As the Black Lives Matter movement
has rapidly gained traction over the past month,
it's not just celebrities and Instagram models
who are jumping on board.
Corporate America has also decided to finally step up.
But while these companies are posting messages of support
for the black community,
many black people who work in these companies
are asking them to put their money where their mouth is.
Big-name corporations sharing messages of solidarity,
but many are calling on them to practice what they preach.
REPORTER: Employees at places like Estée Lauder and Adidas
speaking out against a lack of diversity and equality
in their workplaces despite public messages
of support from the company's CEOs.
REPORTER 2: In a video, Nike said,
"Don't pretend there's not a problem in America."
Critics point out that all of Nike's executives are white.
You cannot say "black lives matter" publicly
when you don't show us black lives matter
within your own homes and within your organizations.
Yeah. That's right.
If you are just some random person
who has ten followers on Twitter
and you tweet, "Black lives matter,"
maybe that's the best you can do.
But if you're a major corporation
that hires thousands of people,
you can actually show that black lives matter
in a material way that goes beyond your social media feed.
On their own, corporate tweets are useless.
No one's gonna stop being racist
because SpaghettiOs told them to.
Like, it's not enough
to just be "black lives matter" in the tweets.
You got to be "black lives matter" in the streets.
Hell, you got to be "black lives matter" in the sheets.
Okay, maybe I didn't think that last one through.
But you know what I mean.
But the question is,
why are African Americans
so underrepresented in the American workforce?
Well, let's find out in our brand-new segment
This Black American Life.
♪ ♪
Why aren't more African Americans hired
in American companies?
Is it because they're lazy?
Is it because they're uneducated?
Or is it because offices are just way too cold?
Well, despite what your racist uncle might post on Facebook,
the truth is, for many black Americans,
getting a job is almost impossible,
and it's because their blackness
stops them from even getting in the door.
Blacks are the last hired and the first fired.
White males are hired based on potential.
Blacks are hired based on demonstrated accomplishments.
Going back a quarter century,
statistically speaking,
very little has changed for black applicants.
Whites receive, on average,
36% more callbacks than African Americans
and 24% more callbacks than Latinos.
REPORTER: Thousands of made-up résumés
were mailed to employers,
identical, except for the names,
half black-sounding, half white.
The results?
Black-sounding names were 50% less likely
to get follow-up calls.
Wow.
Racism never takes a day off.
If you have a black-sounding name on your résumé,
you're 50% less likely to get called in for the interview.
Imagine if America had the same policy when picking a president.
That would have screwed things up.
"It says 'Barack Hussein Ob...'
"Okay, next, next, next. What do we got here?
"'John Edwards.'
Now, this guy sounds like he's got it."
And that's the thing I wish more people understood.
Black people are asking for equality, not charity.
They're not asking people to hire black people
just because they're black.
They're asking companies to stop not hiring black people
just because they're black.
Because even with the exact same qualifications
and a résumé that's exactly the same,
the only thing that blocks people
is having a black-sounding name.
I mean, why would anyone even want a workplace
with no black people in it?
You need at least one person who knows how to dance
at the office party.
And, also, what if zombies show up?
You want them to kill you first?
So it's enough of a challenge
getting your black foot in the door of corporate America.
And if you're lucky enough to find your way into the office,
good luck finding the ladder.
REPORTER: Only 3.2% of executives and senior leaders
in the U.S. are African American.
REPORTER 2: There are only four black CEOs in the Fortune 500--
only four-- and no black women.
There are m-- too few opportunities,
uh, for African Americans to rise to the top,
uh, to have the opportunity to serve in leadership positions.
WOMAN: There's a promotion gap.
At every level going up,
it becomes less and less diverse, more white.
When I don't see those that have been in the company
for "X" amount of years not hold certain titles,
there places the doubt in my mind.
Representative Al Green asking a pointed question
to major bank CEOs...
If you believe that your likely successor
will be a woman or a person of color,
would you kindly extend a hand into the air?
Okay, that was just awkward.
