美国总统拜登就任之初，曾誓言打造最具种族多样化的政府班底。然而据美国政治新闻网5月31日报道，白宫正经历一场黑人员工“离职潮”，且该现象在白宫基层岗位上尤为普遍。有专家担忧，这恐怕会影响本届政府支持率和未来选情。不过，该报道遭到白宫方面的激烈驳斥，被批“断章取义”。
图源：Getty Images
报道称，白宫从去年年底至今有至少21位非裔工作人员已经办理、或正在准备离职，白宫非裔圈子甚至专门发明了一个新词汇“Blaxit”来描述这一现象——“Blaxit”即“black”（黑人）和“exit”（退出）的组合。
At least 21 black White House aides have departed the Biden administration since late last year, an exodus some have dubbed "Blaxit", according to a new report.
据媒体回顾，副总统哈里斯发言人西蒙·桑德斯去年12月的离职标志着这场大规模离职的开始。自她之后，其团队中的幕僚长蒂娜·弗洛诺、通讯主管阿什利·艾蒂安、副总统高级助理文森特·埃文斯以及白宫公众参与事务办公室主任塞德里克·里奇蒙德等非裔雇员相继离职。
The first big exit came in December, when Kamala Harris’ senior adviser and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders announced she was leaving, ultimately for a gig at MSNBC. Since then, Harris senior aides Tina Flournoy, Ashley Etienne and Vincent Evans, and public engagement head Cedric Richmond have left.
据《纽约邮报》5月31日报道，除了哈里斯团队，其他离开白宫的黑人工作人员还包括公共参与助理卡丽莎·史密斯、国家安全委员会高级主任琳达·艾提姆、数字参与主任卡梅伦·特林布尔、新闻助理娜塔莉·奥斯汀等人。
媒体称，白宫非裔雇员的离职原因大体可归为几类，有些人是找到了其他工作机会，有些人则是为了进修，还有更多人是为了陪伴家人、调整状态。白宫内部受访者反映，这波离职潮已经引发高层关注，这种趋势“很伤士气”。
A number of staffers who left, moreover, said it was on good terms. Some departures were for graduate school opportunities. Others went to different cabinet departments. Several said they were leaving because of family matters.
至于非裔“大出走”的深层原因，有知情者透露称，白宫很多非裔雇员注定是“打工人”，日常工作压力大，却几乎看不到晋升希望，与参与决策基本无缘。几名受访者将矛头指向白宫办公厅副主任珍·奥马利·狄龙，认为这名主管人事工作的白宫“副总管”堵塞了非裔晋升渠道。
In interviews, several Black staffers expressed frustration, in part, that deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon hadn’t done more to retain and promote some Black employees — though other officials said such concerns are misplaced.
另有知情者透露，白宫的薪酬待遇“向来不是很好”，且很多非裔雇员出身并不富裕，难以承受首都的生活成本。据了解，白宫基层工作岗位的入门薪酬约为每年4.8万美元，远低于华盛顿特区的收入中位数10.4万美元。还有数据表明，华盛顿特区的房屋月均租金高达2234美元。
Staffers concede that the salaries, which start at $48,000 for an entry-level White House job, has made it difficult to retain Black employees in a city with a high cost of living. “The pay in the White House is not traditionally very good and a lot of Black folks in these roles don’t come from wealthy families,” said the second White House official.
图源：Getty Images
此外，很多非裔员工对本届政府施政方向感到不满，认为后者未能兑现竞选承诺。白宫内部的氛围也让非裔工作人员不悦：“当10名黑人在布法罗被杀害时，政府内仿佛一切如常，没有人关心非裔雇员。”
Elsewhere, however, there is frustration over how policy priorities are being communicated... "The issues that are the highest priority for our community are no longer at the forefront of the administration's priority list,"said the third Black White House official. "When 10 Black people got killed at a grocery store [in Buffalo, N.Y.], it's business as usual and no one stops to say to you, 'Are you okay?'"
另一名已经离职的非裔官员补充道，白宫内的黑人雇员普遍缺乏“前辈”的关照：“在任何职场环境下，新人往往都需要找个前辈带一带……我们却很少能遇到这样的人。”很多在职黑人雇员表示，此番离职潮会导致黑人在政府内进一步被边缘化，非裔社区所关心的事业更无人问津。
For some Black staffers still serving the administration, there is also a fear that the exiting of their colleagues will worsen the situation, ensuring that there are even fewer voices there to reflect the perspectives of their community. They believe that the failure to retain those staffers reflects larger political missteps that the White House has made.
这股“离职潮”引发了一些专家的忧虑。华盛顿一家智库机构负责人欧弗顿表示，拜登政府的非裔支持者不在少数，2020年大选中，为拜登投票的黑人选民占22%。他认为白宫各级岗位都应招募一定比例的非裔，还要让他们获得升迁机会，参与政策制定和人事任免。
"I have heard about an exodus of Black staffers from the White House — 'Blaxit' — and I am concerned," said Spencer Overton, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which tracks government staff diversity numbers. "Black voters accounted for 22 percent of President Biden's voters in November 2020. It is essential that Black staffers are not only recruited to serve in senior, mid-level and junior White House positions, but are also included in major policy and personnel decisions and have opportunities for advancement."
《纽约邮报》称，9名现任和前任白宫官员透露，虽然一些员工离职是为了更好的发展，但其他人都将离职归因于缺乏指导和机会。白宫并未立即对《纽约邮报》的额外评论请求作出回应，而是在之后辩解称，报道别有用心地挑出了负面的受访者意见，而其他不同的观点并未在该文章中得到体现。还有政府官员称，白宫约有15%的非裔雇员获得晋升，这个比例要高于其他种族群体。白宫同时承诺，将在今后的人事变更中，持续关注雇员种族多样性问题。
The administration has defended the exits, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre telling Politico, "this is a normal time for turnover across the board in any administration and black staff have been promoted at a higher rate than staff who are not diverse."
The White House also disputed claims of a lack of advancement among black staffers, telling the outlet 15 percent of that cohort were promoted in the last year. Approximately 14 percent of White House staff identify as black, according to the report.
来源：环球时报 美国政治新闻网 纽约邮报
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