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.
Uncredited Responsibilities
The other thing I noticed was the male manager would go around to the other men's offices to visit and chat and to build the informal relationships. I said, "What am I? Chopped liver? Why don't you stop at my office like you do you so-and-so's and so-and-so's?" He said, "Oh, I do that." I brought it to his attention, but it didn't change anything.
Once I took my daughter to work with me. There was a lady in the restroom who said, "Your daughter looks exactly like you." She had a Russian accent, so I said, "Are you Russian?" She said yes and asked where I was from.
I try to be as open as possible and share as much information [about my background] as I can. Sometimes I avoid sharing information or getting into certain subjects just because I am tired and I have too much on my plate.
It's like speaking a different language. You can try to educate as much as you can, but at the end of the day you are speaking a different language. You can try to explain them the impact of being asked if you are a terrorist.
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.
My first time being a manager for a group of people, I got zero support from the executives to deal with a problem employee. Meanwhile, this person was going behind my back to complain about me. I would go to the executives and ask for help, advice, how to deal with this person.
I left when the company got bought out. The new company was not going to value my work. I didn't think I could do it again. I was always educating people. Whether it was people asking they could touch my hair or if I had gotten a hair cut, I'd have to explain, "No.
