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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.
Salona Martinez's Experiences
I put in my notice when I was going to move and I groomed a white man for two months to take my job. They split my job in two and gave him $20,000 more than what I was making. But he wouldn't take the job.
Within six months of my new job, I found out I was pregnant. I told my boss, "I'm so happy. I'm pregnant." My boss quit talking to me for a week. It was very strange because we were so close. So I pulled him aside and asked, "What's wrong here? Why aren't you talking to me?" He said, "Well, you know, you were my walk-on-water.
I thought, "If I work even half as hard for myself as I have for all these other people, I'll be fine." These people could never tell me to get another degree, because I had them all. I never reported to anyone who had a degree of any significance.
White men have always been my best mentors. White women have always been the worst. The guy who hired me at the tech company got promoted to VP. So when he went up, he put my resume on the table and s
When finally the company was bought out, I left. They didn't want to let me go. So the VP called me and said, "We'll put you in HR and recruitment. It will be such a good experience for you." I almost laughed.
The worst job was at the hospital. There was a woman who was very difficult to work with. Like me, she was a doctor. But she had no office. I felt really bad for her. I had an office on my floor that was vacated so I offered it to her.
Shortly my colleague came on board, she came to me and said, "Salona, how would you feel about reporting in to me?" She had been at the institute for four years. I had been there 12. At that point I said, "I think our conversation is over." Over the weekend, I thought I was going to have a stroke, because I couldn't believe her audacity.
When I decided to quit, I was already launching my business. I already had clients who needed more of my time. I made a meeting with my boss to give him the letter. We hardly ever met. He forgot the memo about the meeting.
Not all stereotypes are equal. If you have a French accent, people assume you are lovely. If you have a Spanish accent, people assume you are stupid. You are working hard, showing up, and being a human being, and somewhere somehow in the most subtle or straightforward way someone will remind you of who you are.
I'm always making Dr. Martinez' arrangements, because people think I'm my own secretary. They don't expect me, a Puerto Rican, to be a doctor. I pretend like I'm my own secretary. I think I'm coming d