“You’re Not a Team Player” is a piece that explores the microaggressive notion prevalent in academic and professional settings that a Black woman’s silence is a negative reflection of her attitude. “Silence as rage” is what I’ve coined this phenomenon. As someone who’s experienced this, I know that deviation from traditionally social environments is seen as a punishable act that leads to isolation or other consequences.
Silence can be extremely loud and a political act of self-preservation that holds cultural significance to those who operate on the outside of society's ideal standards.
