By Diary of a Chocolate Girl
Time and time again, Black Women are challenged by the weight and power of their positions. It is a leader in politics, corporate, finance, sports, health, or education. You name it, and I guarantee a Black Woman is fighting to demand the respect she deserves.
Recently, a video surfaced of a zoom call where a North Carolina zoning commissioner councilman refused to address a Black Woman by her requested title of Doctor.
Dr. Carrie Rosario, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who holds her doctorate in public health, corrected the commissioner referred to her as “Mrs. Rosario” in the zoom call. Dr. Rosario proceeded to correct him with the correct title she preferred to be addressed.
The city commissioner proceeds to reply with, “well, I am sorry. Your name here says, Carrie Rosario.”
He then proceeds to say, “Hey Carrie.”
Dr. Rosario then tells the commissioner that she is directly verbalizing to him that she would like to be addressed by her professional title. Still refusing, the commissioner remarks that it did not matter what she wants to be called. As a Black Woman, I am out of fingers and toes to count the number of times I have corrected someone on either how to pronounce my name or correctly address my professional title.
It is exhausting!
I never understood the importance of educating others on correctly pronouncing my name until I was older. It is probably one of the simplest forms of respect. In a professional setting, witnessing this video was frustrating to see another Black Woman being disrespected for something as simple as someone refusing to address her by the title she kindly requested.
I hope this moment was viewed by many Black Women and served as a reminder of how we can be assertive and professional when demanding respect. And major applause to Dr. Carrie Rosario for standing firm on being addressed correctly and putting Tony in his place…haha!
Since this video resurfaced, the commissioner has been fired.
BLOOP!
Chanel Davis is a contributing writer and the creator and operator of the Diary Of A Chocolate Girl podcast aiming to connect with chocolate girls all over through personal experiences and opinions with mild humor and a spiritual flare. Be sure to connect on IG and Facebook @diaryofachocolategirl.
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