My mother is a huge country music fan and growing up I listened to more than my fair share of country music. One of my favorite songs was the Gambler, by Kenny Rogers. If you’ve never heard it, it is definitely worth a listen. For the sake of this conversation, I’ll post the chorus (or the hook for those of you 30 and under….):

“You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.”

That advice has saved me, more often than not. Am I a big card player? Not in the least. I am however, a Black female in America* and knowing when to hold ‘em, fold ‘em, walk away or run, can be a matter of survival. — It is worth noting that I entered school shortly after 1969, when the Supreme Court ruled that school districts must end segregation “now and hereafter.” I was in grade school during Women’s suffrage (explicitly stated as a right under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted by the United Nations in 1979.) I can remember vividly being subjected to ridicule and being labeled as having “angry Black woman” syndrome if my reaction varied from graceful tolerance.

The generation behind me can’t fully appreciate what that means and hopefully that signifies progress. We’ve come a long way, baby! Right? Then why is it, when anyone wants to talk about diversity and equality, both are still a sticky situation filled with emotion and broad generalizations?

“If you’re gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.” – The Gambler

Unless you were completely unplugged from the social media scene this week you are readily familiar with the events that happened at #PyCon and the subsequent firing of two developers. The first developer was fired by his employer, PlayHaven, for making remarks perceived as inappropriate. He was publicly “outed” by Adria Richards via a tweet, a pic, and a blog post. The second, was Ms. Richards herself, for responding to the insult in a way perceived inappropriate (said tweet, pic, and blog post) by her employer, SendGrid. Continue reading »