Black Google Employee Gets Security Called On Him, Now Others Are Sharing Their Stories Of Discrimination

October 1, 2021, 1:51 pm*

Angel Onuoha, associate product manager at Google and recent graduate of Harvard University, recently tweeted about a harrowing, humiliating experience of racism on the Google campus. While Onuoha was riding his bike on campus, security stopped him. Allegedly a currently unidentified Google staff member had called them. 

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Riding my bike around Google’s campus and somebody called security on me because they didn’t believe I was an employee. Had to get escorted by two security guards to verify my ID badge

— Angel Onuoha (@angelonuoha7) September 20, 2021

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Despite Onuoha having a badge and, you know, actually working for Google, security didn’t believe him, so they took away his badge and kicked him out. The prolonged ordeal caused Onuoha to miss his bus ride home.

A lot of people keep DM’ing me asking for the full story…

They ended up taking my ID badge away from me later that day and I was told to call security if I had a problem with it. And that was after holding me up for 30 minutes causing me to miss my bus ride home https://t.co/UBzHDC1ugG

— Angel Onuoha (@angelonuoha7) September 22, 2021

Through a spokesperson, Google issued a statement that they are taking Onuoha’s “concerns very seriously.” They added that they have contacted him about the incident. 

“We learned that the employee was having issues with his badge due to an administrative error and contacted the reception team for help,” Google’s spokesperson elaborated. “After they were unable to resolve the issue, the security team was called to look into and help resolve the issue. […] Our goal is to ensure that every employee experiences Google as an inclusive workplace and that we create a stronger sense of belonging for all employees.”

Many on Twitter shared similar experiences and concerns, and offered Onuhoa their support. 

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These experiences are upsetting but unfortunately not terribly surprising, given that last year Black Google employees said publicly that they were unhappy with Google’s treatment of them, as well as with the company’s lack of support for the anti-racism demonstrations that swept the USA.

According to recent polls, 25% of Black workers have faced discrimination on the job in the past year. Many people of color have also experienced complicated situations while working from home during the pandemic, including micro-aggressions and pressure to hide their cultural and ethnic identities from co-workers.

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*First Published: October 2, 2021, 7:00 am