Here’s why expecting Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour to “code switch” is white supremacist behaviour.
By: Kassandra Cordero
Tags: Workplace Culture, Diversity And Inclusion, Consultant, Anti Racism, White Supremacy

And what you can do in the workplace to avoid it.

Intro

“Code switching” has been coming up a lot in my world lately, both from white people who don’t understand why Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPOC) are so angry in their workplaces, and IBPOC who have been placed in the hot seat by management and co-workers in their workplaces for not being able to code switch to expectations.

What is “code switching?

First, let’s agree on a definition of code switching. Code switching is a term coined by Einar Haugen when trying to describe the ability of multilingual people to move with ease between languages when the situation called for it. Now the term has evolved to mean more of a changing between social behaviour dialects. For more on code switching and how it can literally be a life or death matter, especially for Black Americans, check out this article by AT McWilliams.

Code switching has come to mean the difference switching between the dominant power group’s mannerisms, and non dominant power group’s ways of being. Here on Turtle Island code switching is often just another term for what IBPOC are expected to do to fit in, get by, or survive in a world dominated by white culture, white ideals and Eurocentric laws and customs.

What does “expecting IBPOC to code switch” mean?

The expectation placed upon IBPOC to act like white people in order to fit in, get a job, or avoid being targeted on the job is a form of white supremacy. It is society saying to IBPOC humans that they must deny themselves the freedom to act as they are.

Expectations to code switch can come in many forms, especially in the workplace. Telling a colleague their language is too “loaded” for example is a form of placing an expectation on your colleague to code switch. You are telling your co-worker that the way in which they express themselves is too harsh, or too much for others.

Telling a co-worker that they are too angry, or avoiding them because they often seem annoyed also places and expectation to code switch on them. If your colleague is IBPOC, and seems angry or aggressive, instead of isolating them, or placing the expectation on them to act differently, try talking to them. Chances are if you ask them what is happening for them, they’ll tell you, and there might be a lesson to be learned from it for you.

Okay, now I know what it is — how do I avoid it?

IBPOC co-workers often have to deal with the same issues, over, and over, and over again. This can get tiring, actually exhausting. After dealing with the same issue so many times, people tend to become more direct when addressing it. If you are a white co-worker who is confronted by a colleague who is IBPOC about something you have done to offend them the best thing you can do is ground yourself with a deep breath, and listen. Remember that your colleague has on some level been hurt, and it takes a lot to address something that has hurt, especially when the hurt happens daily, or sometimes multiple times a day.

Resources for white colleagues

If you’re feeling a little anxious about supporting your IBPOC colleagues in this way, here are some resources to help prep you from the amazing humans at Dismantle Collective.

Resources for IBPOC colleagues

If you are an IBPOC who is TIRED and could use some de-colonial melanin filled doses of love, here are a few resources for you from POC Online Classroom.

Times are intense right now on a local and global scale. Be good to each other out there, practice *lateral liberation wherever you can, and be good to yourselves too.

*lateral liberation is a term coined by Kim Haxton at Elevate Inclusion Strategies to describe the embodiment of Indigenous ways of knowing and being as a way to free oneself and others.

Kassandra Cordero

a photo of Kassandra Cordero working from home

Kassandra Cordero

is a settler born to a family of Chilean refugees on unceded Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw (Kwakiutl) territory in Port Hardy BC. Living and working on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) territories, Kassandra is passionate about issues of race and class and Indigenous rights. She has worked in the labour movement in Canada for more than 15 years. Her work centres on equity and human rights, Indigenous rights and migrant justice both in and outside of the workplace. Kassandra is currently pursuing a masters degree in global leadership at Royal Roads University and serves as a steering committee member for Inner Activist. She is a

In her spare time Kassandra enjoys making music, writing, and hiking with her husband and dog.

Connect with Kassandra here for consultation needs!