Understanding Code Switching Within Race Relations

While listening to a segment of Fresh Air with Terry Gross and guest, Kerry Washington they were discussing the Hulu show that aired in 2020, ‘Little Fires Everywhere’. And in that segment, Kerry Washington, who is a Black actress, was expressing that if the interview was conducted by a Black host, she would be more relaxed in her speech saying expressions such as, “know what I’m saying,” and, ‘you feel me.’ Kerry mentioned that when she was on the phone speaking with her cousins, her speech and dialect and grammar changed, more relaxed and familiar. It was a small ode to how Black people feel a sort of pressure to code switch when in the presence of white people, especially in professional settings. And Too often, there is a distinct expectation placed on Black people. Black people have felt the weight and continue to feel the weight of having negative stereotypes placed upon their intelligence. Too often in the workplace, Black people have been seen as less intelligent, or less capable than their peers until they prove otherwise. it was a small ode to how Black people feel a sort of pressure to code switch when in the presence of white people, especially in professional settings.

 So, let’s talk about Code Switching. What exactly is it?

Code Switching is when a person (usually a person in an underrepresented group) adjusts the way that they talk depending on cultural context. It usually applies to speaking but it can also apply to other behaviors such as changes in their appearance or expressions, known as behavioral code switching. These changes to their speech or appearance are done in order to fit in to the more dominant culture, and in this podcast, I’m speaking of white culture. And this discussion is regarding what some Black people do around White people. And I say some because not all Black people are code switching when they speak in a more proper manner. There are Black people who were raised around mostly white if not all white people. They were educated by white teachers and their lived experiences included a dominant presence of white people and their culture.

So, why do some Black people feel the pressure to Code Switch?

There can be a variety of reasons. The most common reason is and has been to make white people feel comfortable or to fit in to the dominant society. For example, you may see a Black person, especially a Black man, expressing behavioral code switching because there is a stigma that has been placed on Black men as being aggressive and intimidating. So when code switching, he may speak in a more upbeat pleasant tone around white people so that he doesn’t appear intimidating or aggressive thereby making them feel more comfortable in his presence.

 When it comes to Black women, especially in professional settings, you may see some swallow their righteous anger regarding a microaggression experienced or any other racial situation that may have occurred where they had every right to be angry, but didn’t because of the stereotype of being labeled, ‘the angry Black woman’. So, there may be a dismissal of calling out the situation or they may adjust their tone or body language so as to not appear angry.

Want to learn more? Tune in to our latest episode, Episode 05: Pass The Grey PouPon..Pass The Courvoisier: Understanding Code Switching Within Race Relations HERE