Ep. 1 300,000 Black Women Have Been Forced Out of Work

Nearly 300,000 Black women were laid off in one political cycle. In this episode, we unpack the deeper story behind those numbers: the illusion of job security, the vulnerability of relying on systems not built with us in mind, and the powerful awakening unfolding in the Black community.

This is a raw, necessary conversation about grit, gratitude, and the rise of Black women-owned futures. We’re talking economic sovereignty, collective healing, and the urgency of creating our own opportunities. We’re not waiting for the next administration to decide our fate.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back to Bloomers and Boomers. This is week three. This is our third episode. We're introducing a new topic today, one that was heavy on our minds and spirits, reflecting on the reality of work and career and employment situation among our community. Women of color, specifically black women. If you've been paying attention to the news, you may have heard 300,000 black women have left the workforce in the last month or so. Um, and this is based on the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics. This is a real actual and factual quote, and we know that many of these women were forced out, some left voluntarily, and we know that this is this is major. This is major, especially my mom and I. We live in the DMV, DC, Maryland, Virginia area. And similar to us, you know, we both work in a public sector. We both, you know, made careers in government and are making careers in government in the nonprofit sector. And um, like many of the other black women in our region, um, have built a whole whole life around it. A whole life, and you know, trying to do the work in our communities to improve them. So it's definitely a devastating blow. Um, so this week we're focusing on that, but we're putting a s a spin on it. Gratitude as a form of resistance. Well, first of all, how are you doing this morning?

SPEAKER_01 1:26

I'm doing okay. I'm doing okay. Um, I'm here, grateful to uh to be here. Okay. So that's gratitude. But I just as you know, I was in thought, really reflecting on what you were sharing about the 300,000 women and how devastating it is, not just for the women, but for their family, right? Because in many cases, especially in the black community, like women are either holding up their entire family or are significant contributors to it. So it's um it's something that is um that we have to think about as a community, right? Not just just for those individuals. We're community people, right? We think about the village. So how does this impact the village?

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Yeah. I mean, as if things weren't, you know, I mean it's it's no secret that's yeah, it's it's things were already like, you know, you got a whole generation of folks that are trying to create generational wealth who maybe didn't necessarily have generational wealth handed down to them. So that's been the whole, you know, battle cry for a lot of black women is legacy, legacy, legacy. You know, what am I leaving behind for my children so that you know they can, you know.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

And I think that there is a there's a piece of it that is it speaks to us and our humanity because first of all, women are more nurturers, right? So um you find more of us in spaces where we are of service. And to be honest, those were the areas that really opened up to women of color first, like public areas or the not for profit areas, more than the private, and it's still the same, right? So those areas that are taking a hit like are already we were already overrepresented in those spaces, and now those spaces have shrunk to a degree, right? Um, because of what's going on with this uh the current uh political environment. So um, you know, that's it's uh a number to be thinking about, but also um how do we how can this transform the discussions that we're having around career for women for women of color and opening up other spaces, like entrepreneurship is wide, is is you know, okay, so that didn't work for me over there, but this is right here. I'm gonna put my eggs in this basket, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:52

It makes me think of this concept of self-sufficiency and you know, not pulling up a seat at the table, but building the table, you know, building the chair, building the table, building the room that it's in, you know, so all those things. And um I think just what comes up for me personally is what what it what does it look like when we're creating our own opportunities for each other, right? Um and getting to a place where there's more of that. Um and I think the concept of you know, get a good government job, that's kind of like that was a that was our community that was the move. And I think they saw, let me not say they, I think this current administration, let me be specific about who I'm talking about, this current administration is full of people who see the advancements of people of color and tapping into this and are threatened by it, yeah, and are threatened, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

But I I do think that it's I think that that was a long time coming, right? Because there's always a sense of um, you know, the right now part of uh Western European thought is just sort of this rug individualism, so that it's a meritocracy, so you earn what you get, right? And I do think that there is a sense that um we haven't earned, right? Somebody gave it to us, and uh and that not only that, that we took it from them. Right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right. If it wasn't for us, then they would be in those those spaces and in those positions, and which I which which is false, but if you have been fed, you know, that's been your daily uh intellectual diet for your entire life, is that somebody else got your piece of pie, and that the the people who have it are people who don't look like you, right? Then it's easy for people to move towards that. Well, we're gonna figure out how to to right the wrongs. And so writing the wrongs is taking it back and giving it to others, and it's to others who look like us. So I think I was in that space, like a good government job, not with not just because the pay was good, but the benefits were excellent, right? And um, just to see where it is now, and there's two things, two thoughts about that. One, there's government, federal government, because that's a lot of the space that's here, right? And what has been impacted, but there's also um smaller government, you know, in different places, state government, local government, and that it hasn't trickled down to those spaces just yet, but it looms large for us because we're in the DMV. That's what I think.

