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22 /////////////~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the era of Jim Crow, racial barriers limited the production of Black professionals , the spheres where they could operate, and their abilities to influence their fields. Have these trends changed in the post–civil rights era? This chapter looks at the historical record and interviews with Black women attorneys to examine their progress in the profession. I focus on the experience of Black women within the wider context of recent changes in the legal profession in the United States, particularly the expansion of large firms (thirty people or more) and declining percentages in solo practices (Heinz, et al., ). These trends only further complicate the entrance of Black women graduates of law school into the field. More knowledge is needed on the progress of Black women law school graduates and how they enter the mainstream of the legal profession. Given the legacy of biases in the practice of law, how are their race, gender, and social-class backgrounds important in their ability to enter this profession? I begin by looking at their educational experiences, and then examine the transition from law school to where and how they practice law to provide a context for understanding the meaning of their social characteristics . I am interested in uncovering how discrimination in the training and hiring of African American female law students has changed from outright exclusion to more subtle and pernicious forms that are increasingly difficult to measure and articulate. Many scholars have written about the lives of Black men and women professionals in the age of segregation. Kevin Gaines (), Darlene Clark Hine (, ), Stephanie Shaw (), and Francille Wilson (, ), to name just a few, have documented how people faced the challenges of segregation , built careers, and worked to make a difference. These scholars provide me with key questions to explore as I examine changes after civil rights legislation 2 Entering a Profession Race, Gender, and Class in the Lives of Black Women Attorneys ELIZABETH HIGGINBOTHAM that opened new doors, but did not eliminate inequalities in occupational placements, many of which continue to this day. We often use the language of either discrimination or choice to make sense of people’s locations. This chapter advocates for a more complex understanding of how discrimination shapes choices that take into account the different sets of advantages and disadvantages that individuals face once they obtain their occupational training. This perspective gives more agency to the subjects, rather than assuming that everyone is choosing from the same set of options or that they have the same occupational goals. Historical Background Professions are occupations requiring skilled work that is often abstract in nature and requires advance schooling and licensure to enter. There are various barriers to entry into this exclusive group, where members are then governed by a code of ethics. Much scholarship on professions has looked at their development, the disputes between areas of expertise and how people maintain the boundaries or as Andrew Abbott () notes, matters of jurisdiction in professions. These questions are separate from the actual task of earning a living in a profession. In the case of law, passing the bar and securing a position are two initial barriers to entering the profession. Professional training and securing the opportunity to practice law are distinct. In the United States, there is a legacy of the segmentation or segregation of professional work, especially for Black Americans. Economic barriers and racial segregation created obstacles to securing an education and professional training for most of the twentieth century. Also during this time, the Black Americans who were able to successfully train for a profession faced employment restrictions. As educated and skilled persons, most were limited to practices within their own communities. Exclusion from the larger public sector curtailed their economic earnings, because the majority of the Black population early in the twentieth century was poor and working class. Only professionals in urban areas were able to develop financially lucrative practices, but that did not mean there were no obstacles to serving their clients’ needs. For example, Black physicians faced problems with access to hospitals; Black lawyers struggled in courtrooms with a racist judicial system; and so forth. Each profession encountered a unique set of restrictions shaped by the wider public environment. More scholarly attention needs to be paid to analyses of these experiences as their progress is important to all and their struggles worthy of study. White male professionals, in order to maintain control over their fields, sought to distance themselves from groups they viewed as inferior. Denial...

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