How professionalism standards and dress code policies support white supremacy

Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

It’s Black History Month right now, which means white people everywhere are losing it over Black people being given a specified time to acknowledge and celebrate their history and accomplishments in this country. 

It’s a sad state of affairs, but it’s something we have become accustomed to year after year. 

I was thinking about this the other day. Have you ever noticed that there are holidays and months designated to celebrate lots of different non-white and non-American cultures here, but the only time it gets extra dramatic is when it’s Black people? 

Why is that?

I mean, white people go out of their way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with tacos and tequila even though they have no clue what the holiday is actually a remembrance of. To them, it’s just time to put on sombreros and get drunk. 

It’s the same with St. Patrick’s Day. You will have everyone out here putting on green and pinching people who don’t wear green (Pro tip: don’t pinch me, cause I will slap you). There are cities where they will dye water in fountains green to celebrate. There are celebrations that get entirely out of control, and no one has a problem with it. 

But when a Black person wants to celebrate their heritage or even acknowledge it with a hairstyle or an outfit, it’s suddenly the biggest issue in the world, and everyone has to know about it because some white people just cannot handle not being the center of something. 

Take for example the situation in the Tennessee state legislature involving newly elected Black state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, who was criticized by a white representative…