There are so many offices open for business today. So many workers with so much to say. But having been in a black office, quite often at the start of the day, matters are discussed like the latest fashion and the best soirée. But then they wonder why someone opens the door and sends them away.
There is a cultural notion that we have been able to hide, one that reminds us of Tyler Perry and what he lays open wide — the cousins we don’t want to claim and the friends who work at places where they have to refrain, will appreciate that the show “The Black Office” is coming soon. The show will have you pondering concepts like coon versus buffoon.
Like the computer program or the Web program that disappears for a couple of days, and then reappears all nice and sweet and in the kindest of ways, comes back with a smile that hadn’t been there for a while, in search of a check. Or maybe just checking to see, if they are welcomed in the office, so they inquire eagerly. Or to be the brother who has the clothes that he does wear and each day there is a new stain or a tear — as if he didn’t know. But he smiles in your face and asks “Can I go?” He even wonders if he can attend, a VIP event and start a new trend. There he’ll be with the coffee stain of two or three days and then smile at you as though he has professional ways.
It’s “The Black Office,” that’s the one, where Joe is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the rest of the week he does not come. For only a short while can he stay, because in actuality he does not get that much pay, and he’s been interning for seven years, still waiting to take it all the way. Joe is paid sometimes with fruit in the morning and lunch at noon, but he’ll never be full-time — how inopportune?
And then there are those black office meetings, where you attend and meet with a person who has a black face, but the truth is that it is not their place. And they always hope that you won’t introduce ideas that they will have to erase, from the minds of their white contemporaries who are running the rat race. They watch with intensity, and think, “Oh don’t you dare, come in here and cause a scare, with the things that you say and that Afro hair that you wear!” Or have your pants sagging and want a check, check yourself and have some self-respect. That’s the sense of decorum that we have each day, and then we wonder why things don’t always go our way.
But we smile and we dance and we have fun, too, frantically wondering what should we do. So whether you are small cog in the wheel or a big player — just get a clue! There are always dynamics in “The Black Office” that ring true.
We hope that you will appreciate the soul of the “Black Office” as it comes your way, and hopefully, you won’t think the characters are too much at play. The aim is not to make viewers sad, our intent is to make you happy, lift your spirits and make you glad.
Peace.
Munson Steed
