OP here. WRT the question about lawsuits, both individuals thought (rightly) that they had more to lose professionally than gain financially.
I put the question to Whites because I have a sense that there is a need to have PROOF that the person's racial opinions DIRECTLY caused the job loss, or under-performance. I am certain that most minorities (and women) would know how difficult working with such racists (sexists) can be.

OP, I would say yes.

I hate to tell you this, but my FIL works for a large company and he experiences racism on a daily basis. Because he is WHITE. His superiors are all minorities and they spend their days making my FIL feel like garbage. There is nothing he can do about it. This is a man that does not have a racist bone in his body. His DD married an african american and they have three children he adores. It goes both ways sometimes. I hope everyone tries to raise their children not to see race.

I admit the topic line caught my eye so clicked on it. I worked in an office and didn't see any racial tension. Then a colleague I worked closely w/ was not promoted and I was. She's black and I'm white. I felt there were many reasons my performance was better. I was working w/ another black woman who I felt was qualified for a promotion - and she'd earned it long before I noticed. It was easy for me to work in this environment when I focused on myself. Yes, one or two individuals in power can poison the whole environment.

jsteele wrote:In response to the specific question asked, "Can a couple of racist individuals in an organization prevent minorities from functioning at their best" (paraphrasing a bit), I would say that based on my experience, minorities could still function at their best, but that their performance would not be fairly evaluated. Their failures would be magnified and their successes minimized. Meanwhile, the exact opposite would happen with non-minorities. The result is that two minority employees are fired for cause while a non-minority whom you describe as "professionally incompetent" keeps her job.

Agree. Why did the woman not report the person for voicing racist views? She may have been obligated to do so.

In response to the specific question asked, "Can a couple of racist individuals in an organization prevent minorities from functioning at their best" (paraphrasing a bit), I would say that based on my experience, minorities could still function at their best, but that their performance would not be fairly evaluated. Their failures would be magnified and their successes minimized. Meanwhile, the exact opposite would happen with non-minorities. The result is that two minority employees are fired for cause while a non-minority whom you describe as "professionally incompetent" keeps her job.

OP, I can't understand why people can't step back and look at the big picture in cases where there's pretty obvious wrongdoing, too. That is, until I find myself doing the same thing. It's an inconvenient truth for your friend, apparently, so she's reacting in the time-honored (dishonorable) way.

Why are you directing this question to "Whites," by the way? This isn't an issue whose existence doesn't poison the lives of "Whites." Racism is sick behavior and it hurts everyone. By addressing this question only to "Whites," do you realize that it at least appears you're making some assumptions about us that are, in fact, racist?

You don't provide details, so who knows if there were legitimate reasons or not for firing your friend's co-workers. You suspect not, and possibly you're right. If so, your spineless friend is just as blameworthy as the racists. She may have feared for her job security if she spoke out, but she took further steps and tried to justify their firing by spreading information discrediting these employees to you, her friend, and possibly other people, as well. If this is what happened, then she may be "nice," but she has moral issues.

Nothing has happened to HER to put her in a place of introspection. If SHE lost her job because of race, she'd understand and be angered by the situation. Sometimes fear puts you in a place of believing what you have to in order to survive or keep your own job....I think that would be the same as being in denial. Had she stepped up to defend the individuals that were fired, she may have risked her own job in a not-so-good economy.

As far as your question about poisoning the work place with attitude....I think you'll get a variety of answers. Some people thrive on the challenge of "proving you wrong" and performing amazingly well, despite the obstacles. Others feel the negativity and can't handle it. Others might use the poisoned environment as a reason not to try. Either way, if it doesn't work for that individual, it is up to them to change their situation. That includes all walks of life, not just dark-skinned individuals.

I'm black and would never work (or continue to work) for a company/individual that displayed racist views.

I agree with the PPs that rely on the individual. You have a responsibility to improve your own performance, or remove yourself from a situation where you don't feel you can perform at your best.

He may be racist but at the end of the day we are all responsible for our own actions and choices. Friend may be looking out for her own best interests....

Anonymous wrote:Correlation does not imply causation. He can be a racist and still fire them for cause.

This. It's a slippery slope to just assume that they were fired only because they were black. Among other things, if they were fired for this reason, that would leave the company and this man open to a lawsuit for wrongful termination/discrimination. He would have to be able to show some evidence as to why he felt justified in firing them.

As to wether his attitude made them perform less than their best? It's certainly possible, but if I were in a situation like that, I would not wait to be fired. Operating under management that has clearly racist views, enough so that if was affecting my work negatively, would not be a tenable situation for me.

Correlation does not imply causation. He can be a racist and still fire them for cause.

Lots of things can make people not function at their best. And I would assume racism would be one of those things

Sometime ago a friend mentioned that the head of a group of professionals was a very racist man, as he confided in her and had some outbursts that labeled him as such. Later, that man ended up firing two African Americans on his staff and admitted that he liked one Asian man because he "knew his place". At that time, the woman he confided in said that the discharge of the two individuals had nothing to do with race, but the circumstances that surrounded their cases had a lot to do with professional failure. She by the way was a very open nice person, but professionally incompetent.

Here is my question: If an organization or corporation has one or two extremely racist individuals, can those people poison the environment to the point that the minorities can not function at their best?
Simple question.

I can not figure out why this woman could not step back and look at the big picture, but rather details about who did what...thus according to her, it was not about race.