Questioning the American Dream: Jeneya Lawrence on Supporting Black Women in the Workforce and Health Advocacy
Jeneya Lawrence’s spirit is just like her wardrobe: warm, colorful, and fun. Her vibrancy is felt even over the distance of a Zoom call. She’s a leader, community advocate, mother of two, and creative at heart. We spent an afternoon in mid May discussing her work as a Health Champion, the undervaluing of Black women in the workforce, and the need for access to more resources that will aid in self-sufficiency and building more unified communities.
Women of Cincy and the Women's Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation are teaming up to bring you six stories spotlighting the economic mobility of Black women in Cincinnati. “Questioning the American Dream: A Look at the Economic Mobility of Black Women in Cincinnati” supports the Women's Fund's “Historical Analysis of Black Women's Labor Trends and Systemic Barriers to Economic Mobility” study.
These are the stories of Black women navigating life in Cincinnati. We believe telling stories changes things; we believe listening changes things. We promised our community we would tell their stories. It's up to you to listen. Visit womenofcincy.org/economic-mobility for the full series.
The following Q&A is based on the interviewee’s firsthand account of their experiences and opinions alone.
Look for editor's notes with additional information in [bold brackets] throughout the article.
Interview by Kristyn Bridges. Photography by Chelsie Walter.
What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Open to new opportunities, very optimistic, and reliable. I have more, but you said only three.
You can say more. [Laughs.]
I love working with people. I enjoy meeting new people. I have a very caring heart. I have two children, a boy and a girl: My son is 12 and my daughter is 9. He loves to draw, and she loves to dance. She got the dancing part from me; I was a choreographer. I’m reliable; everybody comes to me for advice. I take care of my mom; I'm the youngest, so I always do things for her. I like to read and watch movies. I like to help people in Avondale because I feel like they really need help, especially the women. I like to shop; I like to dress. I like to burn sage, I like to paint, and I like to go to community events.
What is a Health Champion? Tell us about the work you're doing in the community.
A Health Champion is another word for a community health advocate. We assist residents in Avondale. We have a caseload of women; I help 12 women with various things that they may be having trouble with, like food and health resources. We're sometimes able to give out bus cards, like if they need to go to a job interview. We do different activities, like yoga and meditation. We have programs for the children that aren’t in school yet. Whenever this [pandemic] is over with, we’re going to be offering professional classes to our residents, like job readiness classes. We do fresh produce pop-ups and boxes for children, so they can get groceries.
I'm also the middleman between the rent office and the community. With property owners and tenants, there’s always a gap. Miscommunication always causes problems. It’s really hard [for residents] to talk to the rental people and property owners because they’re afraid they may get put out. But they tell me, and I tell [the office] so that they can have one-on-one conversations with the rental company.
I’m always an open ear. I wouldn't call myself a friend to my residents; I would say I'm more like a leader: a person they can rely on and trust, a person that has their best interests at heart. Being a Health Champion has matured me a lot; it’s made me more open to helping people. I feel I'm loved and appreciated. It feels good to know that somebody cares about you as much as you care about them. I feel like what I’m doing, and what my coworkers are doing, is being recognized.
What do you feel are the biggest challenges that your residents are facing and what are the missing resources that could help fill those gaps?
Transportation, for starters. If the Metro just blessed people with a free bus card to get to a job…
Maintenance issues [at their residences], things like lead and old paint. There are kids who have asthma, kids who have allergies, and the buildings – they're great buildings, but wear and tear always happens. If maintenance were more on it when they needed to be, that wouldn’t be an issue. [About 24 million housing units in the U.S. have significant lead-based paint hazards. Close to 4 million of these are home to young children. In 2018, Cincinnati was one of the top 25 most polluted cities according to the American Lung Association’s ‘State of the Air’ report.]
“ You don't know what's really going on inside the home until somebody tells you their story. “
More job opportunities. Maybe if there were more job fairs, or if they could give residents jobs inside the community… And more job readiness classes. I feel like most of the residents want to work, but they just don't know how to keep a job because they're so used to not being job ready.
There should be more gardening, more fresh produce. Instead of having Flaming Hot Cheetos or Hot Fries in their hands all the time, kids could pick an apple or some fresh fruit off the tree.
They should bring safety classes to Avondale [addressing] guns and violence. I feel like there's more young people in Avondale than older people, and they have a lot of things going on for the elderly. They have activities and things like that, but there’s a lot of young kids running around with little knowledge and nothing to do except Hirsch [Rec Center], and not everyone can't afford the membership.
And I'm kind of nervous about the children next school year because as far as education, I'm sure most of the children probably aren’t at home reading right now or having three meals, because it's tough. No matter about the pantry – some people don't have the transportation to get to the pantry. It's bigger than the coronavirus. You don't know what's really going on inside the home until somebody tells you their story.
