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Black figure with white face in a catchers stance on red and black background with white and black hands rolling up the fabric at the top and bottom of the piece

You’re Not a Team Player

Moteniola Ogundipe

Mixed media textile

Undergraduate
“You’re Not a Team Player” is a piece that explores the microaggressive notion prevalent in academic and professional settings that a Black woman’s silence is a negative reflection of her attitude. “Silence as rage” is what I’ve coined this phenomenon. As someone who’s experienced this, I know that deviation from traditionally social environments is seen as a punishable act that leads to isolation or other consequences. Silence can be extremely loud and a political act of self-preservation that holds cultural significance to those who operate on the outside of society's ideal standards.