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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.
I just got tired
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- African-American
- Arts/Entertainment/Media
- Left & is now Self-Employed
- Personal Care & Service
- Cross-cultural communication
- Good Boss
- Uncredited Responsibilities
- Unwelcoming Environment
My boss was the first Jewish person to be president of the organization. He told me stories of things that happened to him. There were board members who would tell anti-Semitic jokes at board meetings and everyone would laugh. He didn't pretend. He knew what was going on. I was the right person for the job and he wanted me there. But because my boss knew what it was like to be a minority, I had no excuse not to manage people who were rude. He said, "Just because those people are this, this, and this, doesn't mean you don't have to work with them." Imagine having to work incredibly hard every day and have to finesse and kiss ass on top of that. My boss put up with it for years, but I just got tired.