It was the night of April 17, 1989 in Little Rock, Arkansas. A young lower-class black male named Buck got accepted to a job in an office or a corporation company. He was extremely ecstatic, as he grew up in a poor neighborhood with a family that made little money and obtained fewer opportunities. So, when he got the job to help him and his family financially, it was great for the family. His dad was an Amazon worker, and his mom was a fast food employee. They both made minimum wage and didn’t get a lot of income. They lived off of food benefits like SNAP and used Medicaid. In this economy, they could feel the economic burden that so many black and brown people face on a daily basis. So, this office job that paid well really supported the family. This job was an opportunity for Buck to move up the social ladder; a chance to climb up away from poverty that far too many people of color face. 

The next day, it was his first day at work. Some of his co-workers like Connor, Michael, and CJ welcomed him with open arms and made him feel welcome. They talked and tasted the smooth chocolaty doughnuts and that rich decadent Cuban coffee. Others who worked with Buck, however, did not like the fact that a black and lower-class male was working in such a high-class environment. They viewed Buck as a “ghetto,” “unprofessional,” and “uneducated” individual despite the fact that he has a degree from the University of Washington. They didn’t like him in this work environment. They thought that his presence would lower the branding and the reputation of the company. They believed that they could smell the poor and dirtiness that they thought Buck brought.

Betsy and Timmy were the most notorious Buck haters. They began discussing how they despised Buck.

“He looks like a criminal,” said Betsy. 

“His presence makes me feel threatened,” said Timmy.

The next day, they saw the messiness and the slope of Buck’s shirt, as he ate saucy barbeque before he came to work. Betsy, being the Karen that she was, decided to ask Buck if he had murdered someone because she saw a ketchup stain on his shirt. Buck was astonished and said, “No, I ate barbeque.” Betsy was not having it and immediately told her manager Chuck. Chuck, being the simp that he was for Betsy, of course sided with her. He then later despised Buck and thought that their boss was crazy for hiring Buck. Chuck believed that Buck murdered someone and wanted to put him jailed. Even though Buck did nothing wrong, he was persecuted, which is the case for many innocent black men. Buck’s evil coworkers would continue to taunt, frame, or sabotage Buck from doing his work. It also didn’t help that Chuck was supervising Buck 24/7 to see how well he was performing. Chuck turned a blind eye to everyone else, but when Buck did something small, Chuck made a whole big deal out of it. His nice coworkers didn’t know what was going on, so Buck felt alone. He felt as if no one was beside him. Buck, however, was a fighter and kept on going. He learned to deal with it. He just powered through the days trying to think that they would go by fast when, in reality, they ran so slowly. 

One day, a white female coworker made a false sexual assault accusation towards Buck. She was making false accusations that Buck was inappropriately touching her consistently in hopes that she could frame him to make him go to jail. Buck was really enraged. He did not abuse or touch anyone, but his female coworker who didn’t like him was framing him for something he didn’t even do. His entire world fell apart, and his mood changed to a pillow of darkness. He became sad and as blue as the moon.

Buck responded and fought back; he told his boss about everything. The boss gave Buck one chance and investigated. Buck then later revealed what Chuck and the evil coworkers were doing. News spread quickly, and the good coworkers quickly stood behind Buck’s side. Without any hesitation, the boss fired the female coworker and Chuck. The bad coworkers didn’t get fired but were punished. The boss was nice enough to give Buck time off to recover through the things he had gone through, and when he returned to work, he was given more benefits. He needed more time to reflect on himself and enjoy life for what it is. 

His pals Connor, Michael, and CJ were there to comfort him. When Buck needed time off to recover mentally they gave him emotional support. The day after the incident, CJ and Buck conversed. 

“How are you, Buck?”

“How are you? I have been doing better.”

“I’m well. We miss having you though.”

“Yeah, I will be back next week. I still can’t believe what Chuck, Betsy, and that nasty white girl put me through. It was so bad.”

“Yeah, I feel you.”

So, Buck returned to work later that week, and to his full surprise, there was a welcome back party waiting for him. A beam of brightness shone on Buck as his friends and co-workers cheered him on back to his way to work. At last, Buck was finally at peace. But he knew that so many other Black Americans face racial profiling and implicit bias on a regular basis. Although the fight for his life might be momentarily over, there are so many others like him who still live with what he had to go through.