Black Excellence or Ignorance? Which Do You Prefer to Lead in Your Organization

I'm here, down in the dirty south!  I hear the dirty talk, I see the dirty walk, and I shudder at the thought that some dirty people might get hit by cars if they continue to walk dressed in all black on these here dirty roads with no sidewalks--but I digress.  

So, you stopped by the blog today, thanks!  Black excellence, let me pause.  Black ignorance, still pausing.  I'm not feeling some of our people right now especially those in hire and fire positions with little management experience, no moral compass, and way too many distractions including what they do in their free time that eats up their brain cells daily--some of ya'll know what I'm talking about!

Here we go again, writing about nasty attitudes coming from our people!  What's up?  Someone spray painted around town, "Smile N*gga!" and drew a long nose that looked like a male body part.  I guess he was thinking what I was thinking, "Does it hurt to be nice?"  A gentleman was shocked that my sons asked him, "How are you?"  A woman at a store was impressed that I greeted her all cheery and stuff, so she said--lol!  "I hope you stay that way, where you from?"  She hadn't seen my kind in these parts, and she was black--you thought I was going to say white, nope!

Is it just me or is the "excellence" and "ignorance" morphing together into some kind of hybrid that is creating a mean monster? A kind of person who is smart, but ignorant at the same time, because they feel they have to be?  A type of evil that is more wicked than the last.  So hurt, confused, used and abused that he or she will do or say almost anything to be happy for two minutes before plummeting to death his or her fellow brother or sister with curse words or worse gunfire over a mistake or an insult?  

There has always been the lingering thought, among some of our people, that in the black community in order for the professional black man and woman to co-exist among the brethren, who are not-so blessed, one must dumb his or herself down at times--"keep it real" every now and again to remind offenders that he or she has a background "in these streets" then proceed to act tough.  Shall we ponder that for a moment?

I liked the way "black excellence" was once promoted by elitists, A-listers, pastors, and the fraternal groups, where we don't let the world know or show everything dirty.  Instead, we put our best and brightest out there to shine and represent for us all.  Yet, ignorance has their platform filled with silly, stupid, ignorant, stereotypical, and so on kind of folk!  They get views, they sell products and services, they help you half-ass at the service desk, the local restaurant and wherever dollars are accepted without a smile or so much as a "Thank you for your business, please come again!"  Some of you still support the foolishness anyway because of the color of one's skin not the content of their character. MLK is probably rolling in his grave!

Those of you whose parents were strict with you growing up, showed you what black excellence looked and acted like by embodying black excellence--can I get an amen?  Those of you who remembered the consequences of acting "simple, stupid dumb, foolish..." in their presence recall the pain. Some of you parents and grandparents fought and continue to fight to prevent such tomfoolery from entering your camps!  However, it is a landslide victory these days that ignorant, rude and uneducated people are being promoted for nothing more than cheap wages and the color of their skin because supposedly they are relatable.  How about they were forced on us by using powerful tools to tell us all about them?  

Some of these foolish men and women are all-too willing to take low-paying jobs, because they are just "grateful," "never made that kind of money before," "never lived or shopped in a community like this..."  So, the poor and uneducated are relatable to those who are like them and entertaining to those who are not.  

"Where's your manager?  No, you don't understand what I'm asking nor what I need.  Please don't fake that you know, you don't.  Where's your manager? You are the manager...what?!"  

We are all suffering because a group mixed up giving one a chance with giving ignorance a chance.  It isn't any wonder why there is a high turnover at many of the establishments we shop, now is it?  We don't want to work with "a chance," trust our hard-earned dollars with "a chance" or invest in "a chance."   What we want is to work with knowledgeable professionals who know what they are doing and if not, retrain or terminate--just that simple!

Pay black excellence what they are worth in every industry and just maybe they will return back to workplaces all across our land, but if not, then we all continue to suffer in checkout lines, over-the-phone and out in these streets!

Nicholl McGuire is the owner of this blog and the author of Know Your Enemy the Christian's Critic and When Mothers Cry. 

When Creatives Realize Their Power - commentary also on NOPE

Pills to Help Cope with Personal Challenges - My Experience

2019 would be the last time that I felt completely like myself.  It wouldn't be until early 2022, that I would feel like my old self.  What happened?
 
When my personal, as well as professional challenges, were increasingly becoming more demanding and I didn't seem to feel any better with on and off again illnesses, I visited a doctor in February 2020.  I found out that I had needed a hysterotomy and learned around the same time that many of my coworkers had covid symptoms.  
 
