Page 21 - That’s Crazy ebook
P. 21
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of corporate America. What I did learn was that racism in the city is a
different type of racism than is found in the South.
My first experience in the workforce began in the conference
department of a black-owned company, which included my immediate
supervisor and me. He was a Jewish male who trained me in all aspects
of conference planning, making sure I learned how to pay attention to
all the details involved in planning an event. Most of the events had
from 20 to 200 people per meeting and we were planning close to 20
meetings each year.
As the company began winning contracts, my supervisor had to
start hiring new event planners. That is when I entered the world of
white women in corporate America. A friend of mine once called it
the FTFWW or “Fast Track For White Women” in corporate
America. I had only two years of experience and the company decided
they needed a middle manager. The middle manager became my new
supervisor which was my first sign of crazy.
The new manager, a white female who was about 4’ 9” tall (my
first supervisor was about the same height -- I am 5’ 10” tall, so I
appeared as a giant over both of them). The white female supervisor
came aboard like a hurricane; she was on a mission to prove herself at
my expense. She immediately starting micro-managing, going through
my desk after hours and trying to find things to make my life a
miserable hell. She started to sabotage the relationship I had with the
top supervisor.
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