African American Policy ForumVarmennettu tili

Black women are fired for wearing their hair natural, fired when they speak out about workplace discrimination and harassment, and fired when they demand equal pay. It's rich to see people writing op-eds and letters in national papers about how cancel culture has come for them.

If, due to your privilege, you're use to having your views unchallenged, then dissent probably feels like oppression; disagreement feels like being cancelled. If you're using your national platform to complain about that, you probably haven't been cancelled.

For Black women in workplaces across the country, simply demanding respect and equal treatment is enough to get them fired—a much more real form of "cancelling" than having to read a few critical tweets about your latest NYT column.

For all Black workers, and for Black women in particular, speaking up or refusing to conform to racist and sexist expectations means jeopardizing your job, and likely your livelihood and healthcare as well.

Why should anyone take your complaints about cancel culture and free speech seriously if you don't center those individuals? If you're concerned about free speech, are you advocating for stronger protections for those who speak out against workplace discrimination & harassment?