I’ve been thinking about racism and remembered a situation in my career I found fascinating, having grown up during the civil rights movement, which quickly was joined by the women’s lib movement in my young adulthood.

I worked for a small consulting firm. We landed a contract with a large Japanese firm and I was assigned to it under our Black partner. Early stages were fine, then we got to the point where we needed detailed business information. The partner and I went to meet various managers at regional headquarters.

Unexpectedly, immediately after introductions, the partner was asked to stop in the director’s office and came out a few minutes later and indicated there was a change in plans and we left.

In the car on the way back to our office, we discussed what to do. The problem was, I was a woman and the Japanese men refused to work with a woman.

I was accustomed to American businessmen ignoring me, or assuming I was in a clerical position, but they always worked with me. And the Japanese welcomed the African American partner without batting an eyelash, which was not always true with the American guys.

This is how much sense racism and sexism make. There is obviously no logic to it, just societal training and custom. Think about it.

Priscilla J. Jenkins

Winthrop