When I "wrote on" to law review at UVA, this white dude classmate of mine who "graded on" said to me “it’s a good thing they had that added diversity essay.” See, you could write an extra essay on why you would add diversity to the law review membership. I specifically didn’t write the extra essay. He assumed I did. For those who don’t know, Law Review members are chosen 2 ways: if you’re at the top of your class you get chosen—you "grade on." Or you can try to “write on” to various journals including law review. That’s when you get a weekend to write an essay based on some materials that they give you. Our materials were on Bakke and affirmative action coincidentally. I was shooting for whatever the gender & policy journal was called. I got chosen for law review much to my surprise. And then to have this white dude immediately assume I could only have been chosen due to diversity when I didn’t write a diversity essay? It was 25 years ago and I will never forget it. Ugly business.
When I "wrote on" to law review at UVA, this white dude classmate of mine who "graded on" said to me “it’s a good thing they had that added diversity essay.” See, you could write an extra essay on why you would add diversity to the law review membership. I specifically didn’t write the extra essay. He assumed I did. For those who don’t know, Law Review members are chosen 2 ways: if you’re at the top of your class you get chosen—you "grade on." Or you can try to “write on” to various journals including law review. That’s when you get a weekend to write an essay based on some materials that they give you. Our materials were on Bakke and affirmative action coincidentally. I was shooting for whatever the gender & policy journal was called. I got chosen for law review much to my surprise. And then to have this white dude immediately assume I could only have been chosen due to diversity when I didn’t write a diversity essay? It was 25 years ago and I will never forget it. Ugly business.
@AngryBlackLady Irma, how horrid. And every day you continue to prove, you were and are the best. Xxxx. Love from England.
@AngryBlackLady I had posted about my experiences as a black graduate student in the 1980s. Didn’t occur to me until I posted just how much those experiences affected me, both personally and professionally.
@AngryBlackLady It's also heartbreaking how it's exported into the world. I'm an English professor in S. Korea and a student wrote in an essay that on the first day he thought I was a rapper, but I turned out to be kind. I'm a 54-year-old writer and educator and all he could see was rapper.
@AngryBlackLady A white coworker implied I was an affirmative action hire at lunch with her friend. He knew my former law firm & spent the rest of lunch ignoring her. She was in her role without the required education nor experience & fumbled for 7 years before quitting. A white supremacy hire.
@AngryBlackLady My personal experience in law school was that grades had nothing to do with how smart you are but how much work you put into it. When I worked hard I got straight A+s. After when I thought that meant I was pretty smart & slacked off, my grades dropped like rocks.
@AngryBlackLady Didn’t know you are UVA alumna! Me too - engineering. I knew there was a reason I followed you! 🤣
@AngryBlackLady "I was exactly what they were looking for, but then I saw the staff... [proceeds to list minority staff], so I'm not surprised I got a form rejection." -Yt friend conveniently forgetting plenty of people have *more & better* experience than him
@AngryBlackLady In my junior year, I won the very prestigious economics award. A guy from one of my classes said, well, they probably figured they had to pick a girl sooner or later, and there just aren’t that many. NOT the magnitude of what you describe, but I know the indignation. So sorry.
@AngryBlackLady My husband is white (like me) and I’ve often found myself thinking that if you were a black man, he would’ve had a much harder time. He used to fall asleep in his office!
@AngryBlackLady I have a very similar story of a fellow member of Pitt Law Review assuming I wrote on until the day I graduated magna cum laude and was selected Order of the Coif.