Thriving While Black: The Act of Surviving and Thriving in the same space

by Cori Jamal Williams

" Thriving While Black " sets out to explore the psychological and emotional consequences of being Black in corporate America. "Ain't I an American?" the famous words of Langston Hughes, is a question every Black person unwittingly asks themselves. The playing field for Whites and Blacks is not equal, whether in education, science and technology, life expectancy, earning, or social strata. Blacks have been discriminated against and excluded based on their skin color, which creates the question of what their place is in America.There exist persistent Black inequalities in the structural make up of America; inequalities not inherent due to the differences in the abilities of Whites and Blacks but instead, due to the differences in access to opportunities between the two groups.Black workers in corporate America have to grapple with racial microaggressions in the workplace, which often involves White workers assuming that their Black counterparts are intellectually inferior to them. Thus, Blacks are passed over when important decisions are being made because of the belief that they have nothing intellectual to bring to the table; a phenomenon that is an obstacle to the upward mobility of Blacks in different organizations. " Thriving While Black " portrays that Blacks are Americans too and should not have to be seen as less and unequal! Their humanity should not be reduced to mere negative stereotypes. If America truly prides itself in diversity, there shouldn't be a forced need for Blacks to adopt mainstream White culture, hair styling, speech mannerisms, dress codes, etc., and neglect their own African-American identity just to fit into corporate America. The beauty of diversity is not gathering different and diverse people and trying to make them act the same way. Instead, it is bringing diverse people together and allowing their diversity to thrive. This is the focus of this book.

114 pages, Paperback

Published October 5, 2020

About the author

Cori Williams MSW L.C.S.W is a graduate from the prestigious Boston University located in the heart of Boston Massachusetts. A multifaceted entrepreneur, Cori is the owner of Wilmore Marketing Consultants LLC. a Marketing Firm out of Atlanta Ga. offering Internet Marketing Solutions for consumers and business owners. In his latest endeavor as an Executive Life Coach, he is the founder of Quintessential Wellness Solutions LLC., a Family Therapy & Executive Life Coaching Practice and Co-Owner of B&M Enterprises which is a real estate investors Company.

Before his entrepreneurial success, Williams worked in the Nonprofit industry for 12 years holding various leadership roles. In his career years, he assisted with establishing GED curriculum workshop for adult learners and facilitated numerous workshops for first-time fathers who struggle with maintaining consistency in the lives of their children and face social and emotional barriers which has prevented them from consistently engaging in the lives of their children in the urban communities.

Reviews

[_sassy_39 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriving While Black is a book that tells the readers about the psychological and emotional consequences of being Black in corporate America. The book is based on the life of African Americans in America. Readers will get to read about the history of African Americans and how they were brought to America as slaves. The contribution of African Americans had played an important role in the development of America. African Americans had contributed to American Evolution, in the field of medicine, black music, etc.

Black people face discrimination based on their skin color and their hair. Even though many changes are happening in society to remove this discrimination but it still exist. I was not aware about the Code-Switching word before reading this book. African American Vernacular English is regarded as an inferior dialect.

It's high time that racism should end and black people should not be seen as less and they should get equal opportunities in every field. This book introduced me to the world of African Americans in America. Some sections were heart breaking to read about. Black lives matter. Author has written this book very well and the cover page of the book is awesome.

[Jo Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick ebook read that really didn't provide any tried or true strategies to help navigate corporate spaces outside of knowing yourself. Hoped more for it but will keep looking for more books on this subject matter.