She Plays the Race Card

By Cindy Matthews

This intriguing memoir is of a black Registered Nurse, Cookie Waters, who confronted institutional racism. The burdens of unjust treatment and her concerns were made known to the administrator; the administrator baselessly accused Cookie of 'playing the race card.' This accusation seemed to have caused others to engage in overt acts of racism without fear of consequences. Her subsequent complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office did not result in any resolutions. One EEO response succinctly stated, "Same players, the same game." The memoir reveals the nurse's resilience and determination to overcome obstacles in a toxic workplace and achieve her retirement goals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BooxAi
• Release date: Jan 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9789655788648

Book preview

1

MOVING TO VICTORVILLE

Here’s how my story starts….

Being a single mother is not exactly a bed of roses. You play the roles of both parents and conquer the world while struggling for basic necessities. You often do things just to give your children a better future, which was exactly why I decided to take my children and move to Victorville. I wanted my life to change after becoming a new divorcee.

The year was 1996 when I moved to Victorville with my three children. At that time, I was an LVN, short for licensed vocational nurse. Being a nurse was my lifelong dream, and God knows how hard I struggled to achieve it. I did all that was necessary and worked tirelessly day in and day out. Coming to Victorville, I hoped to get into a Registered Nursing Program and climb the ladder of success.

Before I moved to Victorville, I worked at a facility, working long, hard hours and taking college courses. I shared my goals with a coworker, a supervising RN. I told him that in a few years, I would be a registered nurse. His response was discouraging, as he looked at me with his feet propped up on a chair, arms folded, and confidently stated, In 10 years, you'll still be a licensed vocational nurse (LVN). You'll never be an RN. Instead of letting those negative words hinder my progress, they fueled my determination. Sometimes, people's negative opinions can serve as an unexpected catalyst, pushing us to reach our full potential. Becoming a registered nurse was the next biggest thing, and Victorville seemed to be the best place to turn my dream into a reality. 

My brother Darin lived in Victorville. We had never lived no more than 10-15 miles away from each other as adults. He convinced me to move to Victorville. I made a good decision to apply to one of the best Nursing Programs in the US and be near Darin. I made an appointment with the nursing program director in Victorville; I presented my transcripts and the prerequisites that I had completed during that time. She explained that because of my GPA and LVN status, with a few more classes to complete, if I were to apply to the program, she would see that I get accepted. She had such a warm and trusting demeanor. I was sure she would keep her word. I applied, and she kept her word. I shortly received my acceptance letter.  

Soon after the acceptance, I applied at a government agency for a licensed vocational nurse and got hired. When applying, I did not have high hopes. I found out that I had been selected shortly after my interview. I felt like my career was finally picking up. I looked at my only ray of hope, my children, and folded my sleeves. It was time for me to show the world what Cookie was born to do. From the very first day, I decided to give my job all I could. To show them that I was worthy of this position and that hiring me was the best decision they could’ve taken. I spent my days juggling between taking care of my children, my education, and my job and managed it all with the help of my mother.

My mother has always been that solid rock and BFF, standing in position to give me all the support I needed to accomplish my goals. I moved to Victorville, and guess who followed? She said, Well, who’s going to get my grandchildren home safely from school when you’re working? And besides that, Darin was her only son. She wasn’t going to live too far from him. Mom became my next-door neighbor and gave me all the support I needed. During this time, I met Reggie, my husband. Reggie orchestrated a beautiful proposal for me at a restaurant, and what made it more special was the involvement of all the waitresses, who kept it a secret. As soon as I responded yes to the question, everyone erupted in applause and laughter. The journey that awaited me was daunting, but thanks to the power of prayer and the unwavering support from my husband and mom, I was able to overcome it.

