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Vote on Desiree Davidson's Story
Were they afraid we were planning a coup d'etat?
I spent my first summer during Columbia Law School at a firm in Philadelphia described as one of the best places in the city for black lawyers. I believed that if there was any place where I would have an equal chance at opportunities, be treated fairly and succeed, this would be it. There were three black female summer associates out of sixty that year but any time all three of us were in an office talking, one of the partners would knock on the door to see how we were doing. It happened too often to be a coincidence that sometimes we would purposely agree to meet in so-and-so's office to test our theory that we were being monitored. Like clock work, ten minutes after we would get together a partner would stop by.
Cala Ghadir's Experiences
I have found great ignorance of Arab or Near Eastern history, leading to a range of reactions from hatred to condescending compassion.
Discussions among colleagues often turned to "Middle-East terrorists," often with blame or a smirk directed at me.
In more than one workplace, I felt I was not rewarded for my achievements due to my heritage. Although, it is very subtle, I am very certain that it happened on two different occasions.
My advice would be to try and build trust so that when someone does say something that is really offensive there is enough trust there so you can say, "What were you thinking when you said that?" People don't like to be accused of being racist; that's just a non-starter for most people.