So You Want to Talk About Race
What question did the division director at Oluo's work ask her at a meeting and how did she react?
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When talking about a particular division director with whom she once worked, Oluo states that upon one occasion, he asked her in front of everyone at the meeting whether her hair was real or not. As Oluo struggled to figure out how to respond to such a rude and inappropriate question, the division director made things worse by telling her that he understood how hard it must be for her to find products she liked in the area. He then asked her if she had seen the documentary film about black hair narrated by Chris Rock. She says that by this time, she had gotten used to being the only black person at her workplace, but the division director's comments had instantly reminded her that she was different than everyone else, particularly when her white colleagues turned with interest to hear what her replies would be to the division director's questions.