Justin said
I have been working with my current employer from about six months now and I've noticed at times, my supervisor( an old white gentleman) will make racial remarks such as:When we were speaking about the African-American gentleman I was replacing he said:"I told Mark he'd have to pick up a mirror because that would be the only black face he'd see in Iowa.."When I was working on a loan application for a crematorium he said:"Is this guy African-American?" "If so, he needs to do more competitive reseach because down here in the South, blks and whites just don't get buried next to one another."Those are just two extreme examples I've come across is such a short amount of time. I've spoken to his boss about the matter and was told to confront him about the issue, make note about the conversation, then speak to the folks in HR. From my understanding, this has happened before, and of course, nothing has changed. Some have told me to tolerate it but how can you? What would you do?What would you do? How would you handle this situation?

got_LECHE said
Step 1: talk to the person you are having trouble withStep 2: if problem persists, talk to that person's supervisorStep 3: if problem still persists, talk to HRStep 4: if problem still persists, you can choose to either take it even higher, tolerate it, or quit.

dear_babim said
If you can find another job do so, or talk to him in private and tell him you feel offended by his remarks, but one way or the other he needs to learn that is inappropriate anywhere at any time but esp in the workplace where it is actually illegal and is considered verbal abuse and harassment. If you were to call the ACLU and NAACP he would find himself in court in 2 seconds.

Angel said
you're not suppose to tolerate it you're suppose to report it as much as you can until they get the message. my HR and other administrators went over this during orientation with us. i would confront your boss and ask him if he has a problem with your skin color, or ask him WHY he says stuff like that.

PharaohKJ said
unfortunately some parts of the south have not evolved much since the civil war. i would not try to tell an old southern white guy what to think cause you may end up fired even though he's totally wrong. you can't change some people. that's probably how he was raised.

Antonio said
i'd quit. or if there's someone you can report it to, do that.

Adrian said
He might be trying to be humorous-- but in a professional setting, anyone should tread carefully, and be very cautious that they don't offend anyone. If this persists quite often, you need to seriously talk to someone in HR about this.

Blake said
i would go up to him and say "your mums black"then smack him in the face :Dbut im only 13

Ryan said
As a black person, I feel qualified to tell you that, actually, what he said was the truth, it wasn't racist. There aren't a lot of black people in Iowa, and blacks and whites don't get buried next to each other in the south. Trust me, my family's from the south, and even though the cemeteries aren't officially segregated anymore, you still have whites buried in one area and blacks in another. Also, my aunt's late husband was from Iowa (he was white), and when she went to visit him there, there were very few blacks around. Just because it was a white man that said it, doesn't make it any less true! If he's said other things that were racist, then you have a very difficult issue here, but if that's a good example of what he's said, then you're being way overly sensitive.As far as reporting, it sounds like you've done things the way you were supposed to, but did you ever speak to him? It's hard when it's your boss, but maybe you can let him know how uncomfortable his remarks make you and if there are other coworkers who share your feelings, maybe you should all say something together.

Gavin said
Im black and it sadens me to know the dudes general thought of an african american is ignorance or inability to think or reason. I do beleive timing is every thing, i think you should have responded intelegently in the urgency of that particular moment because you would have that fire to let him know your thoughts of what he said at that time verses doing it later but i do think the professional thing to do is notify your superiors.I do beleive there was hint of truth in what he said refering to geographical locations but the humar and sarcasim isnt enough to cover what came out his mouth. whats in the heart comes out the mouth.

powlol said
Obviously he thinks he is being funny. The best way to handle this would be to (obviously) not laugh. Don't reply at all. Focus on the work you have at hand, and through repetition of this behavior hopefully your boss will realize that no one appreciates his rude comments.If you'd like to take a more immediate plan of action, contact someone a little higher up on the food chain, and let them know what is going on. Hopefully they'll have enough grace to discuss this with your boss personally. Or, get together with the other workers who think this is outrageous, write an anonymous note stating how unacceptable this behavior is, and leave it on his desk.Good luck. Hope this helps!