TDP AT WORK

CREATING A DAP WORTHY WORKPLACE

Employee retention practices, for Black employees, should include an added layer of care. The Dap Project understands this intimately and we want the workplace to reflect the values that contribute to job satisfaction.

In “Sorry to Bother You,” an unemployed Cassius "Cash" Green is desperate for work and lands a job at a call center. After striking out on his first couple of calls, Cassius gets a performance-altering tip: sound less black, sound more white. Predictably his sales numbers sky rocket, and he upgrades accordingly with a new apartment, clothes, and dress. His friends from “way back” necessarily have something to say about this radical change, and hilarity (to put it mildly) ensues.

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, BLACK AMERICANS AND THE POWER AND PERIL OF CODE-SWITCHING

This storyline resonates with us at the Dap Project, as Cassius navigates handshakes and daps in his different worlds, just as our guests do. Many of us live in predominantly black environments, yet work in environments that look very different. Fluency in code switching is a requirement. So what does that look like in practice? Does dap get turned on or off? Is it “hey, Bob!” or “Bob, bring it in.” If you see Bob and your colleague-friend Khalil together, who gets what? Importantly, we were curious about the emotional consequence of having to restrict onesel from a meaningful gesture that is second nature.