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.
Religion
I had just started working at my former mutual fund company when the Million Man March occurred in 1995 and even though I am not Muslim, a colleague of mine came into my office and asked, "Are you going to the Million Man March? Are you Muslim? What do your think of Farrakhan?" I replied, "You are not supposed to be asking me these types of questions.
At work people took everything I said and took it out of context. I am a Christian, but it didn't matter to them. They saw me as a threat. One time I said, "You know, Jesus was a Palestinian. He was born 15 minutes away from where I was born." It didn't matter.
There are many reasons we don't fit in at work. Number one: praying on Fridays. Number two: fasting, which goes against a lot of what happens at company functions. Number three: alcohol, which is served at almost every company function. Number four: how to socialize outside of work, which for the most part involves catching a drink after work. It's like trying to catch a train when it is going at a certain speed, sometimes you are able to and sometimes you're not. At least some things I can fit in with, but some things I don't.
One of the things I have been trying to make sure of is that Arab-American doesn't always mean Muslim-American. There are times when I am in a situation with a person I am getting to know, I can almost see the relief when they find out that I am a Christian and I was born in the United States.
At my first interview, I said: "Just to be clear, on Fridays I take a two hour lunch because I need to go pray. Just so you know. I can compensate by coming in early or leaving an hour late. I can work how ever much you want.
There was a very strong fundamentalist Christian culture at the office. They had unofficial policies that were implemented by the executive who was the head of marketing and sales. He would call people up and say, in no uncertain terms, "It is unacceptable for you to live with your boyfriend or girlfriend.
