Black magic : what Black leaders learned from trauma and triumph / Chad Sanders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sanders, Chad, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Interviews.

African Americans.

Race relations.

History.

United States.

African American leadership.

United States--Race relations--History--21st century.

Genre:

Interviews.

History.

Autobiographies.

Biographies.

Essays.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 262 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2021.

Summary:

"When Chad Sanders landed his first job in lily-white Silicon Valley, he quickly concluded that to be successful at work meant playing a certain social game. Each meeting was drenched in white slang and the privileged talk of international travel or folk concerts in San Francisco, which led Chad to believe he needed to emulate whiteness to be successful. So Chad changed. He changed his wardrobe, his behavior, his speech--everything that connected him with his Black identity. And while he finally felt included, he felt awful. So he decided to give up the charade. He reverted back to the methods he learned at the dinner table, or at the Black Baptist church where he'd been raised, or at the concrete basketball courts, barbershops, and summertime cookouts. And it paid off. Chad began to land more exciting projects. He earned the respect of his colleagues. Accounting for this turnaround, Chad believes, was something he calls Black Magic, namely resilience, creativity, and confidence forged in his experience navigating America as a Black man. Black Magic has emboldened his every step since, leading him to wonder: Was he alone in this discovery? Were there others who felt the same? In essays, Chad dives into his formative experiences to see if they might offer the possibility of discovering or honing this skill. He tests his theory by interviewing Black leaders across industries to get their take on Black Magic. Black Magic explores Black experiences in predominantly white environments and demonstrates the risks of self-betrayal and the value of being yourself"--adapted from dust jacket.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: ch. One Home And Neighborhood

"Call it what you want. I'm still here" / Ed Bailey

"I recognized that white Kansas City and Black Kansas City were two totally fucking different things" / Jason Crain

"There's a double-edged sword. They used to make you feel inferior just because you were Black. But now they try to make you feel inferior because you may be more educated than them. They've been duped by the Trumps of the world and the white privileged men" / Dr. Lynn McKinley-Grant

"If I think about my professional career, there has been no mentor in any environment that looks like me" / Tarlin Rays

ch. Two Grade School: Gifted And Talented Programs, Private School, And Separation

"I had a conversation with a Black investor and he said, `You're not going to be able to raise money with the team that you have currently' He was like, `You just can't. It's not gonna happen. You need to find a white man to do this with you'" / Jewel Burks Solomon

"I didn't fully realize what being `Black' meant until one of my teachers in the third grade pulled me aside to make sure the other kids weren't taking advantage of me because I was the smart kid in class and the only Black kid in class" / Brian Shields

"I want Black people to understand that Blackness is its own sort of power and it's not only important in reference to other things. Our power does not lie solely in the fact that we've overcome trauma. Our power lies in the fact that we created in the midst of trauma" / DeRay McKesson

ch. Three College: Hbcus, Pwis, And Higher Learning

"I thought that I, as a human, could transcend racial dynamics. That is really dangerous, because eventually something happens that snaps you back and white people show you very clearly, and often quite damagingly to your person, that you're not the same" / Grayson Brown

"I never assumed I would be able to just climb a normal corporate ladder and get the things I want. So, I've always had to take a step back to figure out how things are working. What are the complex interconnected relationships between both people and teams? How can I play that to my benefit to get the things I want within an [ect.] / Laleesha Thomas

"My husband began his career at MIT by conducting an interview-based research study of the experiences of Black students. One student spoke for many when he said MIT is a good place to be from but not a good place to be at" / Dr. Carol Espy-Wilson

ch. Four Work

"And my best friend responds jokingly, `What do I look like? Your nigger?'" / Elaine Welteroth

The N- Word

"In many environments, there's a scarce number of Black folks. Which comes with its own set of challenges. But, on the other hand, if I'm just honest, there's also this soft bigotry of low expectations. Once you realize it, you can actually turn it to your advantage" / Shelley Stewart

"You gotta use the thing that others might use against you to benefit in other areas. You have to figure out what it is you're good at and what it is you can do. You have to figure out what it is that your Black skin might help you advance with" / Quincy Avery

"I married a white guy and I could imagine that our children may be quite fair as well. I want them to never forget that level of heritage and to never forget that they're so lucky to be Black. You have a whole other story to tell that people who aren't Black don't get" / Andrea Taylor Lindsay

ch. Five Spirit: Church, God, And Faith

"I hated religion, man. I hated religion. I believed that religion was an opiate of the masses. And I believed it was how white folks indoctrinated us" / Pastor Roger Jamison.

ISBN:

9781982104221

1982104228

OCLC:

1223986070

Publisher Number:

99986751768