According to a recent report, more than 20 black White House officials have left the Biden administration since late last year, called Blaxit by some.
Although some of the outgoing workers have left on good terms to seek other professional or educational options, others have blamed the turnover on a lack of mentoring and opportunity, according to nine black current and former White House officials who were interviewed on Tuesday.
“We’re here and doing a lot of work,” one current employee told the publication, “but we’re not decision-makers and there’s no real path to becoming decision-makers. There is no genuine feedback, and no clear path to any kind of advancement.”
They first brought in a large number of black individuals without ever developing an infrastructure to keep them or assist them in becoming successful. Another current official stated that if there is no clear infrastructure for success, you will become just as invisible in this area as if you were not in it.
A former official acknowledged that some individuals have had bad experiences, and that a lot of it has to do with the demise of black leadership.
“Consider any workplace. Black people require someone to talk to, strategize with, and mentor them, and we just do not have as many mentors.”
In December, Vice President Kamala Harris’ senior advisor and principal spokesperson, Symone Sanders, departed to take a hosting job with MSNBC, marking the first resignation of a key black official from the administration.
Public engagement aide Carissa Smith, gender policy aide Kalisha Dessources Figures, National Security Council senior director Linda Etim, digital engagement director Cameron Trimble, associate counsel Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo, chief of staff advisers Elizabeth Wilkins and Niyat Mulugheta, press assistant Natalie Austin, National Economic Council aides Joelle Gamble and Connor Maxwell, and presidential personnel aides Joelle Gamble and Connor Maxwell are among the black White House
Deputy White House attorney Danielle Conley and Council of Economic Advisers assistant Saharra Griffin are both set to leave the administration shortly, according to White House sources.
The White House also refuted reports of a dearth of development among black employees, informing the publication that 15% of that group was promoted in the previous year. According to the research, about 14% of White House employees identify as black.