I suspected I had covid too back when we called covid symptoms "a bug" or "flu," our staff didn't know what the illness was that gave us a variety of symptoms including loss of smell and taste during December 2019 January 2020.  Meanwhile, as parents were told that our children were to remain at home for the rest of the school year.  Of course, most students began to perform poorly.  As if that wasn't enough, at my former apartment management job around that time, I received visits from parents who wondered what local colleges and universities were going to do if covid cases increased, because they didn't want to be responsible for apartment lease contracts if the schools were going to close and send their children home.
 
I as well as others I knew seemed to be feeling out of sorts, not ourselves.  Our minds were confused at times, forgetful.  We were unhappy at times more than happy.  Our futures were uncertain.  Then people started dying.

 

In 2019 according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 6.5 million African Americans had a mental illness and/or substance use disorder (SUD), an increase of 10.1% over 2018 composed of increases in SUD and mental illness. 

There was only so much that I could take into my mind.  I felt like I was sinking fast at the time.  However, as more people began to talk about what they were going through in media, gradually I saw some positive changes in some people including myself. 
Since 2020, it has been a breath of fresh air to see that life coaches, doctors, counselors, psychologists, ministers, and others are doing more to support people specifically the African American and Latin communities who suffer with things like anxiety, and emotional instability, nervousness, and fear.  However, the Band-Aid fixes using prescription medicines, well depending on the person, don't always have the benefits that outweigh the risks.  
 
As my own personal and professional challenges began to mount during 2020 going into 2021, one of the doctors I visited, prescribed “magic pills," an antidepressant, and an estrogen supplement back in February 2020.  A dentist prescribed more pills that same year for infection and painkillers until I could get an appointment for my root canal (a previous dentist drilled too deep in my mouth to fix a cavity).  Yes, the pain, the pain!  All of which I got taken care of that year.
 
I remained on the antidepressant for about eight months (from February to September 2020).  The other pills about a month.  Three times a day taking an antidepressant to get through the day and all the rest to help manage pain and infection, I was having an out-of-body experience most days.  
 
I must admit I was not who I had been prior to taking all those medicines.  The antidepressant had brought on its share of mania including trouble sleeping, excessive happiness, and racing thoughts.  It also gave me unusual behaviors like believing I was someone else and feeling confused at times when people spoke to me and what I was supposed to do next.  It also brought about more vision problems to the point that now I wear glasses. There was also one very important thing that the antidepressant did, it caused me to no longer write like this.  A simple sentence was okay, but a blog post, article, a report, a poem, a song...no way!  It was too much effort to sit and concentrate on creative tasks.  I recall spending way too long trying to fill out a template for a creative flier even with the words present to copy.  
 
Creativity is no more when you are medicated.  You also don't have much feeling for others.  I was pretty much ready to delete everything that I created while on the medicine.  In 2021, I began withdrawal, I had fought with all sorts of emotions including paranoia and unusually grand ideas that I couldn't recall weeks later.  In addition, while taking the medicine, I learned that I had high blood pressure, and heart palpitations every now and again and felt tired more so after eating initially, because something was happening with my blood sugar that hadn't occurred prior to taking the medicine.  There was no off button prescribed as to when I was done taking the medicine.  The comment from the doctor was, “Why were you ever off any of it, to begin with?”  
 
Years ago, I was given different types of antidepressants, and each gave me similar side effects.  One was so bad that all I ever wanted to do was sleep and I had no sex drive and no orgasm while on that medicine.  One doctor thought it was necessary to prescribe it because I was going through postpartum like behaviors for months after the babies had been born.  I never understood why they thought just one week of highs and lows and I, or any mother, would just be fine afterward so they had sent me home with babies and no medicine until I showed back up with a lot on my mind, read When Mothers Cry. 
 
Anyway, I took the pills--for how long I don't remember exactly (less than a year), but what helped me more so was getting away from the babies for months to collect myself and manage my own mind, body, and soul so I could return to care for them.  Fast forward to February 2020, almost two decades later, there I was told to take pills again with no cutoff date.
 
What I have learned is that pills, like counselors, have their place for a time in your life (if you are willing to accept) depending on one's condition, but they are not meant to be used often, in excess, or for most people, for the rest of their lives.  There are aids for a season in your life, but once a person has demonstrated that they are perfectly capable of caring for themselves, there are healthy alternatives that don't involve pills and controlling people.  
 
All pills and caretakers don't fit all.  When you can manage your life, you are also able to make the kind of decisions that are most beneficial for yourself such as having faith, and a support system that is more concerned about your health and not so much about your money or service. 
 
Your peace of mind and the free time to think apart from others is most important, so take care of yourself when you can!  
 
Nicholl McGuire has an online store of beautiful artwork and useful household products, Stillness Gifts.  She is also the owner and contributor of this blog.