University to hold online event exploring if ‘professionalism’ is a ‘racial construct’

Washington University in Missouri announced it will hold an hour-long online event titled “Is Professionalism a Racial Construct?”

The presenters will explore how the ideals of professionalism, including what is considered professional hair, clothing, language, and everyday interactions have been defined without the consideration of non-white cultures and backgrounds in mind.

The presentation will examine how these and other notions of professionalism have, over the years, been used to “silence and marginalize people of color, when attributes of appearance, language or interactions that have nothing to do with job knowledge or constructive collegial relationships are labeled as ‘unprofessional.’

The event will feature speakers Jewel D. Stafford, Assistant Dean for Field Education Teaching Professor, and Cynthia D. Williams, Assistant Dean for Community Partnerships.

Both teach at the Univerisity’s Brown School, a “special community where our faculty, staff, students and alumni are encouraged to be agents of change” and are “committed to creating new knowledge to counter the effects of systemic oppression and racism to build a more just and equitable world.”

The event will kick off the University’s month-long series of presentations and events for Black History Month and will begin on February 1.