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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.
Harriet Jackson's Experiences
Out of college, I went to work for a multi-national manufacture of pharmaceuticals and personal hygiene products.
During an overnight a team building retreat we had to share rooms and I found out that one of the white girls went behind the scenes and changed her room assignment so she wouldn't have to share with me.
I found out that I was being paid less money than some of my white male peers despite being equally if not more successful.
I've had phone conversations with people who I've never met and then when we meet in person they would say to me, "You don't sound like you look.
If a white person in the corporate word uses language that you mostly associate with hip-hoppers, it's typically seen as urban and cool.