The Only Black Guy in the Office

White People Should Have to Work on Juneteenth

America’s newest national holiday deserves exclusive access. Sorry not sorry.

The Only Black Guy In the Office
LEVEL
Published in
4 min readJun 18, 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.

After more than three decades of living in America, I’m rarely surprised by the goings-on in this country. But I must admit, the turn of events of the past 365 have thrown me for a loop.

We’re more than a year removed from the police murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others who were killed due to the color of their skin. We’ve seen the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately scourge Black and Brown communities nationwide, exposing disparities in the health care system that we’ve long known existed. In January, neo-Confederates invaded the Capitol in a full-on coup attempt and hung a damn noose outside of the building for good measure. And even more recently, conservatives have been pushing to keep curriculum around racism out of public schools.

But don’t worry, America has an ointment for all of this turmoil: Juneteenth.

I thought Juneteenth’s moment in the sun during last spring’s racial reckoning would be fleeting. (Yes, even…

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The Only Black Guy In the Office
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Writer for

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