When I walked into the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania for my first day as a graduate student in city planning in 2003, I felt happy and excited. I wanted to become an urban planner to empower everyday Philadelphians to shape their communities. Pursuing this goal at such a prestigious institution made the experience all the more meaningful.

Yet I couldn’t help but notice how much I, as a Black woman, stood out — a worry confirmed just a couple of days into the semester. I learned that after I left a celebratory event, a classmate claimed that Penn admitted me and a handful of other Black students only because of affirmative action.

Listen to the councilmember read her story here:

The comment stung. None of us had spent enough time in the program to judge who was sma

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