Seeing the potential I showed at work, I was promoted to my job as soon as I graduated from my Registered Nursing Program. My new job title, ‘Supervising Registered Nurse,’ brought me immense joy. That day, I felt like I was finally being recognized for all that I was. My efforts seemed to bear fruit, and Victorville was finally turning out to be the right place for us. I could finally imagine a future that had no financial worries. I was very honest with my job and gave it all that I had to make sure my superiors had no complaints about me.

There was one incident I encountered as a house supervisor. I worked with a well-seasoned white floor RN who had difficulty accepting me, a new grad, being her supervisor. A new rule was implemented for the house supervisors to consolidate all calls to the providers to alleviate multiple calls. The floor nurses were aware of the rule. The nurses were to contact the house supervisor via walkie-talkie radio when they needed orders from the providers. One evening, while I was in my office, I heard a commotion in the unit. When I exited the office, I discovered the floor nurse who was struggling with my supervision had connected a resident to IV fluids, administered IM Glucagon and called the paramedics to transfer the resident to the hospital. After all her interventions, she stood over me with the resident’s chart and told me to write the orders. Wow. She wanted to let me know who was running the show, and it was not me. I tried to process what just happened. I assessed the walkie-talkie radio. It was in working condition. I asked the RN if she had attempted to contact me. She responded, No. You never notified me or the doctor, and now you want me to cover your insubordination and your unethical practice. As a new RN, I explained the situation to the director of nursing. The DON was livid! The floor RN was subsequently terminated, and the facility removed all the Glucagon injectables. Suddenly, the Glucagon was declared liable. Go figure! I thought, at that moment, that this facility was unlike any I had ever worked at.

My career was stable until one day, we were informed that a massive layoff was in the works, and several people would have to bid farewell to the agency. Instantly, my gut feeling implied that it could easily be me who would be laid off. The paradigms of people getting laid off depended on their seniority. The people who had lesser seniority were to be laid off first. Since I had been working there for five years, I tried to convince myself that the criteria did not apply to me. I am a senior and, hopefully, will not be laid off. However, the reality is often the very opposite of our thoughts. This was when I experienced discrimination for the very first time. Many people were, in fact, laid off, but it was not just based on seniority. A fellow white registered nurse, junior to me in designation and responsibilities, was allowed to keep her job while I was laid off. My gut feeling was right the whole time. I couldn’t afford to give up. I had to do something. At the time, the layoff proved to work in my favor.

We were laid off on October 31, 2003 (Halloween). Just as I was laid off, I got another job at a local acute hospital. This exposure laid the groundwork for my nursing career. As a fairly new nurse, it helped me to grow professionally and personally. There, I worked for about five years. That job was a great fit for me, and I had no complaints except that the benefits were not as good as what I was getting at the government agency, but it did pay well at the end of the day. I compromised on the benefits just because it paid well enough.

My husband and I went on extravagant cruises annually. However, after five years, I decided it was finally time to ask human resources to give me a lower pay rate in exchange for paid vacations. Since that was a much needed and constant thought on my mind, I also discussed it with some of my friends in the hospital. Vacations are very important, and for me to give enough time to my ward, some time off and a laid-back attitude were a need of the hour.

But you know, as they say, life happens while we are busy making other plans. Interestingly, the very next day, my phone rang, and much to my surprise, it was the government agency offering me to resume my job there. To say I was shocked is an understatement. God seemed to have been listening to me. Without sparing a second, I agreed to the job proposal. The benefits and the pay were all I wanted. This job was perfect! Once I said yes, human resources told me that I would soon get a call from the director of nursing to further discuss the details of my job. I spent the next days in great anticipation. I kept waiting for the call. Right before anxiety would have taken the best of me, Juliana, the director of nursing, finally rang me.

As she informed me that I would be taking on a much bigger responsibility this time by joining as the manager, I was both ecstatic and afraid. The promotion meant more money and greater benefits, but they did not come without their fair share of responsibility, and I was still unsure of whether I had the potential to pull it off. I asked Juliana whether she thought I was the right person for the job. She said yes, and that’s when I decided that I needed to take on this role. Before the