WORKING WHILE BLACK
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Working While Black: The Black Person's Guide to Success in the White Workplace offers practical suggestions for black Americans to develop mental awareness, a psychological game plan, and an increased level of business savvy in order to negotiate the minefield of the white work world. Included are commonsense scenarios and real-life solutions that will help every black American evaluate his or her options—from getting hired to getting fired, from adjusting one's attitude to suing an employer. Tips are offered on how African Americans can fit their styles, mindsets, and history into the workplace, and insight is provided into how best to deal with situations, problems, and issues unique to being black in a white working world. This new edition has been updated to account for changes in social networking, the Obama effect, the economic downturn, and recent court decisions.
REVIEWS A witty and insightful look at the situations black workers face in the white workplace “This book examines in an insightful way a delicate and difficult issue—the triumph and tragedies of black upward mobility. Don’t miss it! ---Prof. Cornel West, author of “Race Matters” “Ms. Johnson's book is well written and full of thought provoking insights. It should be required reading for every black person entering the work place.” --Keith Williamson, President of Pitney Bowes Global Credit Services and recently named to Fortune’s “Top 50 Black Executives” “I believe all employers should read Working While Black so they might learn how to work more effectively with African American employees.” — Kirk Perucca, President, Project Equality, Inc. Forging a successful career path is a difficult task for anyone; being a black worker in today’s white workforce, however, compounds the challenges. The book Working While Black: The Black Person’s Guide to Success in the White Workplace (Lawrence Hill Books, January 2004) by Michelle T. Johnson examines the obstacles unique to black Americans and offers practical advice and suggestions to help them make better on-the-spot decisions at work and become as comfortable at work as they are in the other areas of their lives. While the debate over the long-term usefulness of affirmative action continues, Johnson explores the varied situations that black Americans confront every day. Offering real-life scenarios and relevant solutions, Working While Black strives to help African Americans fit their styles, mindsets, history and flavor into the workplace. Johnson explains, “There are employment manuals, and there are books that describe the sociological experience of being a black person in America. Working While Black aims to combine both—it’s an employment guide that acknowledges the average black reader’s frustration about working in a society where equality is a promise, but not a reality.” Johnson’s book covers issues from getting hired to getting fired, from adjusting an attitude to suing the boss, all with the straightforward flair of a journalist and the humor of someone who understands the frustration. With the unemployment rate of black Americans double that of white Americans, Working While Black is a timely and relevant resource. Johnson doesn’t claim to have all the answers for black Americans struggling to create their own niche in the work world—in fact, she admits that she is still navigating her own path. But she does tackle the arduous issue of being a minority member of the work force in Working While Black. Whether offering counsel on appropriate fashion or advising on the difference between surviving, striving and thriving, Johnson delivers her manual with wit and an irresistible style. |
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