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Why I Quit My Dream Job at Microsoft After 3 Months

Derek Rhodes • May 01, 2021

Nearly a decade ago, as a White House intern, I was working through pain.

Nearly a decade ago, I was working through my pain.


What happened to Trayvon traumatized me. We were two years apart in age. Our birthdays were six days apart from each other. And yet there I was – an African American male with many similarities to Trayvon, interning at the Department of Justice as the not guilty verdict came down for George Zimmerman.


8 years passed. I landed a job at Microsoft. And once again, I was working through my pain – ignoring the stories I was seeing in the news, ignoring the feelings in my heart, ignoring anything but the work that was put in front of me.

I wasn’t doing anything about the system. Which meant that I was contributing to it.


I quit after 3 months. Out of concern for boys like Trayvon, out of outrage for people like Zimmerman, out of knowledge of all the names out there that had and would experience the same or similar harm but not make the news.


But there is nothing glorious about simply quitting. Even as I walked out of those doors toward uncertainty, I knew that this was still only the easy part. We celebrate the first steps way too often in this country; we’re too comfortable resting on our laurels after we do the bare minimum. That’s why nothing ever changes.


Quitting didn’t stop the mental anguish I felt as a young man of color seeing the suffering of others like me. Quitting didn’t relieve me from my survivor’s guilt for living on while Trayvon couldn’t. Quitting didn’t heal my mental anguish.


But I had an idea of what might. I was going to have to bring about change of my own, on my own terms. Glorification would have to wait until I had succeeded in making a lasting, positive impact on communities of color. Why not start with my own hometown of Durham?


I looked into my options and settled on founding a nonprofit that would directly help my community. I wanted to improve the lives of local, young, black men. Men just like me. Thus, the Durham Success Summit (DSS) was born.

No more anger, no more sleepless nights, no more lying to myself and escaping from reality to avoid being bothered by my privilege and weighed down by survivor’s guilt. I made the conscious decision to focus purely on action. 


From the Department of Justice to Establishing My Own


We began in 2019 with just 75 students and 15 guest speakers. We focused on providing guidance to young, college-aged black men who were unsure of the steps they should take in their lives and careers.


And we saw real progress. They were responding to our strategies and our message. There was real potential in what the DSS was accomplishing. Then, in 2020, the pandemic hit – but we weren’t going to let that slow us down. No, we had just got rolling. And you can’t stop a rolling stone.


The Summit grew in 2020, partnering with the North Carolina Central University’s Men’s Achievement Center. That year, we provided a virtual program with 30 speakers to 175 students. We also launched an annual survey to better understand what we were doing for the young black men we worked with; those faces that too often become faceless in the media. Here’s what they said in 2020:

  • The Durham Success Summit was rated 4.7/5 stars 
  • 76% of them stated they would return for another year
  • 94% of them were clearer on their life and career goals after attending
  • 100% of them stated that they walked away with actionable tools they could implement in their lives


This was real improvement our attendees were experiencing. This was something big. This was something worth glorifying.


Success stories began coming out of our program, like those of Jordan Jackson and Tyler Fisher. Jordan went on to start the BLXCK Clothing Company, while Tyler was inspired to follow through on his dream to write children’s books and started a social media campaign to inspire others in turn. It was a ripple effect. And I couldn’t be happier.

But there’s still more action to be taken. There’s still more pain to heal.


The issues facing young men of color in Durham are not unique to the city. There are more out there like Jordan and Tyler who could have fallen through the cracks. But now that we’ve proven our model works, we’re confident that we can partner with organizations and city officials across North Carolina and establish events statewide. And after that, who knows? Maybe I’ll be coming to your city anywhere in the country if things keep working out.

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By Derek Rhodes • 26 Jun, 2023
Our strategy is shifting because that's what our youth need .

How to Recruit, Retain, and Promote Black Talent in your Organization

By Derek Rhodes • 18 Apr, 2023
The Status Quo According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , Black men have the lowest labor force participation and employment rates among men. Even when Black workers are able to penetrate into the work force, you see less and less of us as you climb the corporate ladder. Of the Fortune 500 CEO spots, only 6 are held by Black men (a “record” recently set .) A quote from Valerie Wilson , director of the Economic Policy Institute’s program on race, ethnicity, and the economy, sums up why this is such an important and disparaging fact. “Black workers, on average, are not being hired, promoted or paid according to what would signal their level of productivity based on their experience or their education. It absolutely impacts everything. It impacts your family’s economic security.” But it’s not only a desire to correct this systemic issue that should lead organizations to focus on seeking out more Black talent for their ranks. As it turns out, diversity in the workplace is actually an advantage when it comes to performance. According to Mckinsey , companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns over their industry’s medians. In other words, more diverse companies tend to outperform competitors. Additionally, diverse companies are 70% more likely to be aware of (and capture) new markets according to HBR , and diverse management teams generate 19% higher revenue (as per BCG ). These are all the “why’s” of why it’s important and advantageous for business owners to correct for long-standing racial imbalances in the workplace. Now let’s get into the how. Recruiting & Retaining Black Talent When you commit to recruiting Black talent for your organization, there are some “gold-standard” rules that to keep in mind. 1. Paying a living wage, not minimum wage. According to MIT’s research , the living wage in the United States in 2019 was $16.54 for a family of four, far above the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. And that was before the pandemic and inflation. Attitudes have shifted across the United States. Between the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting , employees are less willing to put up with subpar conditions and payment. Consider all the obstacles facing Black talent in the workforce, and how awareness of societal failures is only increasing. It’s highly unlikely that a Black worker is going to stick around if they don’t feel like they’re getting fairly compensated for their efforts. 2. Remove Other Barriers: Childcare, transportation, internet/equipment, more. One sometimes-overlooked aspect of the inequality facing Black talent is access to equipment or services that are often taken for-granted. For example, teleworking (working from home via Zoom, laptops, and other tech) boomed during the pandemic, but after the fact statistics showed that Hispanic and Black workers were 50% less likely to telework regularly compared to White workers ( CDC ). An easy way to avoid making this sort of mistake that might disqualify high-quality talent is by providing equipment and services (or at least making it known you’re open to doing so). 3) Connect them with another high-level Black male employee (OR an organization like Durham Success Summit). Another way to improve your retention of Black male employees is to immediately put them in contact with other Black male employees in your company, particularly those that are working at a higher level. Beyond providing them with an immediate role model for what success at your company might look like, this will allow both parties to discuss how your company handles delicate issues about and around race. 4) Check in regularly. Help make Black talent more comfortable at your company by checking on how they’re doing, ensuring that they’re adjusting, and seeing what you could do on your side to make their experience smoother. It’s possible that your company culture could be an adjustment for them, so checking in will help them understand that you’re at least willing to make the effort. 5) Be clear, transparent, and know what you don't know At the end of the day, Black talent is molded in a world filled with obstacles. You’re not going to be as in tune with these as your Black employees, and that’s okay. Always be willing to learn and listen to the experience of those who live this. For example, our consultants at Durham Success Summit are all professional Black men succeeding in various industries and are committed to improving the presence of Black men in the workforce. If you’d like to commit to joining us in our mission, we’d love for you to partner with us to help diversify your talent pool the right way. Click here to learn more.
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