What is Microassault

The SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic (late 2019 to the present) brought to the fore latent and externalized forms of racism and bias and xenophobia. The author experienced a range of inequitable mistreatment and racist harassment in her workplace in higher education during this time, including from her direct supervisor who engaged in a racist microassault along with excess work assignments (the work of several individuals or multiple FTEs) during multiple years of the pandemic. This work uses a self-decentered auto-ethnography to explore practical ways to address racism and discrimination in the workplace, through clear documentation, honest in-lane reportage, and other efforts up an escalatory ladder. This work highlights the challenges of working towards a solution in a bureaucracy with a mix of apparently conflicting objectives and foremost to protect the institution against lawsuits and negative publicity.