Hello friends,
I was thinking back to a workplace experience I had in England. I'd been working in journalism for a while and I interviewed for and got a job as editor for a charitable organisation (I worked for more than one of those during my career). What I didn't know until much later was that there'd been an internal candidate for the job, a middle aged white guy (MAWG).
Unlike many other workplaces there were a few melanated people working in the organisation, though none in my department. In fact, until I helped hire a woman subeditor I wasn't just the only Black person in my section; I was the only woman.
I got the sense of undercurrents from the very first day. My actual boss was pally with the white guy who hadn't been promoted, and with his boss there was a sense of all lads together. The design guys were great, though.