300,000 Black women have left the labor force in 3 months. It’s not a coincidence.

300,000 Black women have left the labor force in 3 months. It’s not a coincidence.

In just three months, nearly 300,000 Black women left the U.S. labor force.

Yolanda Shelton-Morris: The burden of representation — what institutions must stop asking of Black women

“What does it feel like to be the only one in the room and expected to speak for everyone who looks like you?” For many Black women in higher education and social work, this question is not rhetorical, it’s lived. It shows up in classrooms, committees, Zoom calls, and hallway conversations that feel more like landmines than moments of connection. The burden of representation is real. And it’s heavy. To be clear, representation matters. But it ca…