You Don't Look Like a Lawyer

Tsedale M. Melaku is a sociologist and postdoctoral research fellow at The Graduate Center, City University of New York.

• Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction: What We Talk about When We Talk about Diversity 1 Black Women’s Burden Color-Blind Racism The Significance of White Racial Framing Systemic Gendered Racism The Invisible Labor Clause and the Inclusion Tax 2 You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer White Castle American Beauty Fitting In Built for Comfort Acknowledgment: The Chronic Case of Mistaken Identity 3 The Outsider Within The Social (and Professional) Network That Old Outsider Feeling When in Doubt 4 All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men The Confidence Gap Great Expectations Time Waits for Men Sacrifices Gender in Black and White The Women More of the Same A Boost at the Start of the Race Gender in Black and Black: Part I “If It Don’t Fit . . .” Code Switchin’ Blue in Green Same but Different Gender in Black and Black: Part II Black Women Are Unique 5 Where the Boys Are Members Only Exclusion. Alienation. Discomfort. Disadvantage.Managing Women and Blacks 101 Boys Don’t Cry Can I Hang Out with You Guys? Mentor, Friend, or Foe 6 “Can You Please Pass the Royal Jelly?” Cheap Frame How to Make Friends and Influence Partners Rain or Shine We’re Just Not That into You Addendum: White Knights The Hours 7 Conclusion: The Importance of Being Earnest Appendix: Research Methodology Notes Bibliography IndexAbout the Author

Throughout this intellectually sound and completely accessible book, Dr. Melaku weaves the narratives of Black women and leaves the reader having been exposed to the exclusive elite environment experienced by Black women. Her work demonstrates the rawness and reality of Black women’s experiences in white spaces. Finally, we get to hear the voices of Black female lawyers (and by proxy, Black professional women) as they tell their stories and perspectives on working in a highly competitive, racialized and gendered environment, and the impact it has on their advancement and beyond.