SPEAKER_02 6:39

Yeah, I would agree with that. And I think, you know, I think about the federal grants that go out to, you know, like let's say Title I schools, um, you know, after school programming, 21st century, you know, which provides this is my industry, you know, provides after school opportunities for kids whose parents may not have the resources to send them to one at no charge, you know. So and that really moves the the needle um with students academically and just like the f the resources for those schools that receive those funds as well, like it's it's it's it's a it's a big blow that's being that's being dealt to us, yeah that they're attempting to deal to us, and it's like okay, this is happening, and as we brace for impact, what are the things that we need to be considering? Yeah, um, so and that's a whole very large conversation.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

Yeah, that is, and but there's a different different generational thing um that's happening as well, which is you know, part of that I'm grateful for, right? Um, so my era was find a job, a good job, right? A good government job, but a good job, right? And and and sort of buckle down into that. And what I see with younger people, this spirit of entrepreneurialism, right? Like I'm gonna build my own, it's fascinating to me, right? Because I can and I can only speak for myself, we were a little fearful of that, right? So you it we all everybody had like a side hustle, right? Yeah. Right. Okay. So you had your job and your side hustle. Okay. So you might have, you know, you had legitimate um uh beauticians and and uh hair hair uh professionals, um, people who did that, but then you also had somebody, you know, I could you're kitchen beautician. Your kitchen beautician. I'm I'm a certified kitchen beautician, right, right, right. You can make it happen. Um, and it gave you just a little bit of ends, right? Maybe it might give you gas money and clothes or something like that. But but but the the goal for us was to make sure you had a 40-hour, nine to five job. And the the landscape has changed.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

And that the younger generation, y'all generation and younger, really embracing that. So it's not unusual to find uh someone like, and I I'm a true Jamaican, right? So you got one of the things that I learned growing up was how to sew clothes, right? So that was sort of like a little side hustle for me. I can make a little gown or something for somebody. But now you have that you can you can cook, you cater, you can do hair, right? You can drive over if you want to drive over, right? Do massages, right? Do a whole bunch of things and really make a living at that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

The barrier for for entry is also a lot lower, the barrier for entrepreneurship because it's largely your ability to use technological tools, right? Right. Is you know will determine. Right. Yeah, yeah. I mean, where y'all have it unlock, y'all are the hardest working generation. I don't care what anybody says. You put it in. Y'all are the baby boomers, are the hardest working, you know, out of Gen Z, Millennials, Generation X, you know, um, y'all, y'all have it. So, but the thing of our generation, my time and and younger, I would say, is using the social media to be like to influence things.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Um, right, because there was no such job as an influencer. No. What was that? First of all, I had to come to that term and understand it was a real thing.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Right?

SPEAKER_01 10:22

It is. It's I I did not believe it. I thought it was like some people, okay. I did a little video, I put it out. How are you an influencer? Right. And they are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

As a matter of fact, I'm following a couple of them because they're the brands pay them.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Because they they have influence, the brands pay them. There's a kid on YouTube who literally opens toys and plays with them, and he has millions of followers. Wow. A child's been doing it, I think it's for over like a decade. I forget his name. Don't ask me. He's probably about 15 years old, but he's an influencer. So, anyway, I say that to say the barrier for entry is a lot lower. That's all.

SPEAKER_03 11:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

But um, I love the hustle spirit. And here's the other thing that I'll also point out when I visit countries like Ghana or you know, places in the islands, there's less of the company opportunity, and there's more of you are creating the opportunity for yourself. You're getting up every day, you're hustling, you're taking your fruits out, you know, you're in the streets, you know, right, right. Hand to hand. Hand to hand, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:31

But this is what this is the product. Yeah. You got the cash. Let's do that. Yeah. That transaction. Yeah. That that that was definitely um visible in other spaces that you go to, right? And people are making their own opportunities. Yeah. And and just this I want to back up a little bit to the technology piece. Um, because we had this meeting uh this weekend, uh, the Black Women's Leadership Forum, we did a strategic planning session, and our younger members were talking about you know how best to communicate. And we need my generation needs help with that, right? Because just because we don't know it don't mean we should be put out the pasture. We need to be able to figure out, okay, what's the best way to use the tool? We could be influencers ourselves. Oh yeah, listen. Listen, the market is wide open because it ain't many of y'all that want to do that. Exactly, exactly. And do it in the do it in a way that is um that I think that it's that it's done. There's two things about it. One, um, to do it in a way that supports community, right? So is of service. I'm talking about to my generation, right? Um, and to understand that the dollar is not the big thing.

