Visible but not seen
Written midday after a Twitter interaction where the freshman congresswoman Cori Bush recounted how others thought she was Breonna Taylor.
I am an interchangeable Black female. I feel this most when I travel. The narrative that accompanies my physical self is likely far from reality.
I have put in the miles to achieve United 1K status. I remember as I was making my way up the status hierarchy, I would often be asked if I was aware what line I was in, as if to make sure I was in the correct place, because apparently I look like someone who would not understand the airplane boarding system - or be in the 1K line.
I confess: I get a little gleeful everytime I board and my presence disrupts the homogeneity of the process and the cabin. I am often the only one that looks like me there.
If conversation happens on my flight - something I rarely encourage - this is the usual series of questions:
“Where do you live? Bay Area. Oakland?” No, Marin.
“How many kids do you have?” None.
“Who do you work for?” I have my own national consulting practice working with philanthropies and nonprofits and I direct a global initiative. (no lie - that feels really weird to say)
This is usually where the exchange ends. They have no idea where to go next. At this point, I turn back in. My noise canceling headphones go on. The laptop opens. My body is still there, but I am mostly in my head and heart, where who I am and how I am is dictated only by me.
Dr. Chera Reid shared this article with me, which captures far more eloquently the backstory and truth to my limited experiences.
About The Author:
Jara Dean-Coffey (jdc) is Founder and Director of the Equitable Evaluation Initiative and the Founder of Luminare Group. For the past twenty-five years, she has partnered with clients and colleagues to elevate their collective understanding of the relationship between values, context, strategy and evaluation and shifting our practices so that they are more fully in service of equity. For more about musings + machinations click here.
