A Black TikToker was unexpectedly fired as a contractor for Apple after posting a video titled, Day in the Life of a Black girl Working in Tech.
@nylah.akua Black girl working in tech – we are back in office y’all!! 💅🏾 #blackwomenintech #blackgirltiktok #dayinthelife #workingintech #backtooffice ♬ As It Was – Harry Styles
In the video, Nylah Boone filmed her morning routine to show her followers how she got ready for work. When she got to work, she showed her viewers her desktop area, the free pastry bar, a cafeteria area, the bathroom, and her work at her desk.
The scene changed to her and her coworkers having lunch together at a “different Apple building.” The video ended with Boone finishing the day on the office’s rooftop.
Another video shows her wearing blue light glasses to appear “smarter” at her desk.
@nylah.akua Black girl in tech things 💅🏾 Lolol #blackwomenintech #workingintech #backtooffice ♬ as it was x cruel summer x deja vu – matty james
There aren’t any more videos of her filming Apple; in her previous videos, she didn’t reveal anything concerning. Yet a month later, on May 17, she announced she was fired.
@nylah.akua Sometimes rejection is just redirection 🥲🙏🏾 #dayinmylife #blackgirltiktok #funemployed #funemployment #adultingishard ♬ original sound – Tik Toker
“Waking up to find I don’t have a job anymore,” the first part of the video read.
“Realizing I can now shoot content 24/7,” the second part of the TikTok said.
On May 16, Boone said she went into a meeting with her boss only to be told that her contract ended that day when she was under the impression her agreement would renew.
@nylah.akua Okay okay STORYTIME 🖤 #blackgirltiktok #funemployed #dailyvlog #funemployment #adultingishard #storytime ♬ Get You The Moon – Kina
Although Boone affirmed that the abrupt ending of her contract had nothing to do with the Day In The Life video she posted since she worked the entirety of the contract period, this brought awareness to being cautious about filming inside companies that may prohibit the act.
Boone said she has a new job with a marketing agency where she can film her life daily. In an interview with the Verge, the TikToker expressed she was grateful for her time with Apple and wanted to show that diversity existed in big tech companies and show Black women or POC that it was possible to get in a position like hers.
“My followers or people that would reach out to me or comment were like 80 percent Black women,” Boone said. “That was important to me to be able to connect with other Black women as well to encourage them, ‘You can work in this industry or work in this role.”
She added, “Imagine if there were no POC creators or Black women creating the content about their jobs in tech. There are so many people on [TikTok]… like middle school, high school [girls],” Boone says. “If they have no exposure to it, they’re not going to know that there are other options out there for them.”
