Black Google Employee Gets Security Called On Him, Others Share Their Similar Stories Of Discrimination
Angel Onuoha, a graduate of Harvard University and an associate product manager at Google, has just had an awful experience.
While Onuoha was riding a bike on the company’s campus, security showed up and stopped him — a currently unidentified Google staff member had called them. They didn’t believe he was an employee.
The security then took Angel’s ID badge, forcing the man to miss his bus ride home.
After he shared what happened on Twitter, people immediately stood beside him and pressured Google to look into the whole ordeal.
In a now-viral tweet, a black Associate Product Manager at Google said he was stopped by company security
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A spokesperson for Google told the Daily Dot in a statement that the company is “in touch” with Onuoha and is “conducting a thorough investigation.”
“We take this employee’s concerns very seriously,” the statement noted. “More broadly, one step we’ve taken recently to decrease badging incidents is to make clear that employees should leave investigating access concerns to our security team, which is trained on unconscious bias and ways to ensure our values of respect and inclusion are central to their interactions with Googlers.”
His experience got other people to share similar stories of discrimination
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In the replies to Onuoha’s tweet, a former security guard for the company, Albert Richardson, said he also faced discrimination on the job. According to Richardson, a fellow employee once claimed he was a “suspicious individual.”
“I was on lunch in one of the micro kitchens. My radio goes off like ‘Hey Al, when you get off of lunch, can you head over to the second floor micro kitchen. A Googler just reported a suspicious individual in that area.’ I spent an hour looking for myself,” he tweeted.
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In July, Google reported that 2020 had been its best year ever in terms of hiring black employees, with 8.8% of Google’s U.S. hires identifying as black+. This figure is compared to 5.5% in 2019, which represented the largest gain among racial groups.
However, only 4.4% of Google’s total U.S. workforce is black+, said the company’s latest Diversity, Equity and Inclusion report. When it comes to leadership representation, this number is even lower: only 3% of U.S. leadership positions are being held by black+ employees. Additionally, only 1.3% of leadership positions at the company are held by black+ women.
Many also demanded accountability from Google
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While I am well aware that this kind of discrimination goes on, and it makes me furious, I don't have to experience it, or even the idea of it, every day. I cannot imagine what it's like for a person of colour that everywhere you go, everything you do, someone is profiling you, judging you, harassing you. Let me tell you, I would be the angriest black woman anyone has ever met.
The sad thing is that being angry could have potentially life threatening consequences. When POC experience discrimination in this way, they have to rise above it. Otherwise it could cost them their life.
Load More Replies...The bigger problem is not that a few people at google are racist, but far more importantly that black people are so rare they stand out on the campus. Perhaps a slightly less 'white men only' hiring policy would fix the problem.
It's actually more white and Asian men, but your point stands.
Load More Replies...I never understood why in USA someone calls security or cops for nothing (like seeing a black person) and they don't get fined. I freaked in California when a neighbor called the cops on us because we had a black friend who stopped by, they where looking for a gang of blacks when in fact it was 1 guy, told the cops they should fine who ever called them for nothing, they told me to shut up. I guess the person who called and wasted police time will continue doing this.
People who aren’t afraid of the cops call the cops a lot.
Load More Replies...My husband and I are Australian but he is of Sri Lankan descent. We had just arrived in Cairo and were going through customs. The officer was casually leaning against a wall, smoking and just waving our whole group through without checking anything until my husband went past and the officer stuck his leg out to stop my husband - the only person of colour in the group. The officer didn’t say a word, just pointed and grunted to my husband until he gave him his passport and bag to check, then eventually sent us on our way. None of the white people got checked.
Seriously?! They can’t legally do that, even if they are security workers & “have suspicions”! To adhere to the law; security guards are NOT allowed to confiscate or take anything that belongs to you. This includes your passport, drivers license, camera & property. The only exception is in cases of fake ID being used to access licensed premises … which is definitely not the case here. Only the police have the legal right to take your ID away. This security guard broke the law & should be held accountable for his actions! 🤨⚖️🤷♀️
They have worst discrimination in India also... The facilities r third party vendors and the corporate facility tht works treats others like s**t n security I would say also third party in India but never personally found any discrimination... They r well good compared tocshitty facility teams in google offices here
That's Outrageous. About 20 years ago, A very well dressed lady politician passed out on a bench at a major bus exchange in my city, after having a stroke, and was ignored by other passengers for hours before a cleaner called the alarm and she was transported to hospital. She is an Aboriginal. I was so angry. Who doesn't stop to help their fellow human? I believe she recovered well. (Queensland, Australia)
That's just outrageous. I remember reading an article about 30 years back. A well dressed lady politician in her late 40s passed out at a major bus interchange in my city, after having a stroke. And no-one helped her for hours... she is/was Aboriginal. (Queensland, Australia). Last I heard, she was doing well in hospital. This makes me so angry. I can't find the news article online. This was before the internet took over everything.
