Honestly one of the most disappointing moments of my writing career was a black, female colleague (and a former friend) who was perplexed when I asked her why she’d never used me as a work reference when she was looking for a new job. It only caught my attention because two white male employees immediately asked me to be theirs. Sometimes we don’t even have faith in our skinfolk, and that left such a bitter taste in my mouth. Fun fact: The two guys who used me as a reference got both of their jobs and one was accepted into the grad school he wanted to attend. And she’s still at the same job she absolutely hated.