The Foreign Service Journal, November 2020

22 NOVEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Black people consciously and subcon- sciously out of its ranks. Death by a thousand cuts. Some of us begin our careers praised for our ingenuity, only to go from “office pet” to “office threat” in an instant. Others are disparaged from the start: our experiences ignored, and our knowledge undervalued. We face overt racial and sexual discrim- ination outside our embassies—guards refusing to let us into our residences; not being perceived as American at all, much less diplomats—and covert discrimination within. In one unforgettable example, the Marine staff sergeant on duty with whom I regularly interacted gruffly asked if I was a “blue badger [American] or yellow badger [local staff]” in an embassy with fewer than 40 U.S. direct hires and fewer than 10 Black U.S. direct hires. After suffering injustice from all sides, we are then expected to do our day jobs, as the adage goes, “twice as good to get half as far.” It is no wonder then that in a career whose expectation is that employ- ees are working 24/7 to represent the United States, simply trying to survive can feel like treading water, lungs slowly filling as you lose oxygen. Like treatment for serious wounds, addressing racism first requires a true understanding of the damage’s extent, followed by disciplined, regular and dedicated action. Racism of all kinds and at all levels at State will not fade with listening sessions and uncon- scious bias training alone. Department bidding, hiring, tenure, promotion and awards policies should be reviewed and changed to increase transparency. Offenders (particularly repeat ones) should be held accountable for their actions, not simply shuffled around and whispered about. Corridor Reputa- tion™ should not shield bad actors and shame victims into silence. “I can’t breathe.” With a thousand cuts, at least the extent of the wounds is clear and indisputable. Suffocation can happen slowly enough that even the dying may not recognize their condition. Over to you, Lisa-Felicia… Lisa-Felicia Akorli Lisa-Felicia Akorli is the political/economic officer at Consulate General Melbourne after serving her first tour as a consular officer at Embassy Kinshasa. I’m pretty sure that when I am in the United States, people who don’t know me see me as an African American woman. But I’m not, technically. That is, my ancestors were not enslaved. I am a naturalized U.S. citizen, born to a Ghanaian father and Dutch mother. My dad grew up in Ghana, in a village where our last name is well known. My momwas Dutch and grew up in the Netherlands. In the early 1990s, when I was a toddler, she won an immigrant visa through the Diversity Visa program and raised me as a single parent in Scottsdale, Arizona. She didn’t knowmuch about the history of racism in the United States and so never talked to me about discrimination. One anecdote illustrates how naive my upbringing was. Soon after my mom and I moved to Arizona, one of her sisters (my aunt) followed. Coincidentally, she also had a half-Ghanaian child, my cousin Quincy. In high school Quincy let me borrow his car one day. When I went to my aunt’s house to pick up the keys, she said tome, in complete earnest: “Just be careful. There’s something about that car. Quincy always gets pulled over.” Years later, after I had begun college, where conversa- tions about race were common, I realized that the car wasn’t the problem. Racism in the United States is obvi- ously a grotesque injustice. But when it comes to my personal experience, it feels really complicated. Quincy always got pulled over; I never did. When I think back on my life, it’s hard for me to identify moments where I was clearly being dis- criminated against. I have to imagine that it has happened. But to say that I feel it often would be disingenuous. And writing that last sentence feels somehow like I’m betraying my African American friends and colleagues who have clear-cut, hei- nous examples of being victims of racism. Basically, racism in America is com- plex. Before writing this piece, I talked to Sam, one of my sisters in diplomacy. I told her my perspective and that I didn’t want to diminish or muddle the message. She encouraged me to write anyway, saying that the nuance and complexity of our diverse experiences is worth sharing. So here we are. Is racism a problem in the Foreign Service? Certainly. But you’re not going to get a scandalous personal account fromme, because I’m not sure I have one; and if I do, it went over my head. Over to you, Aja… A screenshot of the authors in a Zoom conversation in September.