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.
Education
I am an African American woman. A colleague (a white male who was new to our office at the time) and I were alone in the workplace when he made a racial remark that I found offensive.
This incident negatively impacted every part of my work life. I felt the lack of support from my superiors and some of my colleagues.
I stayed because I did not want them to "win." I wanted to leave on my own terms. Now, I've had the time to rebuild my confidence and raise my level of performance.
The key to success in this position is confidence in your own abilities; knowing what you know and what you don't know and being willing to learn the rest.
There were three black women in the organization and we all had short hair. I would always be called by their names. At one point, I just said, "I am not either of those women. Even though I have shor
I was in a meeting with Condeleeza Rice. I was the only other black person at the meeting. After the meeting was over she came straight to me. She ignored everyone else in the room and introduced herself.
In our department we all went by first names. But when I was going to conferences, meeting people from a different department, they referred to other people by more formal titles, but no one every referred to me by doctor.
My resentment came when I was working as the only African American analyst in the office. When I'd associate with the other African American women in the office, who were secretaries, the white people would say, "Have lunch with us?" or "You went you to her wedding?" I was chosen because I was harmless in their minds.
Deborah Blackwell
