Thread by @JarrettHill

I remember moving cross-country and starting my first day on a job – within three weeks of learning the job even existed. I was one of three hosts on a local show.

We immediately started meetings, plotting segments. [Thread] #Everyday

That first week I, along with one of the co-hosts and my boss (two blonde white women), walked down a hall to our desks. My boss, call her Beth, turned to her right, saying to the co-host, “I knew I wanted the blonde with the sassy attitude!” affirming her.

Beth then turned her to the left, toward me, and said nothing as we all continued walking. The message received: “I didn’t want you.”

That was my first week. In a town where I knew basically no one, but her, the boss who'd interviewed me.

I went on to love and shine in my job, turning in strong numbers, supporting the local and sister teams across the country with on-air presentation ideas and files. I was innovative with the technology available. I volunteered to do other shows, collaborated, pitched ideas.

I came in to do shows I wasn’t in, covering breaking news with all our teams.

Nothing I ever did was good enough for Beth.

I thought I was trippin until *multiple* other talent and staff on the station started coming up to me asking “why is she talkin to you like that?”

I’m not one to be talked to crazy for too long, which is why it caught me off-guard. I wasn’t crazy, she was talking to me out of line.

Later, it came time for my first review, Beth sat with me and our Manager and told me I wasn’t a “team player,” that I didn’t “innovate...”

...and had poor time management. The last one was true, straight up. Whatever, lol. I wasn’t perfect, but I was very good.

The rest of that review was bullshit.

I was kind of dumbfounded when it went into my personnel file.

Then we had a big breaking story. I asked our Manager if I could jump into coverage, he said I could.

We were live, in special report, for a solid hour. I was at the board, breaking down specs, concerns, watching Twitter, taking notes, going back and forth with the anchors.

One of those days when you feel like "you did that."

Days later I got a lengthy email from Beth. It was basically a hit list of everything I’d done wrong in the recent past. It undoubtedly felt like an email you knew had gone to the Manager, to eventually try to get me fired.

I wasn’t with the shits that day and I had (well managed) the time.

I stayed after work for a solid hour, rebutting every point, verifying all information, providing linked receipts (pulling receipts is *LITERALLY* what I would soon after become famous for – hey Melania).

**If six years of debate teams taught me anything it was line-by-line refutation.**

I confidently sent the email, copying both our local and our national bosses for transparency. I went home, clear the next day was going to be shit.

I was ready. Dressed. Feelin right.

To my surprise, she never said a word about my email back. It was as if it’d never happened, never being discussed.

Months later, I got laid off, along with all my colleagues across the nation, so it wasn't personal, but...

Notably, I was the only one (also the only Black man) of the dozen+ in the country to be immediately escorted out of the building like a criminal.

My things were later brought to my home by the Manager. Never got clarity on why that was.

I went on to break the “Uh, Melania Trump is plagiarizing Michelle Obama live at the Republican Convention” story.

Later that year my local NABJ Chapter asked me to come speak about that experience.

Now you know I COULDN’T WAIT! to come back to town and visit my old job.

Every-tooth-smiling my ass off.

“Heeeeeey,” and “ooooo," and "it’s so different noooooow!”

Giving all that drama. Everyone was praising me, giving me props for breaking the story – not gonna lie, I loved every second of that shit.

Then I saw Beth.

I’ll never forget her words: “Ugh, I’m so sweaty from the gym, but give me a hug!!”

“Come again?” I fought coming out of my mouth.

She was smiling ear to ear, like we were friends, had no shitty history, and I’d just forgotten how she’d treated me so uniquely different than the rest of the team the year before.

One of the most awkward moments of my life. You treated me like T-RASH. And here you go grinnin.

After getting laid-off I had a lot of convos, with a lot of ppl from work. It was confirmed for me that there was a(nother) blonde white woman she wanted for my position. Her boss at the time made the call that I was the choice he wanted in the position.

She didn't want... me.

I’d moved 2500 miles across the country for (what I thought would be) the job of my dreams: being live on TV every single day, reporting the news.

And she didn’t want me before I even got there.

I felt that #EveryDay.