When you look at a little Black girl what do you see? How many times have you heard of a little Black girl being referred to as fast? Be honest. Do you see innocence or do you see someone who is sneaky, automatically capable of taking care of herself or even of someone else? Before you answer, it has been found that adults in the United States see little Black girls as less innocent and more adult like than their white peers, especially those ages 5 to 14 years old.

Denise, a top performer in the Marketing department of her Fortune 500 company, is every Manager’s dream. Despite this, there are days when she experiences microaggressions that make her question how she is “seen” at work. Black women maintain their sanity by constantly negating the impact of microaggressions and reminding themselves that they worked hard to get to where they are professionally and deserve to be there.

The act of caring for others and taking on their duties is common in the African-American community. This type of socialization is often demonstrated at home by a female authority figure, such as a mother, grandmother or aunt. Young Black girls who are exposed to this behavior often replicate it in adulthood. Because they do not want to disappoint others, they struggle with feelings of guilt should they say no.