6/5/2023 0 Comments Black Magic by Chad Sanders![]() ![]() Black Magic has emboldened his every step since. Accounting for this turnaround, Chad believes, was something he calls Black Magic, namely: resilience, creativity, and perseverance, forged in his experience navigating America as a Black man. He earned the respect of his colleagues and clients. Chad began to land more exciting projects and eventually got promoted. He reverted back to methods he learned at the dinner table, or at the Black Baptist church where he’d been raised, or the concrete basketball courts. Instead, he decided to give up the charade. Carrying the unbearable weight of his imposter syndrome - the constant burden of not being true to himself - left Chad exhausted and ashamed. And while he finally felt included, he felt awful. He changed his wardrobe, his behavior, his speech - everything that connected him with his Black identity. Each meeting was drenched in white slang and the privileged talk of international travel or a folk concert in San Francisco, which led Chad to realize that he could only be successful if he emulated whiteness. When Chad Sanders landed his first job in lily-white Silicon Valley, he quickly realized that to be successful at work meant playing a certain social game. It felt like a death sentence for my career.” ![]() “I remember the day I realized I couldn’t play a white guy as well as a white guy. A powerful exploration of Black achievement in a white world based on honest, provocative, and moving interviews with Black leaders, scientists, artists, activists, and champions. ![]()
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