Darcel Rockett
Our nation is at a critical juncture. We voted for change in the White House at the same time that experts say we’re experiencing a second wave of COVID-19. As presumptive Vice President-elect Kamala Harris makes history, questions of social justice continue to be uppermost in many Americans’ minds.
The Black population made their voices known in this 2020 election, women especially, and change is coming. Chicago’s Black women leaders are ready to make it happen. We talked with local Black women leaders about their leadership and what that means to the communities they serve.
Esther Franco-Payne, executive director of Cabrini Green Legal Aid
When it comes to working toward racial equity, Esther Franco-Payne distinguishes between emotional anger and righteous anger, and she’s choosing the latter now “because this is a lifetime work for me.”
The Beverly resident has been working in violence prevention and criminal justice reform since 1999. Her organization offers “holistic” legal services for those affected by the criminal justice system; she oversees staff and volunteers who serve approximately 8,000 clients per year statewide, with the help of pro bono lawyers. Social workers on staff and a “robust referral network” help clients with cases, as well as issues related to housing, family connectedness, employment status, education and behavioral health.
“If we can put forward advocacy agendas and get stakeholders involved, that is the third leg of our stool — advocate for what is right, so we can change laws and policies that really hit our communities with collateral consequences that create barriers that last a lifetime for people,” Franco-Payne said. Prior to the pandemic, CGLA was ramping up its work supporting the social equity components of the Illinois cannabis act.
Franco-Payne said it means a lot to her to be doing this work as a Black woman leader and as CGLA’s first Black executive director because she’s bringing her advocacy experience and background to it.
“It means a lot in this time of talking about racial equity,” she said. “When these things have been brought up in the past, it hasn’t been a big deal. … I think that is the moment we have to see right now. If one person can find it in their hearts to contribute to the greater good, all we can do is use that and build from there. Teach one, reach one.”
Drema Lee Woldman, president of the newly chartered Chicago Metropolitan chapter of National Coalition of 100 Black Women
Setting up the new Chicago chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Drema Lee Woldman noticed how many of its members were under 40. “These kids are not rolling with the flow. They want to do something about it.”
The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, which advocates for Black women and girls, landed in Chicago this September because of Lee Woldman, a Lynwood resident who created the organization’s largest chapter with 144 members. And that’s just one of the many chapters she has helped create. The Quarles & Brady employee has organized the South Suburban Chicago section of National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and the Lincoln Park Chicago chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction. She’s been a leader/organizer for her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) too.
A social worker by trade, Lee Woldman has served as president on all the community service-based organizations listed. The West Virginia native said she joined the Top Ladies of Distinction for its youth programming; joined NCNW for its grassroots programming on health, education and economics, as well as civil rights. The AKAs are about providing scholarships for students of color, supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and entrepreneurship.
“They make a difference in the communities we serve,” Lee Woldman said of the service entities. “If we didn’t have these organizations, a lot of things that happen in our communities wouldn’t happen.”
That’s why she said more Black female leaders are “definitely needed.” In the Chicago chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 50% of the members are under 40.
“We know how to get things done … with the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and these 70-some under 40 people, all of them are leaders in their own right,” she said. “That leadership is sorely needed with all the things happening to us, and against us.”
Tanya Woods, executive director of the Westside Justice Center
Attorney Tanya Woods sometimes refers to herself as the “reluctant kitchen activist,” helping others solve problems in their communities for years. “That’s how (change) starts; it starts small.”
Woods recalls when her 22-year-old son was arrested during a protest this summer. He was detained for 21 hours, and she did not know where he was.
“Even after 21 hours of being detained, me being an attorney and not being able to see my son and client, you still have that fear of what can happen. Because at the end of the day, that’s a young Black man who’s at the mercy of the system,” she said.
Real-life experiences like this put her squarely in the same spaces as the clients the center serves. The Westside Justice Center is a community/legal services hub with six nonprofits, three law firms and a few small businesses. They share a space at California Avenue and Harrison Streets, where walk-ins who’ve fallen into gaps in the legal aid systems are the norm.
An AKA and National Coalition of 100 Black Women member, the mother of two who grew up near Garfield Park is all about breaking down barriers that stop people from accessing justice. Woods’ way is lifting up authentic leadership that exists in communities and drafting solutions with clients from beginning to end. Hers is an organic approach.
“It’s literally sitting at our kitchen tables or on the back porch trying to co-author and solve the problems that are in our community,” she said. “We hear all the time about how we’re not getting along, or what one is taking from the other. We don’t have to accept that. We get to say no, go back in the kitchen, and make a bigger pie.”
Tiffany Hamel Johnson, president/CEO of Chicago United
West Lakeview resident Tiffany Hamel Johnson considers herself a “disrupter by nature.” She’s optimistic about diversity, equity and inclusion because of the coalition of people from different walks of life who are coming together around a shared purpose.
Hamel Johnson’s path to leader of the nonprofit corporate advocacy group began when she decided to pivot away from pursuing broadcast journalism as a career. She segued into industrial development and economic development, held positions with the Chicago Urban League, donned the CEO title at Windy City Harvest, served under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel as deputy chief neighborhood development officer and did two stints with World Business Chicago (the city’s economic development and marketing arm).
Her experience in the private, public and nonprofit sectors is why she took the reins of Chicago United in April. She’s the first Black woman to lead the organization, whose mission is advancing inclusion in executive ranks, in boardrooms and with minority businesses.
“Every job for the last 20 years has been about access and opportunity in some way for people that are underserved, under-resourced or marginalized in some kind of way,” she said.
According to Hamel Johnson, increasing the talent pipeline for people of color to move through corporate ranks on all levels has to start sooner. The coalition of people from different walks of life that are coming together around a shared purpose to take a stand on racial equity leaves her hopeful.
“We are a resilient people,” she said. “I don’t believe that we will stop until we get what we believe we should. I’m hopeful because of who we are.”
