A Banker Says Being Seen as a Diversity Hire Caused Resentment

This Bloomberg Markets article is part of “The Only One in the Room,” an oral history of the Black experience on Wall Street.

Brigette Lumpkins, 46, started her Wall Street career at Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2006, about two years before the New York-based securities firm filed for bankruptcy protection in the global financial crisis. She later worked for Barclays Capital, which acquired some parts of Lehman out of bankruptcy, and then for Hamilton Lane in New York and for Goldman Sachs in Miami. Today she is a Miami-based director of business development for EisnerAmper, an advisory and accounting firm. Lumpkins spoke with Bloomberg Markets about her experiences as a Black woman on Wall Street. Her comments have been edited for length and clarity.