Nicole Bates.
I am a black woman who grew up in Metro Detroit. I was raised middle class and my mother worked really hard to make sure my sisters and I had a great education. In my family, higher education is the norm and I am the third generation in my family to earn a Masters/Professional degree. But despite all of this, I am not the exception in the black community or some kind of unicorn. I have had colleagues talk about black people taking up spots via affirmative action, only for them to immediately say, “oh, but I’m not talking about you – you’ve worked hard!” Or a high school friend told me that before he met me, he “didn’t know black people were smart.” I always make sure to remind them that I am not the exception. Because of my experiences, it always resonates with me when people say that talent, intellect, ambition, and other positive qualities are equally distributed – opportunity is not.
