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.
Drinking
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.
I don't drink, but almost every week we have a happy hour--sometimes in the office, sometimes out of the office. Am I excluded from that? No. But I exclude myself because I don't drink. Am I missing out on job related things because of that? Things like networking? Yes.
If we are ordering pizza in the office, automatically someone will order a vegetarian one because they know I don't eat pork. I know that if someone is organizing a party, they will always make sure that someone will make sure that there is a non-alcoholic drink available for me.
Every afternoon I'd be in Texas you'd have to drink beer after work or at lunch. I start drinking beer, just because that was the thing to do. They'd be on their sixth beer and I'd still be sipping my first one.
