of the county’s “investigation,” she isn’t backing down from this one.
“A noose is designed to terrorize people and there’s a historical precedent that that’s what the noose does,” she said. “And when you put a noose on a note that says ‘terminated, fired,’ he wanted it to have a certain impact and it did.”
Savage says that she feels the investigation was botched and that the supervisor should not be allowed to get away without being punished. She also says that she is hiring an attorney to help look into the case. She has taken a leave of absence, determining that she is in a hostile work environment. Ya think?
Financial Juneteenth lessons from this story:
1) Workplace racism is rampant and like Ms. Savage, there are very few legal remedies for those who are affected. If you can’t get solutions inside your company, consider going to find outside help.
2) One of the greatest benefits to learning to run your own business is that you can get away from this sort of thing. So, even if you earn a little less money, there is peace of mind in knowing that you can keep your dignity in the office.
3) The good ol boy system is a greater determinant than anything when it comes to deciding who does and does not receive justice or opportunities in the workplace. Never presume that the standard rules of fairness and right/wrong apply. You’re still going to be the black person in the office and that does come with some disturbing baggage.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.