The Only Black Guy in the Office

Knock Knock, Corporate America — It’s Me, a Black Professional

A new LEVEL series about the trials and tribulations of a Black man navigating company life

The Only Black Guy In the Office
LEVEL
Published in
3 min readFeb 13, 2020

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Illustration: Richard A. Chance

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

There’s nothing quite like the look on a White recruiter’s face when I walk in for a job interview.

The phone screening that comes first is always fine. My name is generic enough to belong to any race, and all they get is my voice — which, real talk, delivers great conversation and a killer vocab. Then, when I walk in, they’re like, “Oh, hi.” They’re shocked. Some are better at covering it up than others, but I always see it.

The thing is, at that point, I either know I’m getting the job, or I know I’m not. And somehow I appreciate the reaction. I don’t have anything to hide. This is me, this is my name, and this is what I have to offer.

Where are you from? The ugliest kind of compliment. When I’m working in White environments, of course, everything’s going to sound different.

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The Only Black Guy In the Office
The Only Black Guy In the Office

Written by The Only Black Guy In the Office

Do you know him? Is it you? The trials and tribulations of a Black man navigating corporate life.