About this series: Sincerely, Leaders of Color is written for everyone in the journalism industry who cares about creating a more supportive environment for journalists of color to do their best work. Have a question for the team? Drop it here and watch for it in a future column.

I’m not a historian, linguist, or pop culture pro. But I have been on the receiving end of puzzled looks and shady comments when I question what classic songs, artists or shows my colleagues are referring to.

Friends, I am here to issue a reminder that not all of us grew up in the same culture. As we work on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in newsrooms, we need to understand that some language or references can be alienating for people who don’t have similar career paths or life experiences.

I didn’t grow up watching “The Brady Bunch” or listening to Bon Jovi. (I have yet to watch Golden Girls 😬.) My parents and I came to this country in the early ‘90s, and we were on survival mode well into my teens. I also grew up Christian and the car radio was always set to worship songs or news radio that brought traffic updates (because, you know, L.A.). I discovered my definition of culture after we got cable and became glued to MTV and MTV3 for hours — AMA about mid-2000s reggaetón.

My experience as a gay immigrant in this country has pushed me to learn two worlds — what I’ve chosen to take in as my culture and the “mainstream.”

I’ve seen other BIPOC journalists point to similar alienating experiences on Twitter. We’ve also exchanged glances at news meetings when we can’t untangle certain references. And during this WFH situation, it hasn’t been easy to read the room like it was before. We have googled furiously to understand what our colleagues meant.

It’s tiring. It feels like we, people of color, are being othered.

As I grew in my career, I began to question why we speak like this: Who defines what is well known? Why is it a thing? When does our workplace language become inclusive?

Inclusive language “acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities,” according to the Linguistic Society of America.

(+ If you’re not already doing this in your coverage plans, headlines and share lines, then not quite sure what you’re doing!)

I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had supportive mentors, colleagues and friends. They’ve always gut-checked me and told me to trust my voice. It took a bit, but I now ask, “Who is that, what does that mean, what are you referring to?” Some journalists may not feel they have the space to ask these questions though.

This column is for them.

• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook