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.
Cultural Educator
In my job I often have to consult with or coach clients and employees on equal opportunity and affirmative action and the impact of violating federal laws that are in place to prevent discrimination.
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.
I have found great ignorance of Arab or Near Eastern history, leading to a range of reactions from hatred to condescending compassion.
Discussions among colleagues often turned to "Middle-East terrorists," often with blame or a smirk directed at me.
When I worked at the stock exchange, I noticed a not so subtle division of engineers into an "A" team and a "B" team.
I was a pioneer as the only black person in team "A" so everything I was involved with was a perceived risk for management.
People at work would come up to me and ask, "How come Hamas is winning? They are terrorists." I would say, "I don't follow politics. I don't have time to follow the news. I haven't lived there for 13 years." They would make fun of me, but it was true.
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.
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.
