From Au Bon Pain to the White House: Here’s how code-switching impacts Black workers

In her new book, ‘Undiplomatic,’ former White House social secretary Deesha Dyer shares the story of her career.

My first food service job was at age 17 in the mall at the sandwich bakery Au Bon Pain. It was there that I started to understand the ways in which my identity as a Black woman was weaponized in the workplace. I was closing the shift with the store manager and another worker when it was realized that money in the register didn’t add up to the orders we had taken in from customers. As I was wiping the counters off with the very strong bleach rag we used, I could sense someone was standing close to me.