I live across teh pond in an area where the vast majority of the population are white. We don't reat to your skin color, like we don't react to blue hair. Thats it. We see people. In all their variety and glory. People are human first. They come with wheelchairs, brown skin, epicanthal folds, fat, thin, with guide dogs, ginger, tattoed, deaf, old, young, bald; HUMAN FIRST To be clear I know not everyone thinks this way. Some people are a$$holes and I really wish you could tell just by looking.
My girlfriend for some years (aged in low 30s) looked about 15. Security started following her around once when she was clothes shopping. She handled it by turning round and getting the security guard to carry stuff for her - bras, undies etc. He left her completely alone after that.
"Black Google employee..." I spent 10 seconds wondering what Black Google was. Is it like Uber Black? Or is it the search engine for the Dark Web?🤦♂️
No because that is equally racist. If someone is GENUINELY acting suspiciously then security should be called regardless of their skin color.
Load More Replies...Or, hear me out... US society *actually* is predicated on systemic racism, and millions of people aren't just making things up.
Load More Replies...While I am well aware that this kind of discrimination goes on, and it makes me furious, I don't have to experience it, or even the idea of it, every day. I cannot imagine what it's like for a person of colour that everywhere you go, everything you do, someone is profiling you, judging you, harassing you. Let me tell you, I would be the angriest black woman anyone has ever met.
The sad thing is that being angry could have potentially life threatening consequences. When POC experience discrimination in this way, they have to rise above it. Otherwise it could cost them their life.
Load More Replies...The bigger problem is not that a few people at google are racist, but far more importantly that black people are so rare they stand out on the campus. Perhaps a slightly less 'white men only' hiring policy would fix the problem.
It's actually more white and Asian men, but your point stands.
Load More Replies...I never understood why in USA someone calls security or cops for nothing (like seeing a black person) and they don't get fined. I freaked in California when a neighbor called the cops on us because we had a black friend who stopped by, they where looking for a gang of blacks when in fact it was 1 guy, told the cops they should fine who ever called them for nothing, they told me to shut up. I guess the person who called and wasted police time will continue doing this.
People who aren’t afraid of the cops call the cops a lot.
Load More Replies...My husband and I are Australian but he is of Sri Lankan descent. We had just arrived in Cairo and were going through customs. The officer was casually leaning against a wall, smoking and just waving our whole group through without checking anything until my husband went past and the officer stuck his leg out to stop my husband - the only person of colour in the group. The officer didn’t say a word, just pointed and grunted to my husband until he gave him his passport and bag to check, then eventually sent us on our way. None of the white people got checked.
Seriously?! They can’t legally do that, even if they are security workers & “have suspicions”! To adhere to the law; security guards are NOT allowed to confiscate or take anything that belongs to you. This includes your passport, drivers license, camera & property. The only exception is in cases of fake ID being used to access licensed premises … which is definitely not the case here. Only the police have the legal right to take your ID away. This security guard broke the law & should be held accountable for his actions! 🤨⚖️🤷♀️
They have worst discrimination in India also... The facilities r third party vendors and the corporate facility tht works treats others like s**t n security I would say also third party in India but never personally found any discrimination... They r well good compared tocshitty facility teams in google offices here
That's Outrageous. About 20 years ago, A very well dressed lady politician passed out on a bench at a major bus exchange in my city, after having a stroke, and was ignored by other passengers for hours before a cleaner called the alarm and she was transported to hospital. She is an Aboriginal. I was so angry. Who doesn't stop to help their fellow human? I believe she recovered well. (Queensland, Australia)
That's just outrageous. I remember reading an article about 30 years back. A well dressed lady politician in her late 40s passed out at a major bus interchange in my city, after having a stroke. And no-one helped her for hours... she is/was Aboriginal. (Queensland, Australia). Last I heard, she was doing well in hospital. This makes me so angry. I can't find the news article online. This was before the internet took over everything.
I live across teh pond in an area where the vast majority of the population are white. We don't reat to your skin color, like we don't react to blue hair. Thats it. We see people. In all their variety and glory. People are human first. They come with wheelchairs, brown skin, epicanthal folds, fat, thin, with guide dogs, ginger, tattoed, deaf, old, young, bald; HUMAN FIRST To be clear I know not everyone thinks this way. Some people are a$$holes and I really wish you could tell just by looking.
My girlfriend for some years (aged in low 30s) looked about 15. Security started following her around once when she was clothes shopping. She handled it by turning round and getting the security guard to carry stuff for her - bras, undies etc. He left her completely alone after that.
"Black Google employee..." I spent 10 seconds wondering what Black Google was. Is it like Uber Black? Or is it the search engine for the Dark Web?🤦♂️
No because that is equally racist. If someone is GENUINELY acting suspiciously then security should be called regardless of their skin color.
Load More Replies...Or, hear me out... US society *actually* is predicated on systemic racism, and millions of people aren't just making things up.
Load More Replies...
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