I mean, from the way those bank CEOs reacted,
that congressman might as well have asked them
to raise their hands
if they had ever seen Mike Pence eating a Flamin' Hot Cheeto.
Not a single one of those banks thinks it's even possible
that a person of color will run the company.
That says a lot.
I mean, if you ask me,
every bank should be run by a black woman.
Yeah, because banks are out here losing trillions of dollars--
credit default swaps, mortgage scams--
and then, after they screw up,
average people lose their homes.
Meanwhile, black women are out in these streets every day
figuring out how to make a dollar stretch into ten.
I'll tell you right now,
if my grandmother ran a major bank,
she would have been the one bailing America out.
"Oh, no. The economy crashed?
"Oh, baby. Let me see.
"I've got two trillion here.
"Hold on. Ooh.
"There you go.
You bring back my change."
Now, if you're one of the few black people
who have made it into corporate America,
congratulations,
your reward is working every day with some people
who have no idea how to act around you.
Microaggression describes indirect
or subtle discrimination.
And if you're on the receiving end,
it can be as hurtful as anything overt.
White people will come up to me and say, "You speak so well."
-(chuckles) -And then-- Right. "Speak so well."
Or, "You're very articulate."
In my own personal experience, like, "You don't sound black."
Like, what does "sound black" and "sound white" really mean?
"You're not like the others" and stuff like that.
And you think about it, because it's, like,
"you're not like the others." Well, what are the others?
The assumption is always gonna lead in that I-I know less.
Yeah, every day, black people have to navigate a workplace
filled with people who don't even realize
that they're doing something offensive.
"You're so intelligent, it must be in your hair"?
This is what you get from living in a segregated society.
Instead of knowing black people and black culture,
you've got white folks interacting with black people
like they're making contact with E.T.
"Hello... my friend.
Do your people shake hands?"
"Nah, (bleep). Coronavirus."
And it's because millions of white Americans
don't have the first clue of how to interact
with their black coworkers or just even be normal around them
that black people in corporate America have
to spend an inordinate amount of time
making white people feel comfortable.
For those of us who have been in corporate America,
we have to be able to exist, and not only exist,
but to really thrive, in two totally different cultures.
This idea of double consciousness.
Our blackness isn't accepted in a lot of spaces
that are, um,
critical for our success.
Intelligence is often linked to whiteness,
so black people are often encouraged
in professional settings
to use a, "white voice,"
AKA, "code switch."
I turn it on.
I have to be my best unauthentic self
in order for me to relate to my white peers.
And I have to make sure that I can talk about subjects
that relate to your lifestyle
that have absolutely nothing to do with mine.
-(laughter) -'Cause a lot of what we do are the things...
...around us.
Yeah, so many people take for granted
that black people in the office
are not just focusing on their job.
They're focusing on not being perceived as threatening
or disruptive or... too black.
And so you try your best to blend in
with the whiteness that's around you.
Like, that's not something
that white people ever have to worry about.
I mean, white kids don't even code switch
when they talk to their parents.
"What up, dude? Yeah, I'm crushing it on Call of Duty.
"Yeah. Okay, hold on. My mom's calling me.
"Yo, dude, what up?
"Yeah, bro, I told you,
"I'll crush my homework when I'm done.
All right, I'll talk to you later, Mom. Bye."
So, to corporate America, if you really believe
in rooting out systemic racism and supporting black lives,
then I say to you, examine your own actions
within your companies before history leaves you behind.
Or as I would put it if I wasn't in the office,
"You better check yourself before you wreck yourself."
Well, that's our show for tonight.
But before we go, as you may know,
June is Pride Month, and right now,
we want to highlight charities that are making a difference
for LGBTQ communities, especially those of color,
like the National Black Justice Coalition,
which advocates for federal policies
that fight against racism and homophobia.
And if you can help them and you'd like to join in,
then please donate whatever you can.
And if you'd like to support efforts
to help the black LGBTQ community
specifically in New York,
then you can donate to the Audre Lorde Project.
They help these communities fight for their rights
and organize for change.