Customer Reviews

Trespassing: My Sojourn in the Halls of Privilege

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Although I have no complaints about the writing style of this book, I thought Gwendolyn Parker's story was a disappointment. This book is a great example of how privilege and class can make you oblivious to the suffering of others. It also shows how people have a tendency to only compare themselves and their problems to poeple in the class above them, while completely ignoring the issues facing the people below. She was fortunate to come from a very privileged background and was given opportunities that few people have-especially black females. Yet she fails to acknowledge this privilege and what it brought her. For example, at American Express she was actually put in a program that taught her the secrets of moving up the corporative latter. Imagine having your company pay to teach you the inside secrets to success and I mean the real secrets like how to network and how to interact with upper/executive management. She does finally acknowledge that the fact that she came from a well to do family and attended an elite school was the reason she (unlike most blacks) was given this extraordinary opportunity. However, the first time she is turned down for a position (a position she didn't even want) she leaves the company. What a waste. I am all for following your dreams, but here is a black woman who has inside information she could share to help others. Instead of this book, it would have been more useful if she had written about the American Express get to the top training. Also, I got the impression that she is/was uncomfortable with lower class black people. She talks positively about her friends from similar backgrounds, but their is no positive mention towards the less fortunate black female. But she does take time to mention the lower class or less "smart" black people she met in her northern gammer school. She talks about wondering why there were no "ordinary/average" blacks at AmEx, but she says nothing about hiring any of them when she was in a position to do so. She comes across as the typical upper class black person, who only sees herself as black when she has a problem. At her law firm job she said that being female was the bigger problem although there were more females than black people. She in fact chose not to interact too often with the only other black person at the firm. Her's is a story of how privilege people live privileged lives and receive privilege not allowed the rest of us. When it was convient to be black she did so,otherwise she seemed to live in her perfect little privilege world. This book is an example of how significant the class issue is in America and how often it is overlooked especially by those privileged enough to come from the higher classes.

Let me say that the criticism aimed at this memoir because of the author's often touted privilege is a little misplaced. More often than not we are inudated with stories of African Americans who have overcome the worst odds living in poverty-stricken, dysfunctional ghettos. These are truly American stories and should be lauded. However, African Americans do not all have the same experiences and therefore have different views of growing up black in America and life in general. There are class structures in the African American communities as there are in other races. There are privileged Latinos and Asians as well as those who come from poor immigrant backgrounds. And so African Americans are not a monolith. We don't all have the same backgrounds and so we don't all think alike. Yes, it appeared that for the most part Ms. Parker had a smooth ride for most of her life but her priviledged background did not preclude her from racism. From the elementary school principal in the "good ole' north" who wanted to hold her back a grade because she had up until then been educated in the segregated south to the constant proving to others when she got to Harvard that she did indeed belong there. No, she did not have to overcome feeling economically out of place as is pointed out in one of the reviews that often blacks must overcome classism as well as racism. Does that make her any less black? I think not. When she got to the top law firm she still had to deal with all the stuff that goes on in white corporate America. And just maybe her privilege was a disadvantage the same way a deprived background was in that "uppity black folk" are constantly told by their families their color is not an obstacle and they can be and do anything as well as go anywhere they want. When they come up against racism it often shocks them to their knees or they choose to disbelieve it causing even more distress. Indeed maybe this story was not one of clawing her way to the top, but starting at the top, and sounds as if she is whining and complaining because she dared face racism is only evidence of her fraility. The fact that she does not appear to some to be sympathetic or helpful to those less privileged sisters and brothers is something that only she has to answer to. All in all this book like "Volunteer Slavery" is an example of when it comes to racism white folks look at us all the same way no matter how much money we have. We have to always work harder to prove ourselves. Let's not put a sister down because her background was easy.

Trespassing is about so much more than the trials a woman faces in business. It is a clearly written portrayal of what it means to be black or a minority in the U.S.A. As a white person, I never understood how minorities felt or what they experienced. Gwendolyn Parker paints a picture that communicates the subtle behaviors and attitudes of prejudice so everyone can comprehend how it feels to be a minority and what people of color experience in this country and she accomplished this in a very compelling manner that is a joy to read. This is a must read that you don't want to put down.

I read this book while in the 'throes' of my Doctoral program. I was so encouraged to read about another bright sister going through emotional pain and stress in a place of "higher learning" that was supposed to build you up, but seemed to be about destroying you at all costs. In fact, I had gone to an Ivy League school in Virginia for my Masters degree and did not nearly have the crushing discrimination and prejudice aimed at me that I did at this much less elite, (though well known), Texas University. Gwen's book made me remember that I wasn't alone in my experiences, nor crazy, and encouraged me to continue the fight.

Ms. Parker's memoir resonates powerfully for African-Americans and other Americans, who may be among the "firsts" from their communities to "tresspass in halls of privilege". Unlike some similar memoirs, it is not so tragic as to be embittering, but is a balanced presentation of a carefully examined experience. Ms. Parker's love of the written word is evident in her well-chosen descriptive phrases and well-paced story-telling. The book is very readable, and, if you can relate to it at all, once you pick it up, you don't want to put it down. I commend Ms. Parker for her courage and tenacity in telling a very important story, that needs to be told and retold, and understood by Americans of every hue. For blacks, there's insight into our own diversity, and our weakness for hurting each other when in pain. For others, there's valuable insight about what it takes to create a truly inclusive society.

Gwen Parker's story is one which sheds light on the plight of the upwardly mobile African-American woman. Well-written and engaging, it is an important guide for those who would follow in her footsteps, illuminating many subtle, seemingly innocuous pressures which accompany the path of those few chosen to sojourn. A potential life-saver for some sojourners who wonder why the emptiness, why the sadness, why the depression when most folks deem them privileged and competent. I thank Jill for her compassion, for making "stupid" a bad word in her home, and for telling the story with insight, compassion and intelligence. Godspeed, Gwen, in a career which requires the courage to turn your back on material temptations of comfort and illusions of security in order to fill a higher purpose - that of storytelling, a calling which benefits untold numbers of readers.

This is an inspiring book by a superwoman that obviously can do any/everything. Whenever you need to feel good, read this book.

This book focuses on the mundane details of a woman who was motivated to advance her self-interest and seemed to care little about helping others less fortunate. The book was unsatisfying because the author seemed one-dimensional and rather ordinary. Not a good role model for African-Americans in my opinion, too concerned about status.

Having lived in the same era as Ms. Parker, I found myself propelled back in time and place, sharing many of the same memories of Harvard Yard, Mt.Vernon, NY and Kent, CT. This is a real-life tale told by the top student in the class, the one that should "have it all." Our culture cannot afford to discourage the best and brightest in the country. What does it say about us, as a nation, when the likes of Ms. Parker get discouraged and "drop out?" As a woman in corporate America, I face many of the same up-hill climbs and curtailed success. I immediately liked Ms. Parker as she shares personal details of her life, like an open diary. I found myself eagerly coming back to this book at the end of my work day.