First and Only: A Black Woman's Guide to Thriving at Work and in Life

by Jennifer R. Farmer, Nina Turner

Overview

As Black women, we have to work twice as hard to be perceived as half as skilled. We have to work until August of this year to earn what a white man made by last December. We are besieged by racist and sexist bullying online. People feel free to touch and comment on our hair--and then ask us why we seem so angry.

First and Only is a guide for every woman who has found herself closing the cover on other leadership books that omit our true experiences and strengths. In these pages, trainer and activist Jennifer R. Farmer helps readers learn what is required for the long haul of liberation by providing a roadmap to on-the-job success, challenging systemic racism, and seeking inner healing through the sustaining power of faith. She offers practical strategies for Black women to thrive in workplaces that can be ambivalent about their success, as well as tips and stories from psychologists, activists, and organizational experts that equip Black women to lead others and heal past wounds.

The path for success for Black women includes a commitment to self-care, spiritual growth, and a willingness to push for progress even as we fight for our own liberation. First and Only is not just about how to lean in, or how to discover the irrefutable laws of leadership. It's about how to heal so you can sustain work for justice and equity. It's about finding personal and social redemption--and leading others to find it too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506466859
Publisher:	Broadleaf Books
Publication date:	02/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	573,600
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jennifer R. Farmer is a writer, trainer, and activist who has worked with a host of entrepreneurs, social justice organizations and advocates, and progressive faith-based leaders including Michael Render ("Killer Mike"), Bishop William J. Barber II, and Edgar Villanueva. Farmer is the founder of Spotlight PR LLC, which specializes in strategy and training for leaders and groups committed to racial justice, and is the author of Extraordinary PR, Ordinary Budget. Her work has appeared in Sojourners, The Root, LifeHack.org, HuffPost, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, among others. She is the mother of two and lives in northern Virginia.

Table of Contents

Foreword Nina Turner xi

Part I What Black Women Face

1 I See You 3

2 Why Center Black Women? 13

3 Hostile Work Environments and the Choices Before Us 23

Part II Myths to Resist

4 You're Good at It, So You Should Do It 39

5 Anger Is Harmful 43

6 We Can Be Everything to Everyone 53

7 We Must Ask Permission 57

Part III Truths to Embrace

8 We Are Always Choosing 63

9 Fear Keeps Us Stuck 69

10 We Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made 77

11 Courage Sets Us Free 83

Part IV Strategies for Healing

12 Get to Know Your Inner Child 89

13 Learn What's in Your House 95

14 Embrace Vulnerability 103

15 Keep Work in the Proper Perspective 115

16 Allow Others to Make Their Own Choices 121

17 Choose Empathy over Performance 125

18 Communicate with Care 131

Part V Paths to Liberation

19 Understand Which Force You Are Fighting 137

20 Resist the Good-Bad Binary 143

21 Keep Asking for What You Need-Despite Resistance 151

22 Seek Counsel from Black Women and Allies 159

23 Close the Feedback Gap 167

24 Listen in Color 175

25 Build Your Network 179

26 Start Again 189

27 Remember Who You Are 195

Acknowledgments 201

Notes 203

Editorial Reviews

"First and Only must be considered essential reading not only for Black women but for people who work with Black women. There are lessons to be learned in every chapter. . . . May you find yourself in the pages of this book. May you see yourself in all your beauty and perfection. May you recognize your greatness. May you discover that which you need to thrive at work and in life. I know I have." —Nina Turner, from the Foreword

"Jennifer R. Farmer writes a much-needed love letter to Black women looking to thrive at work and in life. First and Only is an essential resource for any career toolkit." —Minda Harts, author of The Memo

"Jennifer R. Farmer is a hell of a coach, and if she is detailing what Black women are experiencing in workplaces, we should listen and then take action." —Michael Render, songwriter, activist, and rapper professionally known as Killer Mike

"Jennifer R. Farmer could run a boot camp for emerging women leaders. Her coaching exudes urgency, confidence, and care. If anyone can create a trusted road map for Black women in the workplace, she can." —Rev. Dr. Brianna K. Parker, Black Millennial Cafe

"Jennifer R. Farmer is an amazing voice in empowering powerful communications and storytelling to shift the narrative. A brilliant thinker with a knack for eliminating waste, she creates strategies that leverage resources for the maximal impact while cradling the sacredness of one's message. An important and necessary soul for the journey around this nation, proclaiming a new story rooted in equity and inclusion." —Rev. Ben McBride, co-director, PICO California

"Jennifer R. Farmer is an insightful listener and observer of human interaction. She uses her insights to speak directly to the core issues impacting leadership. Her analysis perceptively integrates gender, race, religion, and overall worldview to offer more nuanced understandings of leadership than the one-size-fits-all approaches more commonly promoted." —Rev. Dr. Cari Jackson, author; Clergy in Residence, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

"Jennifer R. Farmer brings a wealth of expertise and a high degree of emotional intelligence to her leadership. She's the kind of leader that other leaders like me want to emulate." —Rev. Katey Zeh, Interim Executive Director, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

"Jennifer R. Farmer fuses creativity with a practical and empathetic approach to solving some of the thorniest issues. Our workplaces, our world, would benefit from hearing more from her." —Meghan Dotter, founder of Portico PR

From the Publisher