First and Only: What Black Women Say about Thriving at Work and in Life

"Essential reading." --Marie Claire

First and Only is a guide for every Black woman who has found herself closing the cover on other business leadership books, convinced that something is missing. We are looking for roadmaps to on-the-job success while also acknowledging the unique barriers that Black women face in the workplace: hostile work environments, being perceived as the Angry Black Woman, being asked to do more for less than our white colleagues. But we can heal, fight for our liberation, and succeed in business and in our lives. In these pages, you will find a love letter to Black women that connects our personal growth and inner healing and the fight for liberation.

Trainer and activist Jennifer R. Farmer offers practical strategies for how to thrive in workplaces that can be ambivalent about Black women's success, as well as tips and stories from psychologists, activists, and organizational experts that equip us to lead others and heal past wounds. Learn to shed fear and embrace courage and vulnerability. Our path to success 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 also about healing so that we can sustain work for justice and equity. It's about finding personal and social redemption--and leading other Black women to it, too.

The paperback edition includes an added preface, a discussion guide, and a Q&A with the author.

ISBN-13: 9781506485164

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: 1517 Media

Publication Date: 07-26-2022

Pages: 231

Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

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. She is the winner of the 2022 National Association of Black Journalists Outstanding Book Award for First and Only. She has been interviewed or had her work featured in Forbes, Marie Claire, Salon, Washington Informer, Sojourners, The Root, and Globe & Mail. She is the mother of two and lives in Chicago. Nina Turner is a motivational speaker, cable news commentator, and defining political icon. She was a national co-chair of the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, a former state senator from Ohio and former professor of African American history. Turner is also a founding member of the Bernie Sanders Institute, an entity dedicated to transforming American democracy through research, education, and outreach.

Table of Contents

Foreword Nina Turner xiii

Preface xvii

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

Author Q&A 201

Discussion Guide 207

Acknowledgments 223

Notes 225