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Right? It's not, it's it's one aspect of it, but it is more about being in community and about sharing um and helping community develop and grow.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Right. So I'm I'm excited about that opportunity. Well, you're doing it now. You're doing it now. I I I'm working with you. Yeah. Yeah. But I'm I'm definitely excited about um other areas that we can sort of explore and you know, as we sort of develop this, like other areas, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Absolutely, absolutely. Um so I have a question for you. How, and this is just interesting, when we think of gratitude as a form of resistance or healing for black women in a society that has historically overlooked us. How do you see that happening?

SPEAKER_01 13:31

Just actually, I can tie it to the comment that uh that I just made about um doing it on behalf of community. Just in in, you know, to prepare for this dialogue, I did some um just some looking at different definitions of gratitude, like what it actually means for me, right? And so the gratitude, from what I can see and the way it actually plays out for me, it has some components. So there's, you know, there's a um one aspect is being thankful, right? So being thankful for certain things, but it's the quality of that thankfulness, right? So you can say, oh, you know, somebody can give you something, you just say thanks just for being it being received. But it if it's just thanks, there's nothing, sometimes it's there's nothing to that, and it does and some in some cases it doesn't need to be. But if you're really thankful for something, um, and again, this might be something that you're either given or something that happens for you, like what's the quality of that thankfulness, right? What's the um the level of appreciation, right? And so some of that um is there's also the appreciation or level of appreciation is to the source, right? So what am I who am I thankful to? Right? Uh sometimes you can throw random thanks up in in the air, but you know, there's typically a source, right? Like I'm thankful every day for my life. So I thank my creator when I arise. I also thank my ancestors for giving me life and providing this opportunity for me, right? So so there's that and showing appreciation, but there's also this sense of returning the with that thanks, right? It's it's what you do with that. So I can be grateful for a lot of things, but if I'm not doing anything with it, if it hasn't impacted my life to be to do something different, not something different, that's not the right term, but to do more, right? Um one of the things Nanny used to say all the time, right? And it's a uh principle that um we live with. I know what you're about to say. Right, right. To whom much is given. That's right. Much is required. And and so that that's a spiritual concept in many organized places, but it's a concept that really requires us to be human with one another. Right? So it's the it's it's the transaction that can be transformational. And um, so so I think so I'm trying to I'm trying to bring this around to your question. Uh-huh. Right? What does gratitude? What's gratitude look like as a form of resistance?

SPEAKER_02 16:11

Yeah, for black women. For black women society that has historically, you know, right on us.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Yeah. I um I think one of the things that I'm really grateful for are the sisterhood relationships that I have. And um, and those sisterhood relationships have been affirmed for me in many different ways. But I want to just take a moment to I'm really big on elders, how elders show up, um, and um bigging them up. If their elders are no longer here, then they're our ancestors, so I'm bigging them up. So this one I'm gonna talk about um my dear ancestor, um uh Gloria Ward, right? And Gloria was um an elder member. First, she was a member of the uh Rochester's um Black Heritage Committee, but she was also a member of the Black Women's Leadership Forum. I think she was a Delta too. I mean, she was just like in a lot of different spaces, but I remember one day on a random Saturday afternoon, she showed up at our house with a bouquet of flowers for me. Oh my goodness. It was it was a beautiful I was like, Wow. And I was like, it's not my birthday. I was, you know, she said because the first thing we want to do is sort of like justify that kindness, yeah. And she was like, No, I she said that I just you know, you you you were on my heart, and I just kind of like I just wanted to bring this. I listen, let me tell you something. I will always be right for that because I love cut flowers. Now I don't even remember saying that to her, yeah, but she felt that from me and showed up with a bouquet of flowers. Man, listen, let me tell you something. You know how I paid that forward? Listen, let's give that to a keyboard. I showed up at different people's houses, especially someone that you know is either feeling down, yeah, or or or those that you know don't ever have that experience. Yeah, and it changes the nature of the relationship, it changes how you think about another sister, yeah, right? Or sisterhood in general. In general, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:11

It's like I can show up, I can be kind to my sister and not worry about her looking at me like I'm crazy or weird. Right. It's just something I want to do for you. I want to do for you without any expectation.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Yeah, have a good day, have a good day. Because your inclination is, come on in, let me give you that. She's like oh no, no, no, I just wanted to stop. But she was there for all of like three or four minutes. Uh-huh. And I paid that doggone thing forward. You know, so it's a beautiful thing to do. So and and it it builds uh relationship, but also builds the expectation that I can be that and do that for others.