There should be a lot more resources in Avondale for the residents and their children, and I feel like we got to start off with unity. We have to come together, brainstorm, and put our thoughts together so we can put it on a platform, and we can make it happen.
What are some barriers that people face when it comes to employment?
Job readiness, for one. [We need] a place where you can go if you have a job interview and get some dress attire, maybe have a 10-minute one-on-one job interview readiness session – things like that to make a person feel more secure about going out to get employment.
People feel like they're not perfect or good enough or don't have enough skills or passion to get the job. If we don’t get the job, we want to know why we didn't get it or what we can do to improve. Some people's self-esteem goes down when they don't get the job, or they don't hear back from the employer and they give up.
When you have gotten the job, in your experience, have you felt valued?
I was painting for C.M.H.A.; I got a certification with Sherwin Williams. I was able to paint two buildings in Avondale. I was the only lady starting off; it was me and three men. We worked for a good six months on the old folks building on Greenwood, and then after six months they got a raise. I didn't. We all were making $11.50; they went up to $12.50 and I stayed at $11.50. They got more because they were able to come at 6 in the morning, and I wasn't able to come until 8 due to the children I had. I feel like that was discrimination. I got the job done; I had no problems, not one complaint; everyone said that I was doing good; the walls looked great, and I didn't get that raise. He told me that he would have to wait and see if I could get a raise, and I feel like that was unfair.
Sometimes there’s discrimination between a woman’s and a man’s job. For example, I feel a person who lays floor and a person who does daycare should be even. If I can't watch your child, how can you lay the floor? I feel like some things aren’t equal or fair. Sometimes it makes people quit or it makes people look for other job opportunities or it makes people come to work late or get to a point where they feel like, “What am I here for?” I feel like if employers were more appreciative and showed more recognition, things would be a whole lot better. [Despite some advancements made in the 1960s, Black women today are still overrepresented in low-wage jobs such as childcare, food service, home care, nursing assistance, retail, and non-household domestic work. Many of these occupations require intensive manual labor, yet Black women still make, on average, 66 cents on the dollar compared to white men.]
Do you have other instances where you left a job because you weren't being supported in a certain way? What were some of the other reasons you've left previous jobs?
I worked a couple warehouse jobs. I ended up leaving those jobs due to transportation issues. Then I got a job at the Center for Closing the Health Gap, and that is another job where I felt I was not appreciated. I was let go. And it was a sad story; it was because of my children. The Center for Closing the Health Gap holds a lot of events. I was a community health advocate for them, so I was employed under a nonprofit organization, was getting $400/month, and I didn't have childcare at the time. My mom would watch my kids sometimes, but sometimes she wasn't able to. So, one time I didn't have a babysitter so I had to bring my kids, but it was an event where kids are allowed so I didn't really think that my kids would be excluded. My son, he was older, but my daughter needed a little bit of attention, but she was still able to sit to the side. After that event, I was let go because childcare was an issue. [Daycare for one child can cost about $300/week, or $15,000/year, in Cincinnati where the median income is just over $38,000.]
“I don't know all the numbers, but I do feel as Black women we are underpaid and under-recognized as far as our worth. And sometimes we tend to fall for anything because that's what people have given us.”
I feel like some employers only look at what's in their best interest. Like, “I want the person who doesn't have kids versus the person who has kids.” But what if the person who has kids has a little more knowledge versus the person who doesn’t have kids? They also ask, “What can you bring to our company?” I can bring a lot to your company, but would you be able to fulfill the things that I don't have right now so I can make your company – or our company – better?
Do you think we’re underappreciating Black women, specifically, in the workforce?
Honestly, I feel like we're on the low pole. Like, the lowest pedestal. I know I'm a Health Champion and it's a nonprofit organization, but I feel like my work is not financially valued enough. And I'm not saying that because of my caseload or because of how long I've been working as a community Health Champion; I'm saying that because of my value, what I'm worth. I know the things that I bring to the conversation and the things that I have to give, the resources I can offer. When community people work – social workers, health workers, health advocates, anything of that nature – I feel like we always are overworked. The job is never done. We have to look at our personal life being affected, as well, because as we're going through what we're going through, we’re still finding the strength to give advice to another Black woman who's going through the same thing: lack of resources, lack of communication, lack of being financially stable, and I feel like we are being underpaid. [In Ohio Black women’s median income clocked in at $33,710 whereas white men earned $56,403.]
