I can think back to an incident that
occurred at my job about four years ago. It was around the time Obama was running
for presidency, before he got elected. The pastor and the director made it
clear that they were republican, but never those they were against the democrat
because he was African American. All of the employees at the jobs had different
views, but kept it to themselves to climate any bias or argument. It was a week
before the elections and the director heard two of the employees talking about
how strong of a speaker Obama was, and he went off. She got so loud talking
about why is it being discussed in the workplace, he is not getting elected, he’s
a liar, and went on and on about how bad he was. She walked around to every
employee and told us if we discuss the presidential race we will get fired.
To put icing on the cake, the day after Obama got
elected, she was more pissed. One of the African American teachers had the
students color a printout with his face on it to add to the wall of presidents.
The director went to her room and demanded that she took it off the wall and
throw it away, without any explanation at all. When the teacher asked her why,
she fired her. Her reason was she was disrespectful to her. It was so many ways
it diminish equity. The main reason it did was because this whole incident would
have been eliminated if he was not African American.
So many feeling went through my head when I say the even
unfold. I just sat there and thought that no matter how many years past so
people only see color. Because we know the whole issue was the color. Just the
other day one of the church member (I work there but do not go to church there)
said that the pastor talked about how Obama is not for Christianity. And now
the members are all mad about it, but they didn’t take the time to research it
to see if they were correct. The pastor is a very influential person and using
that to his adventure.
So many things could be changed to turn this incident
into a greater equity. For one, I firmly believe that politics should be left
out of a place of employment and the church. Everyone is entitled to have their
own views and should not have to get discouraged or mad because someone else is
trying to force their beliefs I on them.
Kelisha, it is so sad when people especially directors act the way this woman acts. To go into a classroom and demand that a picture be taken off the wall of the president and then to fire a person for asking why. This is a serious problem that I hope was dealt with
ReplyDeleteI remember feeling so happy the day Obama got elected and also feeling sad that so many people couldn't look beyond his skin color. It always irks me when people say the do not like him simply because he is black. what does that even mean? What does he lack that other white politicians have? I think it shows a lack of intelligence and also a very close-mindedness to others. I hope your director faced harsh penalities for her actions because where I work, she would have been in a lot of trouble for violating a number of EEO guidelines and rules. Politics is a hot issue, but I agree with you, unless you work in politics, it really does not mix with the workplace.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that this took place. A lot of people had many things to say about Obama, regardless, this situation went too far. She needed to reflect on herself and put her differences aside. What an example we are setting for our children. Like Amber stated in her comment, the director violated a lot of EEO guidelines. Makes me wonder if they embrace culture and diversity at all? Would she let parents go if they wore a symbol of Obama?
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