Race and the Freelance Writer Revisited

Hello friends,

If you follow me on Medium, you may have seen this piece about the racism I’ve experienced as a writer. Sadly, it remains relevant.

Race and the Freelance Writer Revisited

As a Black woman, I don’t spend a lot of time agonizing over the “Fact of Blackness”, as Franz Fanon called it. Usually, I just get on with my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t notice when inequities happen. Sometimes it’s hard to identify the motivation of the perpetrator, but the result is usually crystal clear.

Does Black and Quiet Equal Stupid? For Some It Does

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t make it easy for people to read me, especially in face to face encounters. I’m an introvert and tend to approach situations by sitting quietly, observing, listening and taking in what’s happening. You’ll only hear my voice if I think there’s a need.

That counted against me when I attended a job fair in the UK, which I talked about briefly in Surprise, I’m Qualified!

During the day, participants did tests to determine their best skills and attributes so the organizers could suggest suitable job avenues. There were also presentations, though they didn’t teach me much.

At the end, there was a one-to-one with a trainer to evaluate your results. During my session, I discovered that for my trainer Black + quiet = stupid. So he was amazed by my off-the-charts scores in English and high scores in other categories.

It was a lesson for me in how implicit bias affects people’s perception of events. I knew that from then on, I’d have to be more vocal to make an impact, introvert or not.

When the Racism Radar Pings

It’s not often you get the chance to find out for sure whether ethnicity plays a role in getting a job. But in one case it was absolutely clear. I talk more about that experience and others like it in The Double Take, but in case you missed it, here’s what happened.

A colleague and I applied for the same writing job at a publication based in Oxfordshire. We were a similar age and had been doing the same job for a Financial Times subsidiary. But I also had a BA and a few more years’ experience in the industry.

We traveled to the interview together and compared notes when it was over. I thought it had gone well; she wasn’t so sure. She thought I’d definitely get the job. I hoped she was right, but there was one reason I was doubtful.

It’s because the interview panel did a collective double-take as I walked into the room. After all, it’s impossible to tell from my name what my ethnicity is. And in those days, CVs and resumes didn’t have photos, and there was no social media.

Any Black person will tell you that there are moments when the racism radar starts pinging; for me, it started pinging then. So it was disappointing but not totally surprising when my colleague was offered the job a few weeks later.

The Racial Pay Gap

I won’t turn this into a litany of woes, but there have been other incidents. Now that I’m writing mostly online, I don’t always know for sure whether race plays a part in the decision to hire me or not or the amount they want to pay me. (Let’s face it; people could also discriminate because I’m a woman - that’s intersectionality for you).

Sometimes I have my suspicions, and sometimes I have it confirmed. For example, in comparing notes with a colleague over a particular writing job, I know I was offered about 20% less per article than she was. Our skills and experience matched, so my ethnicity had to be the deciding factor. Though I was able to renegotiate, it was a signal that the racial pay gap is alive and well.

I’ve actually come across people who are affronted because I have the audacity to charge appropriately for my writing skills and experience. One potential client said to me “who do you think you are?” I gave him a short list of the reasons my rates are what they are and moved on. Needless to say, we didn’t end up working together.

The Big Decision — Should I Show My Face?

When I first went freelance, after polling my colleagues of color who had had negative experiences, I decided not to include a photograph on my website, just in case people made a snap judgment about hiring me before I got a chance to show my credentials.

Later, I reversed the decision, figuring if people would take one look at my face and decide not to hire me, I was better off without them anyway.

Why Are We Still Talking About This?

The short answer to this question is: because it’s still happening.

It annoys me that Black writers and writers of color have to think about this at all.

Honestly, I’m tired of it all.

I believe in equality of opportunity and in having the right to compete on a level playing field. I believe that people’s work should be judged on its own merits and the color of your skin should not be a consideration in hiring you for a particular job. (Even being the wrong gender can be a problem.)

In the 21st-century, that’s just wrong.

That’s why, while I may be tired of racism, I’ll do my part to raise awareness by writing about my experiences.

I look forward to your feedback.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2020

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