A daycare provider is paid $14, $15/hour when I feel it should be $20/hour. [The average hourly wage for a daycare worker in Cincinnati is $11.54.] You’re spending time taking care of other people's children and your children, as well. And they’re very flexible: Some daycares open at 5 in the morning and close at 1 in the morning. I don't know all the numbers, but I do feel as Black women we are underpaid and under-recognized as far as our worth. And sometimes we tend to fall for anything because that's what people have given us. But I feel like if we recognize our worth more, then a lot of opportunities would be available for us. By telling the employer, “Well, this job offers $14, but I feel like I'm worth $20 because I have these qualifications…” I feel like it's really not that hard, but we just don't believe it because there's so much miscommunication and miseducation around racism and the things that we go through as Black women or Black men. It's generation to generation to generation. I don't feel like we can blame the people today for the things that have been happening years ago. The only thing we can do is just make it better. And it starts by having unity within your own race. It starts there.
What do you feel that would look like? If it starts with communication, what does that communication look like? How do we untangle the generational teachings and restructure our lives now?
I feel like it starts within. It's going to take people Googling and reading books. I feel like knowledge is here. We got this one-way mindset of being so torn and damaged because of things that went on with our ancestors that people play on it to this day instead of putting that to the side and saying, “Okay, let's do better.” We just gotta do better as a people. Period. Just look out for each other and care for each other. It's going to start with the system because it's already torn, but as people, we should just have more unity.
What kind of long-term effect do you feel COVID-19 will have on the Black community?
As Black people, I feel like there's so much other stuff going on in the world today with people's families or with their mental health that I feel COVID-19 is the least of their concerns. But it is affecting us financially. The men that's on child support that owe back pay, they didn't get the stimulus. And then there’s people who are unemployed that still haven't gotten their unemployment. It’s not doing anything but pushing our Black men to the streets.
What are some of the positive things that you've seen happening in the community?
I've been seeing so many great things: fresh produce and vegetables being provided for the residents every Thursday, that’s great. The schools, Douglass giving out hygiene products. Cincinnati Children's giving out hygiene products, paper towels, soap, and things like that. That's great. As far as our president or whoever passed the bill, I feel like that was a great thing that he gave that [stimulus package] because it was very needed, for me personally, anyway, because I was able to get a car that I needed.
“We just gotta do better as a people. Period. Just look out for each other and care for each other. It's going to start with the system because it's already torn, but as people, we should just have more unity.”
I've been talking to the teachers more than I've ever talked to them the whole time my kids have been in school. The fact that they care so much is what makes me happy. They’re really worried and concerned about the children.
It's a good thing that they're not evicting anybody right now. [Between 2014-2017, nearly 50,000 people were evicted from their homes in Hamilton County. Black women made up a disproportionate number of those evictions. In June of 2020 the eviction moratorium lifted and 1,000 cases instantly filled the docket.] Nonprofit organizations are giving out funding to their caseload of people. The pantries are giving out extra food. It's always great to know that people are using the funding to the best of their advantage to help the people that need it the most. There’s a lot of great resources coming out of the COVID-19 struggle. But I really feel like someone should send out a survey to every household asking, “How have you been since this been going on? Are you in need of anything? What are you lacking?” Then they’ll know more about what's going on inside of each household.
How do you think a lot of those programs could improve?
I feel like there should be a hotline for everything: a food hotline, a transportation hotline, a housing hotline. I feel like they should include more resources through the phone. You can go online, but not everybody is computer literate; not everybody can go online.
Do you have the support systems you need? What support systems have made a difference in your life?
I do. I can turn to a lot of different people to get support, honestly. And I'm very proud of that. I might need a nanny. [Laughs.] I got somebody that I can talk to; I got somebody to watch my children if I need to go out of town or just need a break away from this life we’re living in. So, yeah, I do have a great support system. And it's appreciated. I can't ask for much more.
Tell us about an influential woman in your life.
My mom, for starters. And my boyfriend's mom. They are two different types of people, but the reason I pick my boyfriend's mom is because I feel like she's a leader; I feel like she has nothing but good advice for me all the time. We have so much in common. She’s always so happy; I've never seen her mad or sad. She just gives energy and life.
As far as my mom, she just influences me to do better. I mean, growing up, I didn't have the perfect household, but I know how to prepare a made-up meal if I don't have everything I need. I'm so much of a community leader because of my mom. Everybody knows her for doing great things. I get my style from my mom. I just know that you're a reflection of who you call “Mom.”
And she always says how proud she is of me, and I always tell her it's because of her that I am who I am today. I hope that that plays a big part of my kids’ lives and that they recognize and understand that it starts at home first before anything.
Continue exploring “Questioning the American Dream: A Look at the Economic Mobility of Black Women in Cincinnati” at womenofcincy.org/economic-mobility.