Expected to Excel

Hello {{ first name | friends}},

Some of you may know that my sister Lisa Hurley has a book coming out in May. It's called Space to Exhale, and it's a "practical guide to help Black women - and everyone that needs to - remove their superhero cape, embrace rest, and create lasting life-work balance". The reason why this book and those spaces are so needed is explained in Chapter 8 of her book, titled Working While Black, and I've got permission to publish a couple of excerpts, which deal directly with the racism many Black people experience. Here's the first one.

“You can't sit here. You have to sit at the back of the bus.”

I looked confusedly at the driver, genuinely wondering if he had lost his mind. He must have, right? There's no way he could be compos mentis. I mean … what in the Rosa Parks was this??

Like mine had, the bus dispatcher's jaw dropped. She was also a Black woman. Everyone else on the company shuttle looked exaggeratedly up at the ceiling, down at their phones, or out of the windows, trying to pretend that they had not heard this ridiculousness. None of them intervened – but hey, that's the norm. So much for allyship. Bystanders be bystanding.

I remained seated.

The dispatcher walked over – eyes squinted, lips tight, jaw clenched – and showed her support. “You can sit anywhere you want,” she said in a tense, staccato monotone, addressing me but keeping her unblinking gaze firmly fixed on the driver. She spoke with just enough bass and emphasis to let him know that when necessary, she was about that life, and he better not try nothin’. Clearly, she was team #FAFO.

As the bus pulled off, she and I exchanged an exhaustion-tinged sista-girl half smile of solidarity and shook our heads slowly, eyes downcast.

This was just a random Tuesday, and I hadn't even arrived at the office yet. Nothing like an early-morning microaggression to get the day started.

Now I had to swallow my annoyance, step foot onto the corporate plantation, and speak with my chipper Chanté Moore–whistle-register voice for the rest of the day. I was expected to smile, appease massa, and act as if nothing had happened. Bonus points because I also had to endure being gaslighted by the couple of white colleagues I had told about the incident, and one who had witnessed it.

Sigh.

This is but one example of the kind of tomfoolery that Black people have to deal with in majority-white companies. Day in, day out. Unceasingly.

Welcome to the Working While Black Effect.

My West Indian upbringing had prepared me for a lot of things, but not this.

It didn't prepare me.

I was raised in Barbados. It's an island in the Caribbean with a population that at the time was approximately 98 percent Black, so everywhere I went, there were melanated people peacefully existing and joyfully thriving. Before I even knew the phrase “Black excellence,” I saw it embodied all around me:

As a Black person, growing up in a majority-Black society changes how you move through the world. There is no concept of being a “minority;” … of genuflecting your way through life; of trying to squeeze into spaces where you are unwelcome. You naturally stand tall, hold your head high, and shine.

What growing up in a majority-Black country meant for me was that:

My melanin did not cast me as intellectually inferior. I was expected to be brilliant.

My melanin did not cast me as a common-class criminal. I was assumed to be trustworthy.

My melanin did not increase my odds of police-inflicted mortality. I was expected to always return home safe.

My melanin did not cast me as incapable, undesirable, or as a “diversity hire.” 

That’s this week’s excerpt, and I can attest to the benefits of growing up in Black-majority countries. How does this land with you?

I'll be publishing a second excerpt, The Working While Black Effect, next week so be sure to look out for that.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

Lisa Hurley is an Anthem Award-winning activist, writer, and community builder. She is the author of Space to Exhale and the founder of The Great Exhale, a soft virtual space where Black women can relax, heal, and thrive. Her work centers Black women, and operates at the nexus of self care, community care, joy, and rest. Space to Exhale lands in May 2025, and is now available for pre-order!

Note: poll feedback is private - if you’re happy to share your thoughts in public, then please also leave a comment.

I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2025. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).