Have you ever been discriminated against by someone of your own race?
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
The Black Factor has a great post about the kind of workplace racial discrimination we don’t hear about that often: same-race discrimination.
It seemed appropriate to illustrate the post with good ole Uncle Ruckus from The Boondocks. 
I’ve already had a couple of posts on this site that confirm that same race discrimination does exist and is just as illegal as discrimination involving people of different races. Comments made by the Supreme Court have shown the position that the race of decision-makers in the workplace may be relevant, but is not controlling. In other words, the Supreme Court has shown an understanding that no one can presume that a person would not discriminate against members of his own race.
The Supreme Court has noted, “[b]ecause of the many facets of human motivation, it would be unwise to presume as a matter of law that human beings of one definable group will not discriminate against other members of their group.”
I know many of us think we have to tolerate what seems to be race-based abuse from Black supervisors, managers, etc. Who’s going to believe the person is motivated by race, right? But, based on the comments by the Supreme Court and based on Federal statutes, you can make a complaint that a Black person is guilty of workplace discrimination. And, then it’s up to you to prove your case. Just like any other discrimination claim you want to focus on documentating the facts/collecting evidence, keeping a list of witnesses, who can corroborte events at work, and you should report any issues to HR or someone in authority at the company.
If you suspect that a Black manager, supervisor or other member of authority is discriminating against you, you should pursue the issue in the same way you would if the person were White, Hispanic, etc. You don’t have to tolerate discrimination because the perpetrator looks like you!
If you’re experiencing racial discrimination of any kind, be sure to check out this step-by-step guide on what to do if you believe your supervisor is discriminating against you because of your race.
Have any of you experienced discrimination on the job from someone of the same race as yourself?
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Lucky Penny wrote:
I work in an office where the executive director is a black man. He rarely, if ever, grants opportunities to the black women on staff while saving kudos and opportunities for the other black men and white women on the staff. When he was confronted about this by a black female at a staff retreat, he retaliated against her by attempting to write her up for “abusing” our company’s sick leave policy.
Other black women in the office have sought opportunites in other departments only to find out that the supervisor has talked negatively about their work product in an effort to undermine the job change. I myself have experienced this supervisor underminding me during a business lunch.
I participated in a business lunch with this supervisor, a white female coworker, and a representative from another company. This person happened to be a white man. First, i noticed that when I was asked a question by the person we were having lunch with, my supervisor would either redirect attention to himself or change the subject altogheter. He did not behave in this manner when questions were asked of my white coworker. At the conclusion of the lunch, my supervisor insinuated to the table that I am a lazy employee who often looks for shortcuts. When i immediately confronted him on this comment as being inappropriate, he stated he didn’t know what I was talking about.
It still trips me out that I am working in an environment like this that has been created by a black man.
Posted 09 Sep 2007 at 7:45 pm ¶
Brunsli wrote:
Fortunately, the “how can I be racist when I’m a ____ too” defense fails in court. But, while not experiencing it personally, same-race discrimination is alive and well in the pre-litigated workplace.
As one example, I have a hobby following locked hair and the politics around it. Usually, the employers who have issues with women and men wearing their hair in locks are black or black-run organizations, such as Black Enterprise and Hampton business school.
They seem to object to locks because of their unacceptability in amorphous “Corporate America,” whereas it seems to me, 90% of the people who have issues with locks are black and “Corporate America” couldn’t care less.
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 9:59 am ¶