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It is commonly accepted by scholars that racism and sexism are very prevalent in the United States and these systems of oppression shape our perceptions of how we live in the world. Black women make up 7% of the U.S. population yet little is known about the influence of societal and institutional racism on the development and expression of their racial identity. This information becomes significant when one considers organizations quest to build an inclusive and diverse workplace. Inclusion, however, has far too often been used to develop a homogenous workplace that values assimilation and rejects individuality and difference. As a result, Black women are pushed to satisfy others idea of who they should be and made to hide their true selves to placate the "other." This paper will present the experiences of Black women who have denied their true selves in order to survive and thrive in organizational and educational institutions.

Paper: Biculturalism, Code-Switching, and Shifting

Carol Parker Terhune, J.D., Ph.D., is a Diversity Consultant and Assistant Professor with the School of Nursing at Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Parker Terhune specializes in diversity development, group facilitation, organizational and workgroup development, and mediation. She teaches leadership, organizational barriers to diversity, and social inequality in healthcare in the MPH program at OHSU. Dr. Parker Terhune, a certified mediator, practiced employment discrimination and labor law and worked as Assistant Counsel with the National Treasury Employees Union and the Oregon Nurses Association. She holds a bachelors degree in Organizational Communication from Loyola University of Chicago, doctorate degree in Jurisprudence from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Masters degrees in Organizational and Human Development from Fielding Graduate University, has trained in the sociotechnical systems theory developed in the Tavistock model with A.K. Rice Institute, and recently completed her doctoral studies in Human and Organizational Systems with Fielding. Dr. Parker Terhune’s current interest and research is in racial identity, racial socialization, Black feminism, and overcoming systems of oppression. Specifically, she is examining the affect of living in a predominately White environment on the health, professional, and psychological well being of Black women. Recent publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Nursing Education and the Journal of Diversity and Social Justice and been accepted in the Journal of Cultural Diversity.