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Yeah. And I think that's that that level of gratitude, right? And the cycle that it creates, right? Like that, you know, I'm a Buddhist. So that karmic um flow initiating, you taking that gratitude, that gratefulness that you had for that sister, kind of just thinking of you in the way that she did and acting on it, right? Now plants a seed for you to go and do the same for others, which is this kind of idea of another form of self-sufficiency, like you know, entrepreneurship, that's one thing, right? You know, creating our own economic opportunities. But who's looking out for us during this season? Who's making sure that we're okay? You know, who's showing up in spaces when you know who's standing in the gap? These are things that we're gonna do for ourselves. That's right. These are things that we are actively doing for ourselves, you know.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Absolutely as a matter of fact, even now, when I just think about that moment, I my heart is full. Yep, right? It shifts the the the energy just thinking about it. Yeah, right? Yeah, it's I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful that I can you can go back to that memory. Yeah, but I'm also grateful that I can create that for somebody else.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

Yeah, you know, yeah, and you can call on that whenever you need it. Like, hold up, what wait, you remember what that one sister did for you? Right, you know what I mean? Right, right, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think um, sorry, were you gonna say something?

SPEAKER_01 20:09

No, I but the other the other um the only other piece that I would say is gratitude in terms of a form of uh resistance is how we support each other's um um uh I'm I'm I'm uh uh endeavors. That's the word I was I was trying I it was coming up adventures and stuff like that, but how we support each other's endeavors, and that's a that is a principle that we have in our pledge, but what does that actually look like? Yeah, right, and how when you say pledge, you're speaking of the BWLF plan. I'm thinking of that BWLF plant leadership. You know, I that I support my sisters in their endeavors so that they may be positive contributors to our community, right? So, one, whatever has been shared with me, right, I share with others, yeah. And and the the endeavors that others are undertaking and support their endeavors, right? I'm grateful for them for being first of all, I'm grateful for all y'all young folks, right? But the way y'all are moving and the things that you are are doing, I'm just amazed by that. I am amazed by that. That the the my in when I was coming up, we didn't have a lot of vocalizing around supporting each other in that particular way. Okay. Right? There was, you know, being um committed to civil rights and being committed to the movement, but the language now around sisterhood and women supporting women, I'm grateful for that. Yeah, right. And so I want to show up and um be supportive of that when I when I hear that. Because I also think that didn't happen for me, but you know, it's not just sort of like, oh wow, it didn't happen for me. I wonder what could have happened. But I recognize that the absence of that might have been something that would have helped to propel me. So I want to make sure that I'm supporting that for others as they're doing that particular work.

SPEAKER_03 22:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

So I it it shows up in a in a in a number of ways. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Now how how does it show up for your group? And you mean like what gratitude as a form of resistance? Right, right. Um, I think the act of looking at each other and saying, you know, there's this quote that I've been seeing on social media, which is like, we are the ones that we've been waiting for. Um it's like, I'm I'm grateful that this is an experience that like we are the group who could take something like this and transmute this experience into something groundbreaking, into something like a breakthrough for for us as black women. I do think if there's any group that would be poised to do that, it's us. Um historically, that is what we do. We take the the worst of situations, right? We take the worst of positions and somehow make it into something that is not only beautiful to us, that other people can see us flowing and with our lingo and with our style and our grace and class and status, and you know, it's no secret, want to emulate, right? You know, and I'm speaking from a black woman's perspective, right? So I'm thinking like we are the ones who can who can handle this. And not not that it's fair that we should be handling this, but we got this. I'm confident that we got this.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Um I think it's this this this current circumstances that we're in.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Current circumstances that we're in, because there is a communal lesson that we're we're learning out of this.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:49

