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In February 1973, I was hired by the telephone company as a janitor. I was told plainly that people like me weren't hired for "technical" roles like Telephone Installer. At the time, that wasn't just a company policy; it was a systemic reality.
But 1973 was also the year of the landmark AT&T Consent Decree. After years of federal investigation into discriminatory hiring practices, the company agreed to stop blocking minorities and women from advancing. By November of that year, the "technical" door finally cracked open, and I was offered a transfer to become a Telephone Installer.
Was I a "DEI Hire"?
Today, people use terms like "Affirmative Action" or "DEI" (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) to imply that someone was a "charity hire" or "unqualified." They suggest that the position was "given" to us.
My career tells a different story.
I didn't stay a Telephone Installer. Through my own initiative and a relentless desire to learn, I navigated through the most cutting-edge technology the company had to offer:
- Data & Teletype: Installing and maintaining complex data circuits and teletype machines.
- The Mini-Computer Department: Performing component-level repair and maintaining remote testing systems in Central Offices.
- The Computer Group: Maintaining priority systems for the entire region.
- Universal Tech: Mastering everything from cable work to remote support equipment—the "all-in-one" expert for the field.
- Advanced Data Services: Jumping to the unregulated side of the business to master Frame Relay, Packet Switching, Optical Networks, and the early Internet.
The Reality of "Twice as Good"
I did all of this with a high school education. I wasn't "groomed" for success, and I wasn't pulled up by the efforts of others. I took control of my destiny.
When I started, the reality of being Black in the workforce meant you had to be twice as good just to be considered equal. The 1973 decree didn't give me skills, and it certainly didn't give me a "free pass." What it did was remove the illegal padlock from the door.
Opening the Door vs. Walking Through It
Affirmative Action and DEI never gave Black people anything for free. What those policies did was emphasize a simple truth: A diverse workforce is a profitable and capable one. An open door is not a guarantee of success; it is simply the removal of an obstacle. Once that door was open, I didn't just walk through it—I outworked, out-learned, and out-performed the expectations placed upon me.
We weren't unqualified to walk through those doors. More often than not, we were overqualified just to be allowed in the room. I am not a "charity case." I am a technician who earned every promotion through sweat, ability, and the courage to claim a future that was originally denied to me.