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First, Happy New Year to all!
@ Soror Prayerfull: As another poster asked, have you made it a point to speak to this person? I often amaze myself by how I get "hainkty" about someone not speaking to me, for whatever reasons I have imagined in my head, when I generally don't bother to speak to them either. I say, make it a point to speak, be pleasant, and move on.
Not all black people are raised to believe that we "owe" each other special camaraderie by virtue of our shared skin color. I say shared skin color because, as you can attest, we don't all share the same upbringing, and we don't even share the same feelings about our common origins (i.e., feelings about Africa, slavery, discrimination and how we react to it). Hell, our ancestors and brothers in sisters in Mother Africa herself have never, ever agreed upon fraternalization based on skin color. And in many cases, common culture, language or religion isn't enough to warrant "sticking together." Many of us may feel that because of the experience of the Maafa and its long-lasting effects, we "should" want to band together because of our shared history of pain and oppression because of our skin color, but I don't think we can assume that.
Generally, I try to approach black co-workers in the same professional manner I would anyone else, and if they give off a brotherly/sisterly vibe, then I'll roll with that. If they don't, no skin off my nose; they just get filed in the "cordial and no more" file.
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