We Are Not a Monolith: Breaking the Stigma of “Professionalism” and Embracing the Full Range of Black Excellence

By: Dr. Lisa Marie Lee

Image create via Copilot

Black people are not a monolith.

Yet, workplaces and business environments across the United States, and globally, often measure Black professionals against a narrow, Western standard of “professionalism” that was not designed with Black identities in mind. This standard frequently excludes the rich diversity of Black cultures, languages, and histories.

Professionalism as a Racial Construct

“Professionalism” is not an objective or universal truth. It is a racial construct shaped by historical and cultural biases, particularly those rooted in white supremacy. In the legal field, for example, professionalism is used to police people of color in ways that include regulating hair, tone, and even food scents, standards that are not applied equally to all. This construct is not limited to law; it manifests across industries, including social work, medicine, and business.

A recent essay from Leah Goodridge in the UCLA Law Review highlights how professionalism is often used as a tool to subjugate people of color, reinforcing racial hierarchies and exclusionary traditions.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has acknowledged this, stating in 2022 that the concept of professionalism “must evolve” to avoid upholding racial hierarchies and exclusionary traditions. Their framework outlines concrete steps to address and eliminate racism, emphasizing the need for diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racist organizations.

How “Professionalism” Marginalizes Black Identity

From hairstyles to language, so-called professional standards are often used to judge Black people’s worthiness rather than their competence or innovation. Despite guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission encouraging workplaces to respect racial hair texture differences, hair-based discrimination persists.

When Black women contest this discrimination in court, judges often dismiss their claims by framing hair as an aesthetic choice rather than a racial signifier. Black women’s experiences reveal that wearing natural hair in the workplace is an embodied experience that makes their Black and female identities hypervisible and subject to systems of oppression.

Similarly, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a legitimate and linguistically rich dialect, yet it is often stigmatized in corporate environments. The expectation to code-switch to alter speech or appearance to fit dominant normsis a common coping mechanism among Black professionals, but it places an undue burden on their mental health and career satisfaction.

Internalized Pressure and Respectability Politics

The pressure to assimilate is so pervasive that Black professionals sometimes unwittingly reinforce these standards themselves. We may judge each other for not being “polished” enough or for “talking too Black.” This is known as respectability politics, a strategy of policing Black behavior to gain acceptance in dominant culture. Studies show that anti-Black bias is widespread in professional culture, and that concerted reform efforts, including anti-racist training, policies, and increased staff diversity are necessary to dismantle it.

Redefining Professionalism on Our Terms

Liberation means redefining professionalism to center authenticity, cultural brilliance, and the full range of Black identity. Black excellence is not one-size-fits-all. It is multi-dimensional, encompassing innovation, tradition, and nuance. When we flatten this diversity into a single mold, we limit our collective ability to grow, hire, partner, and lead with impact.

For Black entrepreneurs, this is especially critical. Building a business model that erases cultural identity in favor of a Western ideal of professionalism does not disrupt the system, it replicates it. Instead, we must build new models that honor and celebrate Black leadership in all its forms.

Allyship and the Full Spectrum of Black Identity

True allyship in business and employment means accepting Black people in the full spectrum of our identities. It means moving beyond tokenism and performative diversity initiatives to genuine respect and the redistribution of power.

Allyship is recognizing that professionalism can look like a headwrap and hoop earrings, or a fade and fresh sneakers. It is acknowledging that intelligence and leadership come in many tones and dialects.

Redefining Success

We must ask ourselves:

• Are we chasing success as defined by systems that never valued us?

  
  

• Or are we defining success on our own terms, centered in wellness, community, creativity, and collective power?

  
  

Success is not just about status; it is about self-sufficiency, joy, and leaving a legacy that uplifts the next generation.

We will only achieve this level of success if we reject the myth of the monolith and embrace the full, unapologetic spectrum of who we are.

Our Fullness Is Our Resistance

As DEI programs face backlash and policies threaten to erase our stories, authenticity becomes more than personal, it becomes political.

In a world trying to shrink us, showing up fully is a form of resistance. Celebrating our diversity is strategy. Building together is survival.

We are not a monolith.

We are a movement.

We are the blueprint of our ancestors.