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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.
They see me as a threat
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- Arab/Arab-American
- Information Technology/Internet
- Considering Leaving
- Cultural Differences
- Stereotyping
- Unwelcoming Environment
They think I am anti-American, but I am not. If I share something with them and tell them, this is how I see the war in Iraq or how the U.S. support of Isreal is hurting my family, they will say, "Palestine never existed." I have to tell them "my family had to leave their homes when they were young. My parents were refugees and it affected me. My parents had to start from scratch where they used to have farms and houses." If I tell them that this is where I come from, they see me as a threat.