From the Southwest Quadrant to Leading the YWCA
I am native to Rochester and the product of parents who migrated to the North from the oppressive Jim Crow South during the tail end of the Great Migration. My parents settled on the southwest side of Rochester in the 19th Ward, where I was born and raised. We were one of the first Black families on our street in the early 1970s. Growing up in a multi-cultural neighborhood, with its triumphs and racially charged challenges, helped to shape my worldview as a community leader in the nonprofit sector today. In 2020, I was hired to lead a historic women’s charitable organization, where 60% of the client base identifies as Black women. In this community-centered space, it has become abundantly clear to me that representation matters as the direction of a new generation of Black Leadership in Rochester is embraced.
The Rise of the New Black Leader
Looking across the leadership landscape in Rochester, there is a significant uprising of Black leaders in prominent roles across various sectors, including nonprofit organizations, government, philanthropy, banking, healthcare, and higher education. There is a unifying outpour of community support with each new leadership appointment of a qualified Black professional.
I experienced this sense of pride at the beginning of my appointment as the first Black president and chief executive officer in the 140-year history of YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County. One of the elders residing in our flagship housing development, in downtown Rochester, stopped by my office with her granddaughter and asked that I meet with her. Of course I agreed and invited them into my office. As the grandmother admired my workspace adorned with my professional and academic accolades, I asked, “What would you like me to share?” The grandmother simply responded, “Nothing specific. I just want my granddaughter in the presence of Black excellence.” It is an honor to be held in high regard by Black elders from the community. I embrace and use the wisdom of those who came before to ground me as I work closely with others in the community to continue to call out injustice, demand change, and remove barriers.
Black leaders came together monumentally during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens, especially elders and residents in our most poverty-stricken areas, were connected to trusted community resources. Our community leaders made sure people had access to timely, accurate information and vaccines (United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes, 2020).
The disproportional impact of COVID-19 on Black communities across the country is well documented. Both the National Library of Medicine and the Empire Justice Center reported information about the negative impact. Black leaders worked closely with local medical and government agencies to host vaccine clinics and information sessions in city neighborhood centers and trusted community hubs to ensure individuals in the Black community received up-to-date medical advice from credible professionals.
Our willingness to collaborate, challenge, and celebrate each other’s accomplishments confirms the unity among Black Rochester residents. It’s a testament to the resiliency and effectiveness we embody that comes to the forefront during trying times. However, there is much work to be done. Many members of the Black community are trapped in a vicious cycle of being unhoused, underemployed, and struggling with addiction and/or mental health issues. (Common Ground Health, 2023). Mission-driven organizations like YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County center the voices of our most vulnerable neighbors, many of them Black women, by providing trauma-informed programs and services with an equity lens to support their journey to self-sufficiency.
How We Can Advance the State of Black Rochester
As vanguards of the movement in the Black community, we answer the call to advance the state of Black Rochester by:
- Centering the voices and needs of those in our community who live on the margins.
- Serving as convenors and a trusted resource in the community.
- Galvanizing leaders across industries to directly address institutional and structural issues plaguing the Black community.
- Demanding adequate resources and opportunities to improve employment, housing, mental health, and the overall well-being of the citizens in the Black community.
Proudly, we stand on the shoulders of our foremothers and fathers who set the stage for Rochester’s Black community to thrive. We must move onward and upward for the next generation to thrive.
Resources
Empire Justice Center, “COVID-19-19 Disparities in Rochester, NY: The Legacy of Redlining in The City of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony”, 2020
United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes, “Community Resources in Response to COVID-19-19 Outbreak”, 2020
Common Ground Health, “Undomed: A spotlight on Homelessness in the Finger Lakes Region”, 2023
Common Ground Health, “The Color of Health the Devasting Toll of Racism on Black Lives”, 2020
The National Library of Medicine’s Response to COVID-19-19, 2020
