I'm a Black woman who left her job at an architecture firm to go out on her own and I've never been happier
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Xena Stryker, 35, an architectural designer who previously worked in corporate America, about why she decided to start her own firm. The company,, has offices in Atlanta and Beverly Hills, California. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
It often felt like the other designers would stare at me, like they were examining my hair, my clothes, or the way I spoke. Many made comments about my expensive car. They wanted to know where I came from. I was asked dozens of times what an HBCU was — a historically Black college and university — and why don't we just quote integrate. I wanted them to leave me alone so I could simply do my work.
I asked a manager, a white woman, if we could host a job-shadowing day for my sorority's teenage mentees. She asked me if the girls had ever gone on a field trip before, and if they'd know how to act, because they may be coming to party. I have no clue why she believed high-school honor students hadn't been on a field trip since kindergarten. The job-shadow day never happened. It was just one of many racially charged microaggressions thrown my way.
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