The Only Black Guy in the Office

My Pandemic-Era Promotion Presents Unexpected Challenges

New title. New money. Still Black.

The Only Black Guy In the Office
LEVEL
Published in
4 min readOct 25, 2021

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Illustration: Michael Kennedy

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

I would say it’s been a long time, but these days, 24 hours feels like either 24 minutes or an eternity, no in-between. Instead, I’ll say it’s been a while since I’ve last shared my experiences of being the Only Black Guy in the Office. If this is your first time reading this column, welcome. Hope you’re well.

Unlike Power or The Wire, the stories I tell here do not exist in some linear narrative where you have to go back and read all my old joints (though if you have time and you’ve finished binging You on Netflix, here’s an introduction as well as an archive for you to sift through). In truth, though, you can start here because, well, even to all my longtime readers (what up, y’all?!) I have, as folks like to say on Twitter, some personal news: Your boy got promoted!

Shortly after writing my last column back in July, I was unexpectedly upgraded to the role of senior manager of marketing. I say “unexpectedly” because if it wasn’t obvious to anyone reading this column, I was spending more time trying to make moves than aiming…

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The Only Black Guy In the Office
LEVEL
Writer for

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