They Wanted Me for My Blackness. Then the Calls Stopped.

For a little while there, I became very interesting. Not more accomplished, so far as I could tell, and certainly not more experienced. I had not added a degree, been instrumental in a startup’s exit, written a bestseller or otherwise improved my LinkedIn profile in a way that would account for the increased attention. What had appreciated, apparently, was my Blackness—the same Black man, suddenly trading at a premium. The flattering interpretation was that I had finally been discovered, while…