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.
Left & Caring for Self or Others
Throughout my career I have experienced various levels of racism from very blatant to subtle comments. When I began my career at a large automotive company in Michigan I reported to a "good old boy" who worked for the company for more than 30 years. During my first month on the job during one of our one on one meetings he stated, "I don't think women or black people should be in the workforce." Needless to say I began documenting everything from that point on.
At one point, the guy in charge of affirmative action at the company scheduled a meeting with me after hours. He told me I had grounds for a lawsuit because what I was going through was so bad I had no idea.
I was in the corporate world for 15 years. I lost several family members in a two-year period. I had a wonderful boss who offered to keep me on the payroll and let me take time off. After losing so many close to me, I realized what was important, and I didn't want to die at a desk.
When I was at my previous company, I knew there was going to be a huge lay off. I was talking to one of the ladies who was getting laid off and I had to pretend like I didn't know. We were going over things.
Betty Duncan
