Essay Example on Code Switching

Since the beginning of America black people were seen as uncivilized and whites were seen as civilized. As a result, black people had to alter their speech, body language, personalities, appearance to not fit into the stereotype of a black person to succeed in the workplace, education, life, etc. in this white dominated country. Based on other’s real life experiences and personal morals, many African Americans oppose the idea.  Although code switching may not always be necessary for success, code switching is necessary for POC (people of color) to survive white(mainstream) culture. 

Code switching is a way for black people to make sure white people are comfortable around them and they don't seem threatening or too black to white people. In the Youtube video, “Black Americans in the Workplace | The Daily Social Distancing Show” Trevor Noah speaks about how Black people have to have a double consciousness, since blackness is not “accepted in a lot of spaces that are critical for success.” Another narrator in the video then proceeds to say, ‘“intelligence is often linked to whiteness, black people are often encouraged in a professional setting to use a “white voice.”’ In addition to this another black narrator in the video who wears an Afro to work was told by her White manager, “isn't your hair so big because all of your intelligence is in there.”  A certain hairstyle can sometimes define the level of one's blackness. A black woman can't even have an Afro in peace without some white man acts of microaggression.  White people can't even act normal around blackness and are uncomfortable with blackness. As a survival instinct, in a professional setting black people limit their blackness because people may not like you for it and dont want you around or in the same position as them. You don't see that many black Ceos, do you?  Black people have to adapt to what is familiar with white people or the majority in order to get to these types of positions. Furthermore, in the Youtube video, “Black Americans in the Workplace | The Daily Social Distancing Show,” a few narrators discuss how in their experience of code switching, their bosses or coworkers usually tell them that they don't “sound black,``'' you're not like the others'' or “you're very articulate.'' These experiences illustrate how happy white people are with black people that don't act black  And when white people are happy with the way you act, they hire you, put you in high positions and trust you. Life is easier when a person in power believes that you're less black and sees you as an equal. This is sad but beneficial.

Moreover, it is necessary for a black person to conform to these white norms (and negate their blackness) regarding behavior and speech to move up in the workplace. For example, In season 1, episode 3 of the show Insecure, Molly who works for a law firm meets a new girl named Rasheeda who is black as well. When Molly sees Rasheeda talking to her white coworker, she notices she's using AAVE or slang and is being loud. As an act of sisterhood, Molly subtly pulls her away for a moment to tell her, “If you want to be successful here….you’ve got to know when to switch it up a little bit.”  Molly works at a great law firm, I'm assuming she knows more than the new Girl, Rasheeda and is just trying to help her own people succeed. She's maybe even trying to protect herself. Usually one mistake a black person makes affects them as a whole. So whatever she's warning Rasheeda about could possibly affect her negatively as well. After Molly tells her about her behavior she responds, offended, “I didn’t switch it up in my interview with the senior partners, and I didn’t switch it up when I was named editor of the law review, So I don’t think I need to switch it up now.” However Molly's warning was foreseen because in episode 4, after this one, her partner in the firm tells her  “[Rasheeda’s] not quite adjusting to the culture here” and suggests that she has a chat with her.