How ‘we gon’ be alright’ Managing Racial Battle Fatigue at School and the Workplace

I started my counseling career working in a college access program that was constantly scrutinized for the large population of urban youth of color that it served. Later, I took a position where I was the only person of color in my department and one of very few in a leadership role in my entire division. I remember oscillating between unmotivated, tired, and defensive all the time in these roles. The microagressions, additional meetings or tasks, concerns about my appearances, sense of not being heard, and addressing implicit biases were things I confronted daily. It was a huge drain on my emotional and mental energy.

This phenomenon is called racial battle fatigue. I know many of you out there can relate. It doesn’t have to be in the work environment. Activists can experience the exhaustion of constantly fighting for racial issues, but people of color can also face this passively when witnessing racial discrimination from peers, your community, or through the media.

It’s debilitating to incessantly advocate for yourself and your community. Life is hard enough as it is for anyone without consideration for race or ethnic background, and people of color thus have this added stressor. Obtaining and sustaining basic needs, such as food, safety, and belonging are ongoing battles, especially in urban or low-income communities. This constant struggle that people of color face in the United States and around the world gives us the feeling at times that our efforts for justice and equity are useless, which is spiritually taxing on our hope as well. When finally treating myself to breakfast this morning, Kendrick Lamar’s hit “Alright” came through on the speaker, his first line “All my life I had to fight…” quoted from Sophia in the classic film, The Color Purple. Sophia is standing up to domestic violence in the film, but Kendrick poignantly uses this line to describe what it means to defend oneself time after time against seemingly uncontrollable societal stressors, despite one’s best efforts. It could feel easier to give up, but neither giving up nor speaking up will make the situation go away. Might as well speak up, but while this may appear resilient on the outside, doing so does not ease the mental and emotional drain on inside.

For example, you feel like you’re not being heard about an issue impacting minority clients at work, but it doesn’t feel right to give up on it. This creates a stream of burdensome, anxious thoughts about when and how you should handle the bias, oppression, and discrimination you observe as a person of color: Do you speak up? Or do you be quiet? Are you in the mood today? Have you had breakfast? Does the person even know what they’re saying is wrong? Do you feel like educating them? Do they even have the capacity to understand?  I’m feeling tired again just writing the common questions that go through one’s mind when faced with oppression or discrimination. You learn to pick your battles. Then, you have to deal with the consequences of how you chose to address that situation, which can lead to another sequence of questions and concerns. I’m too exhausted to even contemplate the possibilities.

There are different levels of racial battle fatigue, depending on your susceptibility to exposure. When you witness police brutality on television or you face the racist lady giving you attitude at the store, it can be easy to brush off as relatively minor, isolated occurrences. You have the choice to turn the TV off, or leave the store. You may feel the emotional or mental impact, but you at least have control over your exposure.

Yet, it changes the game a little bit when your primary exposure is a result of your work or school environment. You need money to sustain a living. You need this diploma or degree to achieve a variety of life goals. The control you have to change your environment or remove yourself from it can be a long process, or even nonexistent due to responsibilities or lack of resources. So what do you do? This is how I managed the facial battle fatigue I encountered in my career:

Take Care of Yourself

Most of you know I usually try my best to take two walks (or dance sessions when it gets cold out) during the workday. This habit was born out of managing my racial battle fatigue. I had so much negative energy in my body some days that I needed to be active to get it out before it turned into toxin. This sounds a bit extreme, but it’s stressed by numerous spiritual ideologies and also supported by science. Once negative energy stores up too much inside you, then it can actually start to manifest in physical ailments or mental health concerns.

When you experience facial battle fatigue at work or school then you need to do some type of practice or ritual for your self-care. This can be exercise, weekly spa or massage visit, daily lunches with friends, or a gratitude journal. Find a way to take care of yourself to let go of the energy weighing you down and get the boost that you need.

Find Your Space

My supervisor wanted me to interact with others immediately and often when I started at the position where I was the only person of color. Despite encouragement to eat in the lunch room, there were days I took breaks and lunches in my office with the door completely shut. This became less frequent when boundaries and trust were established, but shielding myself from contact was a regular practice I needed to further balance my energy and emotions.

Are there spaces on campus or at the office where you feel lighter? For professionals this can be your office or where you decide to go for lunch. For students this might be the Diversity and Inclusion or Multicultural Office or another Cultural Center, but it doesn’t even have to be culturally affiliated. It can be a neutral spot on campus like the library or a coffee shop nearby. Make a routine time to go there, especially when there is an abnormally intense incident or if you need to be more creative than normal. This will help you to reset or stabilize your energy to move forward.

Find Your Community

Bonding with people in my community was an invaluable outlet of support for me during the difficulties I faced. I found great encouragement from being a member of the Black Faculty and Staff Association at one institution, and I had planned lunches with a colleague in the Division and Inclusion Office in another. This provided me spaces where I could express my concerns with others who empathized as well as helped me to feel valued, supported, and authentic for being myself. I also had regular movie nights with a group of girlfriends, and our mutual bond of being women of color in underrepresented areas helped us to see the bigger picture in our struggles, challenge our perspectives and coping mechanisms (when needed), and again find the authenticity when did not have in our places of work.

Find a person or group among people you feel supported. This person or group does not have to share your same race or ethnic background, but this will quite often be the case. This is why it is essential for you to get out of your office or traditional academic environment, especially if you are in an underrepresented discipline or role. Please don’t allow the drain of racial battle fatigue to isolate you. You need the strength that only comes from a community of supportive people.

These tips will not make facial battle fatigue go away. It’s quite likely that as you advance in your career that it may become more frequent, especially if you work in an underrepresented discipline or for some reason have to move to an environment that is multiculturally incompetent or biased. I hope these suggestions help you to feel healthier, grow where you are planted, and shine light and encouragement to others in your path that face the same. And go ahead, why not bang a little Kendrick for some inspiration while you’re at it!