Dr. Misee Harris — a pediatric dentist best known as the “Black Bachelorette” — was harassed and forced to resign from her dental practice after showing outspoken support for slain teen Michael Brown and the Ferguson, Missouri protesters.
Prior to her voicing her concern on her private Facebook account about what was going on in Ferguson, Dr. Harris was beloved and respected by staff and patients at the dental practice where she had been offered a partnership.
From Black Girl Nerds:
On Thursday, September 4th, Dr. Misee Harris (the Black Bachelorette) was called into an unannounced meeting at the dental practice where she has worked as a Pediatric Dentist and was recently offered a partnership in the practice. Dr. Harris, the sole African American dentist in the practice, has worked tirelessly with underprivileged young patients on Medicaid to ensure their smiles remain healthy, and the quality of Dr. Harris’s work has never been called into question. Once in the meeting, Dr. Harris was ambushed and presented with screenshots from her private Facebook page. Being that Misee had blocked work colleagues from accessing her account, it was explained to Misee that a doctor who is a partner at the office, and who led the meeting, had been having a friend spy on Misee’s Facebook page. Screenshots were taken of Misee’s Facebook posts and were sent to the doctor who led the meeting. Misee was then told that some of her Facebook posts about recent racial issues in America were ?unprofessional.? The biggest bone of contention to the partners was a cartoon (see graphic below) related to the recent police murders of several innocent African-Americans across the nation. The partner held up the picture and asked Misee ?Do you think we (meaning Misee’s white colleagues) are all like this??
A shocked Dr. Harris composed herself before asking the doctor who was leading the meeting if she had any idea what was going on in black America. She was astonished to learn that the woman didn’t even know Michael Brown’s name. The offending doctor?also seemed to think it was totally OK to attack Dr. Harris based on her personal views. Dr. Harris was then informed that she would have to choose between her “style of social media communication” and her position as a pediatric dentist in that practice.
The choice was easy for Dr. Harris, as it would be for any principled person.
She nailed it with this statement:
?It is as though the partners at my former dental practice believe that a black person who has made it to success in a white-dominated field like dentistry is expected to show gratitude and humility, and to ?act white.
This is the image that offended the other dentists and staff in the practice.
Dr. Harris was the only African American dentist in the practice. She worked tirelessly with underprivileged children who receive Medicaid and need dental care. I don’t think she’ll have trouble finding a new job. Offers have been pouring in.
You can show her your support to Dr. Harris on Twitter or Facebook. She wants to go public with this story because she is passionate about empowering black women, many of whom have suffered similar indignities in the workplace. Let’s help her?make her story go viral.
