Yes, times have changed but some things still remain..

As a 14 hour work day winds down, I sit here in the sunlight contemplating on how my ancestors would feel if it were them sitting here instead of me...

Across the street, I see a group of four middle-aged, white men. They stand huddled up, decked out in their workforce boots and hard hats. To go with their matching gear is that 'good old' boy mentality...the kind that silently elevate and separate themselves from anyone or anything not associated with the Jim Crow south...Yes, times have changed, but some things still remain...

As I continue to sit here...watching and observing this unspoken fraternity of white men, I turn my head just in time to catch a glimpse of my boss walking by me. She's headed out for a quick bite and will be back in time to end our shift. As I watch her saunter across the street towards the aformentioned league of unextraordinary gentlemen, I think to myself how much I admire and respect this woman. In a world full of men, an industry dominated by conservative, chauvenistic ideals, she has somehow managed to make it to the top...into and under the white sheets of that circle of trust. Still, I wonder why she doesn't see my desire to accompany her...to pay homage while gaining valuable insight into staking my claim in this man's world that we call the workplace...Yes, times have changed, but some things still remain...

As the small crowd across the street disperses, I realize that inspite of the education I received, my desire to make my mark on the engineering world, and/or my motivation to succeed in doing my best...I am still only seen, judged, and typecast as 'that Black girl that sits upstairs.'

Day in and day out, I come to work to be met with dumbfounded stares and sinister plans...arrogant smirks and smug remarks...reminded constantly that this is their territory, code for white women allowed and no Black woman can cuz this is white man's land.

As lonely and life draining as this situation can be, I know I must continue on in this Christian race (as we all must), knowing that the race was not given to the swift. Regardless of how many times I may stumble...how many times someone tries to set me up to fail...I must press on toward the higher calling.

I may be young, but I was not born in a barn, nor I was born yesterday, and if it's one thing I know, is that the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy..BUT God sent His son so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. So for now, I remember the fight my ancestors undertook so that I could be here - S.R.H., young, Black Electrical Engineer...And it is because of them, that I am able to bear it and smile in the face of my enemies (because one day they will be my foot stools lol!)...I will even count it all joy because I too am paving the way for a positive future for Black youths...

Yes, some things change, but I WILL REMAIN...'And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart' Galatians 6:9