A Black woman in Tennessee is claiming she faced racial discrimination while interviewing for a research assistant position at a Nashville medical college. She shared her experience on TikTok, detailing how poorly the interviewers had allegedly treated her despite her having a master’s degree in biology. She included “Interviewing while Black” in her caption, making it clear that she believed her race had played a role in the experience.
The incident sparked outrage among netizens, though many couldn’t agree on whether racial bias had indeed played a role or if her appearance may have influenced how the interviewers perceived her.
According to the woman, she was invited for the interview after submitting her resume. However, from the moment she arrived, she said she immediately got the impression that the interviewers had not been expecting someone who looked like her.
“From the second I walked up to the interviewer, I could tell that I was not what he was expecting,” the woman said. “Cause I was like, hey, do you have an interview today? And he was like, yeah. And then we stood there for a second and I was like, that’s me. I’m the one you’re interviewing. He was like, oh.”
It didn’t get any less awkward once she went inside his office. She claimed another man who was also there to interview her looked as though he were trying not to laugh and had a “huge smile” plastered across his face. Still, she decided to ignore the uncomfortable start and push through with the interview.
Interviewer Questions Her Scientific Research Experience
The woman said one of the first things she was asked was whether she had ever read a scientific text. Given her master’s degree in biology, the question completely threw her off.
After she responded that she had, the interviewer reportedly told her to go home, look over the research group’s papers, and decide whether the position was still something she would be interested in. However, when she asked whether he wanted her to read a particular paper, she said he gave her another task. “I wanna see if you can find it first,” she recalled him saying.
Despite her shock at having her research skills tested in that way, she assured the interviewer that she was indeed very confident in her ability to use Google.
The woman said that after she got home, she did more than simply find the paper. She read the entire thing and sent the interviewer a summary via email to show that she could both locate and understand the research.
She then waited for a response. After a few days of hearing nothing back, she decided to return to the office herself, and that’s when she discovered they were still interviewing several other applicants.
The woman said she had left the original interview believing that finding and reading the paper was essentially her next step in the process. She had even gone beyond what was asked by sending a summary to prove that she could understand the research. So when she received no response and later discovered that interviews with other candidates were still underway, she felt like she had simply been sent away rather than seriously considered for the position.
Netizens React to the Tennessee Woman’s Experience
In the comments under the post, several netizens agreed with the woman’s belief that she had faced racial discrimination, with many particularly baffled by the tasks she was given.
“Having a masters degree in biology and being asked can you read scientific text is CRAZY!” one person said. Another claimed, “This was hazing as much as it was racial bias… Whoever did this to you needs to face consequences.” A third commented, “Sounds like they never wanted to hire you, it was just a game for them!” A fourth remarked, “I’m sorry baby the way they treat us is disgusting.”
Some urged her to take the matter further. “You can’t just deal with this. You have to report them to the EEOC and contact their HR department,” a commenter advised. Another suggested, “They should be sued for discrimination.”
At the same time, other viewers weren’t convinced that race was necessarily the reason for the treatment she described. Instead, some wondered whether the bright red braids she was wearing in the video could have influenced how the interviewers perceived her.
“Its the hair color luv not to take their side but I work with a person that goes over resumes and do interviews hair color and hair styles play a huge part when being interviewed,” one person said. Someone else chimed in, “The Braids are always a NO for us for interviews.”
Whatever the reason for the way the interview unfolded, the woman doesn’t seem prepared to simply forget about the experience. In an update, she said she had already contacted her lawyer about what happened and was now waiting to hear back about what her next steps should be.
