Whiteness is a critical issue in organizational culture and power. Because White individuals define, control, and shape organizational realities, policies, and practices, people of color—African American women, in the present example—are never fully empowered. The power African American women hold is borrowed power; it can be taken away at any moment. In this article, the author discusses the sociocultural realities of her experience as an African American woman working in a predominately White institution of higher education and provides illustrations of the impermanence of her authority under the weight of whiteness. Recommendations are made for advancing HRD theory by drawing from nontraditional theoretical frameworks for explaining the realities of African American women in positions of leadership.
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