Podcast: The Experience of Black Social Media Managers with Christina Roach and Victor Henderson


Christina Roach Digital Content Officer City of Dallas, TX LinkedIn \| Twitter	Victor Henderson Communications Specialist North Central Texas Council of Governments LinkedIn \| Twitter

“Y’all, I’m hurt.” Christina Roach, Digital Content Officer for the City of Dallas, Texas, and Victor Henderson, Communications Specialist for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, joined the podcast to talk about what it’s like working in communications right now. They shared what they deal with as black government social media managers and managing social feeds with nonstop reminders of unjust and lethal treatment of people of color. They discussed how coworkers can be supportive and what led them to share their experience in a post to other government communicators.

Host: Kirsten Wyatt

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The post shared by Christina and Victor:

Y’all, I’m hurt.

TLDR: Please be considerate of the persons of color in this group when you post.

I am a government social media communicator, yes, but I am a black woman first. Watching videos such as that of the officer in Minneapolis is painful. It’s traumatizing. I think sometimes this group forgets that.

Government communicators of color are constantly exposed to videos of people who look like us whose lives are taken on camera and have to continue to do the same work we do each day like nothing is wrong. We’re in a perpetual state of shock, grief and anger but have to put all of that away because we serve the people and there is work to be done.

Still, it feels like we can’t turn to this group for support. Imagine watching a traumatizing video of a man who looks like your father, brother or cousin being robbed of his breath and life and coming to this group and seeing other communicators — who can more easily escape this narrative, even if for a period of time, by simply logging off — talk about needing a beer.

It hurts. Honestly. Our community is in pain. That family is in pain.

Our jobs are hard. We all deal with trolls, difficult coworkers and bosses and being overworked. But some of us do this while black. In our professional lives, the racist comments online, the insensitive interactions and mounting pressures to perform during a time when our health and financial security are even less certain adds even more stress. In our personal lives, we see our brothers and sisters killed and wonder if today is the day going for a walk or jog around the neighborhood will get us killed because of the color of our skin. There is no break for us.

If I can make one request from all of this, it’s compassion. As communicators who have already been dealing with quite a bit these past few months, the cases of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery hit even harder than usual. I recognize the work you do is tough, but understand that some members of this group live with far more weight on their shoulders than a hard job.

I feel like I can be honest with you all, so I’m putting all of my feelings out there. I hope you will receive it well.