Vanity Jenkins is unapologetically Pro-Black. Vanity is the founder and CEO of
ShiftED Consulting, a firm focused on eradicating racism and Anti-Blackness from the workplace. The work Vanity does centers Black people's full humanity.
I first met Vanity when we worked together at a nonprofit where she led our work to shift our programming to be Culturally Relevant. I was inspired by Vanity's clear-eyed focus on calling out and disrupting racism at work. She was never afraid to push leaders and identify the ways our behaviors were dominating and causing harm. I also remember how kind and caring Vanity was in those moments. It was always clear to me that Vanity could see the full humanity of people and that accountability was a call to help people find their way back to their humanity and their own liberation. I appreciate all I learned from Vanity, and these lessons continue to inform my own practice.
The thing that sticks out to me the most about Vanity is her realness. She tells the whole truth about how workplace cultures can adversely affect the mental health of Black women, and calls on leaders to take more responsibility for this reality. And leaders would do well to listen - Vanity is an exceptional leader, who has created liberatory work environments where Black women can thrive. Vanity's wisdom can help organizations evolve to become better organizations. I'm so grateful the work that she does. https://buff.ly/3URWxGT
This #BlackHistoryMonth, I'm celebrating 29 Black women who have influenced me through the ways they pursue their own liberation. Black women's work is often unrecognized and not cited, and this month I'm determined to pass out a few flowers to Black women. #Day23 #29LoveLettersToBlackWomen #GiveBlackWomenTheirFlowers