Layoffs and Loss: Why Black Women Deserve Compassion This Holiday Season
One Sunday last month, while at church, I bumped into fellow Black mom, *Rachel, as she picked up her twin sons from Sunday School. We reside in the same neighborhood, […] The post Layoffs and Loss: Why Black Women Deserve Compassion This Holiday Season appeared first on Essence.
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By Bridgette Bartlett Royall ·Updated November 20, 2025 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… One Sunday last month, while at church, I bumped into fellow Black mom, *Rachel, as she picked up her twin sons from Sunday School. We reside in the same neighborhood, and our children once attended the same preschool. Genuinely some savings to cover her household’s necessities. Or maybe she was surviving with the help of loved ones. Perhaps it was a combination of both. But beyond that? Rachel was nervous AF. More than once, her understandable angst caused her to almost cuzz (yes cuzz; not curse). Each time she caught herself on the verge of uttering some profanity, she stopped and whispered, “Girl, I gotta remember that we’re in church!”
If Rachel had cuzzed, I think God would have understood, because being expected to show up for work daily as normal, without getting a dime is beyond crazy. And to be forced to do it with multiple mouths to feed is nothing short of diabolical. Thankfully, our church is one of many across the country that gave their members monetary stipends to assist with basics like transportation costs while they were furloughed. Our church also offers food to those in need weekly all year, and during the shutdown, that offering was increased. Many companies, from small businesses like hair salons to Fortune 500 corporations like major banks
The post Layoffs and Loss: Why Black Women Deserve Compassion This Holiday Season appeared first on Essence.
