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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.
Patty Linden's Experiences
When I was finally in a position to hire other employees, the first two people I happened to hire were black.
Once I had breakfast with a professor and mentor who said to me, "You know what white men fear the most; an angry black woman.
There were a few black men in our department who didn't look anything alike, except they all happened to be black.
For nine years, I worked at major consulting firm where I traveled all the time. I went to Israel on twelve separate occasions within an 18-month period.
The constant travel kills your life and it's nearly impossible to meet someone and get married. After I left, I applied for another position at a top tier consulting firm and tried desperately to keep quiet the fact that I had a son.
A white woman who I supervised clearly wanted my position. She made every attempt to undercut my authority.