Member-only story
The Token White Girl
How did I become a diversity hire at an overwhelmingly white southern college? Well…
It has been around 4 months since I started at my current job at a global corporation that a local University has hired on as a third-party contractor. This particular aristocratic University is firmly situated in a wealthy and affluent town a little more than an hour’s drive north of where I live.
This specific University has been plagued with a reputation for racist leanings that quite literally had been woven into the fabric of the foundation on which it was built. Over the last 20 years, there have been countless hours, dollars, and efforts put into changing its long-standing image as a hotbed of systemic as well as overt in-your-face racism.
However, none of this has anything to do with the fact that I am a diversity hire at a position that happens to be located on its campus. It is interesting, however, and makes my position here more unique. As if being a white affirmative action hire needed help to be a unique position to be in.
During my first week, I was introduced to the other employees in my unit who, for lack of a better word, were now technically my subordinates. As the lowest tier of management, I effectively had become one of the bosses to 55 employees. I have 3 bosses directly…
