Browse Stories
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.
Tarin Addington's Experiences
I joined the technology company in the mid-80s. They wanted to be become a market-driven company, rather than an engineering-driven company. They recruited me because I had been at a large competitor and had been quite successful.
I went to a meeting in Boise, Idaho. The travel department even told me that it would be wise not to go out at night. The room service at the hotel brought my food and then walked away singing "Jig-a-boo pie." At a meeting the next day, I was the only black person.
I had finished a long week finishing a photo shoot up in Seattle. It was cold, snowing. I was waiting to be picked up by a town car to take me to the airport. The limo driver walked right by me and asked the guy at the desk, "Where is Ms.