Black women belong in the spaces and places they occupy

To mark the beginning of the Senate confirmation hearings for the latest U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Washington Post shared a graphic that captured her educational and career experiences relative to the rest of the current Supreme Court justices. In addition to having an Ivy League education and serving as a Supreme Court clerk, which she has in common with many sitting justices, Jackson previously served as a federal public defender, unlike any other current Supreme Court justice.

What has already become clear to me regarding this historical process is that as the first Black woman to be nominated in the court's 233-year old history is forced to publicly “check all the boxes” in order to even be in the room.

I can tell you from painful experience that this additional burden placed on Black women in America is dehumanizing.

As a Black woman, albeit with a much lesser degree of public responsibility and expectation, I can relate to the experience of having to constantly prove myself in order to be considered worthy of belonging in the places and spaces I occupy. It happens everywhere, from my place of work to my children's school.

I have many privileges that allow me to occupy many spaces that others do not, such as three advanced degrees (including from two Ivy League universities and another from a world renowned international university). I also have financial stability. However, I know that had I been White, I would be much more recognized, appreciated and welcomed in such spaces.

I am an assistant professor of public health at San Jose State University.

I have two decades of experience in industry and academia, having initially trained as a chemical engineer and technologist prior to pursuing a master's degree and then a doctorate in epidemiology. As an epidemiologist, I have been called upon by various Bay Area media outlets to discuss topics related to the pandemic. Yet, a colleague recently responded by saying, “I love seeing Marcelle on the news, but why don't we hear more from (insert the name of a White colleague.) There was no acknowledgement of the scholarly contributions I have made, including the fact that I have earned substantial funding to study the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on marginalized populations, nor the peer-reviewed publications I have in this area of study. I continue to contribute to this space on a local and national level, having had commentaries published in Local News Matters Bay Area and Newsweek. Yet, this colleague felt comfortable questioning my suitability in a very public way.

With campus parking at a premium, I find myself getting into arguments with parking attendants who do not think I belong in the faculty parking area. Once, after repeatedly trying to wave me off the faculty parking area and explaining to him that I was a faculty member, the attendant remarked, “Then, you should put an employee parking sticker on your car.” I responded by pointing to the sticker on my car. I bet he could not see past the color of my skin.

My children attend a private school in the Bay Area, which prides itself on its anti-racist values. Parents are friendly. However, there are always regular reminders from many that they too struggle to believe I belong. One morning during a school assembly, a well-meaning parent came up to me and asked, “So what do you teach here?” The subtext was clear: There is no way you would be in this space unless you're a teacher. You can't possibly be a parent like myself.

A few years ago, I was invited to serve on the board of a nonprofit foundation. On my way to meet with the chief executive of the organization, I asked someone (a White man) for directions to the building. Immediately, he wanted to know who I was meeting. When I told him, his eyes widened. He blurted, “Is he expecting you?” The subtext wasn't lost on me. I could go on and on.

As Judge Jackson reminds us, Black women are here, they have been here, they have a lot to say, and they belong wherever they choose to be, including in the highest offices in the land.

America, you better recognize.