Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary writes about the conversation she had with business editor David Vise, who hired her in 1992.
Singletary writes, “When I was first hired at The Washington Post, I found I had to repeatedly explain my qualifications to colleagues. So after one staff meeting, I went to the business editor, David Vise, and asked him directly whether he hired me because I was Black.
“‘Yes, I hired you because you are Black,’ he said.
“By then, I had eight years of full-time work experience, but I was still considered a young hire for the business section. Vise, who won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism in 1990, had recruited me after hearing me speak on a panel about business beat reporting at the annual summer convention for the National Association of Black Journalists. Five months later, I was at The Post.
“Vise invited me into his office to continue the conversation in private.
“He closed the door and gestured for me to take a seat on the couch.
“This was in 1992, and I was 29 years old.
“‘So, the newsroom colleagues probing how I came to get the job so fast were right after all,’ I told myself.
“Fighting back tears, I eventually tuned in to Vise as he explained his answer.
“‘I also hired you because you’re a woman,’ he said. ‘I hired you because you come from a low-income background and, most importantly, because you are a good reporter. I also hired you because you have enormous potential and I want to mentor you.'”
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