Ever since the January 2020 Bloomberg CityLab report ranked Cleveland worst in overall outcomes for Black women among U.S. cities with 100,000 or more residents, Enlightened Solutions—a Cleveland-based research and advocacy firm that specializes in individual equity and organizational change—has been exploring the profundity of this issue.
Led by Chinenye Nkemere and Bethany Studenic, Enlightened Solutions launched Project Noir in February 2024, asking a series of questions to appraise the depths of struggles for Black women in Cleveland, first in the 2020 then again early this year at a Conversations for Black Women event.
Nkemere says she really wants people to understand Project Noir is Step Zero—an opening for Black women to speak about their experiences and provide opinions.
Led by Chinenye Nkemere and Bethany Studenic, Enlightened Solutions launched Project Noir in February 2024, asking a series of questions to appraise the depths of struggles for Black women in Cleveland, first in the 2020 then again early this year.
The results
Overall, the 2024 report finds that Black women continue to struggle the most in these top three areas: workplace, healthcare, and education.
Studenic says that 1,324 Black women from across Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, Youngstown, and Akron, took the 2024 survey, which was triple the response rate to the 2020 survey and an 85% completion rate. Although proud of the increase in responses, both Studenic and Nkemere say they believe it shows how prevalent the issues are and how much they persist.
Studenic explains that the 2024 Project Noir survey asked better, deeper questions and provided more space for open-ended responses. For instance, in 2020, they learned that Black women were called angry on the job. Therefore, they integrated that question into the microaggression section of the 2024 survey.
Additionally, Studenic says, they go through a process to hand code and find the stories with particular themes—as many statistics and metrics from the community are identified in those themes.
“We saw new themes crop up,” says Nkemere. “The term ‘DEI hire’ or ‘DEI candidate’ are phrases that weren't prevalent in 2019 and 2020 but are now.”
Nkemere adds that this finding shows that what’s happening in the news and in the day-to-day lives of Black women nationally, also impacts Black women locally.
Additionally, the survey found that Black women are serving as “the conscience” in most workplaces, Nkemere says, and are expected to educate others about their own personal experiences but still receive “blow back.” This, in turn, she continues, can serve as an opportunity for others to impeach Black women about their experiences.
Participants in February's Conversations for Black Women's event, documenting their responsesStatistically, 51% of Black women surveyed reported experiencing retaliation for speaking out, and 72% reported subjection to negative comments.
Other surprises from the 2024 survey/report that resonate with Nkemere relate to instances of isolation in higher education institutions. She asks the question, “What does that do to academic success and the building [of a] professional network that typically happens in that space?”
“While Black women use education as a means to an end, they are being ‘micro-aggressed,’” says Nkemere.
In healthcare, Project Noir reported a prevalence of callousness wherein Black women were subjected to painful experiences and felt uncomfortable by a provider. “Everyone should receive the same level of access,” says Studenic.
Nkemere adds, “We still see Black women struggling.”
Catalyst for change
Both Studenic and Nkemere, however, say they believe the Project Noir finding should be a basis for change.
“[We] do a lot of advocacy to raise awareness around the issues but, when it comes to investing in change, that’s where we struggle,” says Studenic.
However, Nkemere stresses that incremental progress is being made. For example, she says the Village of Healing Clinic, a Black- and female-led organization in Euclid, is growing and providing exceptional metrics. But they are only one organization.
“There are spaces where Black-led, Black-female entities are doing exceptional work but need to be funded, and funded well, to serve more,” Nkemere argues. “More systems change work needs to be done.”
Nkemere says she really wants people to understand Project Noir is Step Zero—an opening for Black women to speak about their experiences and provide opinions.
ThirdSpace Action Lab co-founder Evelyn Burnett, Enlightened Solutions board member Courtney Ottrix, and Chinenye Nkemere“Project Noir is one opportunity to ask Black women to look at the experiences and metrics and for institutions to look at it, then open the door,” she says. “This kind of research is purely economic.”
Nkemere adds that Cleveland can be economically viable because it is a great place to live. At the same time, Black women should feel welcome and blessed to be here.
“What we want is this ability to change Cleveland from being at the bottom to being at the top,” says Nkemere, who says she chooses to live here because she loves it so much. “We can change Cleveland for the better.”
Studenic also chooses Cleveland out of love for her city. “We think the future is diverse,” she says. “There’s no racial majority in America anymore.”
And because of Cleveland’s diversity, Studenic says she believes the city has an opportunity to outpace other regions. “We can be the expert on how to implement systemic change to improve life for all people,” she says.
Studenic also says she’s often asked, as a white woman, why she’s doing this work. She responds, “It’s important for people who look like me to educate ourselves.”
When asked about her initial response to the latest report, Kathryn Hall, chair of the City of Cleveland Commission on Women and Girls, says, “I’m obviously still troubled by some of the results.”
At the same time, Hall says she’s happy to know more women responded, which in turn provides more data to help inform the work of the Commission and understand where improvement needs to be made. Hall also says the Commission will work in partnership with Enlightened Solutions to “generate some real change.”
According to Hall, the Commission is already in contact with a number of Black-female led organizations who are currently producing viable solutions. She says the Commission will be collaborating with these organizations to break down silos of isolation and inform Black women and girls of where the resources are that can make a difference in their lives.
“Organizations want to participate in changing the narrative,” Hall says.
Representatives from many of these organizations are already on the Commission. so the various voices are heard. Projects that are in the works for the upcoming year are community listening sessions and resource tables. The Commission plans to address the systemic issues as well.
“We will be looking at the issues that are more policy related, where we can influence change,” Hall says.
Most importantly, Hall says the Commission is adamant about ensuring the voices of all Black women and girls are heard and the needs of all Black women and girls are served. She also says the Commission refrains from proclaiming to be the experts.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” says Hall. “We’re finding the experts and widening their audience, making Black women and girls the priority.”
The Commission on Women and Girls plans to hold a public meeting in January or February, when Enlightened Solutions will present the latest Project Noir report and answer questions from the Commissioners.