There's a certain consciousness that's being awakened from the experience of like relying on this, and yes, it served its purpose, like the act of you know, being in service jobs, being in nonprofit, going and helping our community through these like different governmental and NGO um spaces. But the the the awakening that is happening now is there's actually this perceived stability there that isn't that isn't that isn't and you know it wasn't and isn't. Yes. That where where there might be a stability in those spaces for other groups, there isn't for for us. So it makes us look inward and it gives us the opportunity to say, hey, this is hard. And you know, there's people that are suffering, like there's people who really don't have food on the table, there's people who really don't know how they're gonna pay for their medical appointments and stuff, and they they deal with you know chronic stuff. So this is not to minimize that at all, but the opportunity here is to re-examine, so you know you get what I'm saying? So yeah. And unfortunately, this is the this is the and I can only speak from my personal experiences. Sometimes hardship is the vessel through which you learn gratitude. It's um being able to make it through those tough experiences and look back and reflect. Yeah. And it's recognizing, you know, having something in one instant and in another instant not having it, and recognizing that, you know, gratitude is a continuous practice that needs to be happening all the time. Right. Because your circumstances, life is a roller coaster. Right, right. So, you know, it's just kind of like this, this, this, this opportunity to reflect.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Um this is like uh as you're you're talking, I'm reminded of the overcoming story that we talked about um in our last uh episode. The overcoming story. And so then the once you overcome a hardship, right, others have the opportunity to learn from that just by you sharing. Here's the the thing. I'm always um inspired by stories of overcoming, especially from uh black women, right? Because because I because that's a that's a a context that I understand, yeah, and some of the things that um we've had to go through, I can understand and appreciate even the feelings in that moment, right? Like feelings of fear not being enough, right? Having to live up to someone else's uh standards. And and sometimes that is um that this those standards that we put up are ourselves, right? That sometimes we're the barrier to other sisters being able to um progress. And so um, how do how we share our stories of overcoming that and what we're learning from that, right? And we can heal through that, right? And support other women in terms of their their healing.

SPEAKER_02 27:05

Um, so I anyway, I'm I'm I'm grateful. So to close us out today, what are three simple things that you're grateful for today and why?

SPEAKER_01 27:17

Okay, so three simple things. I I have a gratitude list, and I don't know if I would say anything is really simple. So um let me just share um three so I mentioned life already, right? So I'm not I don't have to repeat that. You know, I'd say prayers in the morning. Nothing about that. Right. Um I am uh grateful for family, right? And so I'll so I'll I'll do a uh general covering, right? So it includes immediate family, extended family, friends that are family, like fictive kin, right? It includes my community, right? So I am grateful for my social connections through family and uh community. I'm grateful for the ability to, and so it's in a simple way, I'm thinking of um uh resources, right? So when you think of resources, I'm grateful for shelter. I'm grateful that I have an opportunity to eat when I want to eat, right? I've if you've ever been hungry and I have been hungry, being able to go and look in the fridge and get what I want to eat, I'm grateful for that. Um, and and I'm grateful for um nature. I'm grateful for nature, I am grateful for um the change in the seasons. Look how pretty it is with the leaves coming down, right? The different colors of nature, uh flowers, uh, you know, some parts of nature I can do without, but you know, you gotta take the good with the bad.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

Like everything else.

SPEAKER_01 28:53

Everything else. I'm I'm just grateful for air, right? And I'm grateful for this season of my life. This season that I'm flowing in a different energy, I'm on a different current, and the vibration is really, really intense and good.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

Ooh, intense and good.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

That's it's a good combination. Absolutely. Good intensity? That's right, good intensity. So, um, and I'm leaning into that, right? Where I'm at right now. So I'm I'm grateful for just who I am and where I am in this space.

SPEAKER_02 29:26

Yes, and I'm grateful for that for you. Ah thank you.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

I shake, I shake, I'm taking it.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

So what are you what are you grateful? What are you grateful for? And it could be simple, it could be three, however, you want to, you know, share.

SPEAKER_02 29:40

Um, I'm grateful for my spirit, my or re, my spiritual crown, my guide. I'm grateful um for the way that um I've navigated the last few years or so, which you know, listeners may not know, but I've been navigating health challenges and I really my will is stronger than this thing, you know. So I'm very, very grateful for that. I am grateful for community and in specific, I'm grateful for sisterhood. Um, you know, in those moments where you know, you may not have like a um a steady well, I'm gonna edit this out. I'm I'm grateful for sisterhood and I'm grateful the for the women in my life, the friendships I have, and just the ability to nurture another woman and to be nurtured um to my sisters, be nurturing to my sisters. Um, I'm grateful for that. And the last thing I would say, and certainly not last, because these aren't really in any order, but um I'm grateful for my voice um and just really being able to speak life over others um and use that as a tool um to support another person, um, whether it's women or you know, whoever. I'm just grateful for the headspace that I'm in that allows me to do this. And it's a form of gratitude for me. It's an active form of gratitude. It's active, um, it's gratitude in the form of a verb. Um being able to kind of experience my own, you know, challenges and again transmute that into something positive for somebody else. And that's mostly through my words. So I'm grateful for that. Okay. That concludes today's episode. Um I'm gonna record an outro.