On March 23rd we quoted from an article in the New York Times on “microaggression”:

“A tone-deaf inquiry into an Asian-American’s ethnic origin. Cringe-inducing praise for how articulate a black student is. An unwanted conversation about a Latino’s ability to speak English without an accent.This is not exactly the language of traditional racism, but in an avalanche of blogs, student discourse, campus theater and academic papers, they all reflect the murky terrain of the social justice word du jour — microaggressions — used to describe the subtle ways that racial, ethnic, gender and other stereotypes can play out painfully in an increasingly diverse culture.” 

One long time African-American reader thanked us for posting this and provided a “personal note”:

“I was really glad you posted the article on ‘Microaggression.’   Working as a broadcaster (especially in radio) people did not see me. However, when they did, I cannot tell you how many times the look of disappointment fell upon their faces.  I cannot describe to you how I felt …  I wanted to hide under a rock!  I worked formats that were not typical for someone like me, e.g., country.  That experience is in part what led me to an interest in employment law.

Just last summer my landlord said to me ‘You should be able to get a job somewhere because you speak well.’   I was confused … and still am!

So, my entire adult life I’ve been experiencing ‘microaggression?’  I just did not know what to call it!”