Sade Moten
Meet Sade Moten! A Rochester, NY native, she moved to Greensboro, NC for law school at Elon University. Her next big step in her lawyer career is passing the bar exam.
1. How has the current political climate been affecting your emotional
well-being?
Well, I have always been very uninterested in politics. Every time I would mention that to someone they would always say “aren’t you going into law, isn’t that the same thing?” Actually, it's not. The law and politics are two different areas. I like learning about the law and how to apply it to someone’s situation to help them figure out solutions. Politics to me is just an area where people are forcing their opinions and beliefs on other people. I feel the political climate seeks to separate people. As I mentioned above, I personally don’t like speaking on politics because people tend to get upset that you believe the opposite of what they do. When someone can speak to me without immediate getting aggressive or calling someone dumb, then maybe I will start talking. To actually answer the question, it can be sickening to watch or hear about politics, but overall does not affect my emotional well-being in the long run.
2. What were the driving factors in pursuing a law degree?
Besides the typical answer of wanting to help people, I did not truly know I wanted to pursue a career in law until I was in my numerous internships doing the work I would be doing. Since I was younger I always said that law school was my path, so I followed it. I became more certain with more of the exposure I had. I am the first in my immediate and extended family to go to law school so that right there is motivation enough.
3. Have there been any obstacles that you’ve had to overcome while pursuing your degree as a woman? As a black woman?
Of course. I hate explaining myself and other black women like this, but we as black women are “on the bottom.” We are the double minority being a black person and being a woman. I may not have expressed this to many or out in the open, but I have had moments where I felt like I had more to prove. I made myself work twice as hard to prove that as a black woman I can do more than what that white male can do. A lot of the time women aren’t looked at as leaders and I made sure to be involved in as many leadership opportunities as I could.
4. Have you ever experienced discrimination based on your sexual orientation or race? If so, how has that affected your day to day life?
I have a hard time remembering moments of discrimination based on my race because I tend to not hold on to things and keep on going with my life. I do have instances of people saying that I was smarter than they thought, or too beautiful to be black, or that I can’t be just black, or when I was called white because I like to be on time to things. Even during my internships, while in meetings with clients and being the only black person, they would be sure to mention how much they love black people or that they have a friend they know that is black. I tend to get annoyed by statements like these, however, I have a lot of patience so that tends to help with how I am affected by comments. One comment that did irritate me a bit was when someone I knew well expressed how they did not understand racism and everyone they knew didn’t hate anyone. It threw me and I just had to say calmly that just because you personally do not know anyone who hates anyone does not mean it is not happening around you. That right there just showed me how closed minded people are and it is kind of saddening.
5. Who or what would you say has had the biggest impact on you as POC positive or negative and how?
I would say my one of my very close first cousins. Growing up my family was not a family who went as far in school as I have. There were a few distant family members that I did not know much about, but to me my cousin was a first. She finished high school, she went to college, finished her degree, and got a job in what she wanted to do. Now I am not saying that that is the right path for everyone, but it was what I wanted. Seeing how accomplished my cousin was/is as a black woman, it gave me even more motivation. It showed me that I didn’t have to do what everyone else thought I should do, but I what I wanted to strive for.
6. What issues are you currently witnessing the legal system and how would you propose we go about improving them?
I believe one of the issues we have, that I personally have witnessed, is that we have people who have never been exposed to black people or any minorities for that matter and then go into a field where a lot of their clients are minorities. When I say people, I mean people who are becoming attorneys and those already attorneys. Another issue that goes hand and hand with that one, is that there is a small percentage of black attorneys and black women especially. It is hard to say how to improve issues like this. We need more minority attorneys to represent other minorities. We need more training for people to understand how to represent someone who does not have the same background as you.
7. While studying for the bar exam, what keeps you motivated and inspired during COVID?
Having nothing to do actually forces me to stay focused! Since there are so many hardships in finding or keeping employment, it pushes me to make it to my goal and get that secured job I’ve been looking for. So many people are scared about what is happening in their legal life and they turn to me because I am the only lawyer they know. Except that I can’t help right now because I don’t have a license yet. That right there motivates me to keep on pushing so I can provide answers to those around me who need it the most.
8. What does being an ally mean to you? What would you like to see from allies, beyond social media?
I would say being an ally means being someone who is willing to understand others who are not that same as you. It means to be someone who will “fight” to correct those who do not know any better. It means knowing how and when to be there for someone else even if you aren’t facing someone else’s issues. I would like to see people correcting their friends and family not just from a status on social media, but in real life conversations. Don’t just let someone slide because that’s who they are. Just inform them and if they don’t want to take it in then that’s on them.
9. Is there anything else you would like to share with the world about your story or experiences?
One thing I have been finding myself saying a lot lately is that your life and story does not have to be on a tight timeframe. I used to think that I had to finish my goals at certain times and certain ages or it was not going to happen. I have learned with life that it does not need to happen that way. I am very thankful to have two degrees at the age of 24, but if I could do it over, I would have taken more time to travel and discover myself. I love traveling and I am not saying that I can’t travel after I have those degrees. It is just a hard thing to accomplish when there is so much student loan debt to follow and trying to establish myself in my career.
Bonus: What’s your favorite thing to bake?
I would say both oreo cheesecake and banana bread because I bake those the most!
Bonus: What’s the most challenging yoga pose you’ve mastered?
I am still in the beginning stages and just a little scared to try out the hard poses, but I am looking into learning how to do controlled “forearm” stands. I’m not sure about handstands anytime soon!