A new Hulu series based on the novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris examines the horror of being Black at work.
The plot can get a bit unwieldy throughout the course of its 10 episodes, and there are some tone issues , but the show is as timely as its source material in the wake of a so-called racial reckoning that, among other discourse, brought to light the inequities that Black and other employees of color face at predominantly White companies.
“The Other Black Girl” might sound triggering for those who know the experience of being Black in a predominantly White office or industry. But the show is clever in its sendup of those homogenous environments and never feels like an outsider’s guide to tokenism. In one early scene, a White editor breezily notes that “Hazel mentors underprivileged students up in Harlem.” “We use the term opportunity-challenged,” Hazel says without missing a beat. “Our job is to embolden them beyond their circumstances.” It’s not inconsequential that there are Black women at the helm of the series: Harris, who adapted her own novel for television; executive producer Rashida Jones, who co-wrote the first episode with Harris; and showrunner Danielle Henderson. The realities of being Black at work haven’t been widely explored on television. Notable exceptions include Issa Rae’s “Insecure,” in which Rae’s protagonist struggles through her aimless underemployment at a nonprofit geared toward Black and Latino youth. “The Other Black Girl” is about publishing, but Hollywood doesn’t go unchecked in a story that centers Black women and offers multiple Black actresses dynamic lead roles. When Garcelle Beauvais shows up asDiana Gordon, you get the sense that she has more to do here than in most of the other unscripted roles she’s held since breaking out in the late 1980s.“The Other Black Girl” reflects a workplace culture that quietly tolerates discrimination. The show comes as some corporations that stumbled over themselves to hop on the diversity-and-inclusion train have quietly let go of the executives they hired to hold them accountable. Black women still work in environments where they are told to be confident and that consistently undervalue their talent, expertise and financial worth. “The Other Black Girl” zeroes in on the absurdity of it all, but also the complexities.
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