Where Do Workers Turn When the Government Fails Them? To the Community.

When Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) announced the state’s stay-at-home order, Radhiya banded together with her close neighbors in her far South Side Chicago neighborhood. They often checked in on each other and, when they could, they would shop for food and other essential items for one another at the local grocery store. Radhiya, who braids and twists natural hair for extra income, styled the elderly ladies’ hair for free. And when a neighbor went missing for a few days, Radhiya knew something wasn’t right. “I learned that they had caught the virus, and we hadn’t seen them because they were quarantining,” Radhiya said during her interview in July about the pandemic’s impact on her family and the surrounding community.

“But this is what we do—we look out for each other. We normally know what's going on with everybody, and who's going through something,” said the mother of four who is pursuing a degree in automotive technology. “We help each other when and where we can.”

Radhiya is among many interviewees who found a way to survive and thrive while navigating through the current crisis. It is what communities of color do—during good and bad times; they join together and rely on one another as a community—be it their neighbor, family, or even support from a community-based organization. There’s very little, if any, expectation that the government—state, local or federal—would have their back (even though it should). In fact, Black and Latinx people largely assume that it won't; and among our interviewees, things weren’t any different when planning for the economic and health ramifications of this pandemic, as they held onto faith that everything would work out.

“It doesn’t matter what hurdle is thrown in my way or in front of my family, we will find a way through it, or around it,” said Radhiya. As we shared earlier in our report, her husband left his retail job out of concern he would contract the coronavirus and infect his family; and he opted not to apply for unemployment insurance because of past experience receiving benefits and later being told he was overpaid, thus having to pay it back.

Relying on Family through Hard Times

Family remains a central point of support for many of those we interviewed. “My mother is the backbone of my family,” said Andrea. She along with her mother, her eight siblings, her toddler son, and several nieces and nephews share a six-bedroom home together. While she acknowledged the time together can be stressful, it has also been a huge relief as they’ve pooled together their resources to take care of rent, food and other expenses. Andrea and her mother, who worked at a daycare, are the only two in the household collecting unemployment; Andrea got her first payment in April – a month after she was furloughed. Her payments have since been deposited intermittently into her account, and she was told the lag was due to the system being overwhelmed with claims. She still wonders: “Why should it take two weeks to get my payments? This is really the only money [I] have right now.”

She also noticed that everything seemed to evolve into a vicious cycle. After her unemployment deposit, her EBT payment was reduced, she received two-weeks worth of emergency food stamps, and she used the last of her savings on her part of the rent. She has searched for work but has found nothing that fits what she wants to eventually pursue and is obtaining a degree in – criminal justice. “It’s been a little rocky . . . but my mom will cover me, if I need her,” she said.

Some of our interviewees have relied on friends for support during this tough time. Loretta had been working as a home healthcare aid to her brother until his passing in April. On that day, she lost everything – the last of her family and her only source of income with the agency. But it has been friends from church, and within her community, who have stepped in to offer some help – be it encouragement as she navigates the challenging process of applying for UI or helping to connect her with other financial assistance programs. This kept her uplifted as she waited for her first unemployment check.

“Everyone is stricken with this pandemic, but my friends have been able to give me mental and emotional support,” said Loretta. As we shared earlier in her story, it took two months to access the state’s unemployment office and finalize her application via phone. A friend checked the status of her application, which was pending when we spoke with her. “I am dealing with everything the best I can.”

Hustling to Make Ends Meet

“Everyone in Harlem needed some kind of hustle to survive.” – Malcolm X

In April, Isabella Rosario wrote in NPR’s Code Switch about the origins of “hustling”, which has been largely co-opted by wealthy white millennials that view these side gigs or hobbies as optional side projects in a work-obsessed culture, but that for low-wage workers is necessary to their economic survival. That ‘side hustle’ or ‘gig’ has served as a financial buoy for many Black and Latinx families – at all times, pandemic or no. Be it setting up a small hair studio in the home like Radhiya or selling homemade body and hair care products as Micala does, Black and Latinx families are creative in building their own economy – especially when there’s minimal government support.

“I still consider it something I do on the side,” said Radhiya. When she’s running low on cash and needs to replenish essential household items, Radhiya will take on new clients—on average about six people a month – charging at most $100 depending on the style. She’s focused on earning her degree and opening her own auto body shop.

When Inez was 8, she ran her own small candy shop from her parent’s home and has since always desired to run her own business. As she and Mique reviewed their future—what they wanted for their four children—they explored the idea of opening up their own convenience store. Last year, they did so in their living room within their flat, selling basic household necessities. “We wanted to see how much we could make,” said Inez. She and Mique are now looking to move into a bigger home with a basement, where they would set up the store.

Waning Trust in Our Government

Public trust in the government has waned nationwide. A study by Pew Research Center found that 75 percent of Americans felt trust in our federal government has been declining, and another 64 percent believed that trust in each other has shrunk—with those surveyed agreeing that waning trust has been a barrier to solving major issues in our nation. When broken down by race, the share of white adults surveyed who trusted the government, while still low (27 percent), was greater than the combined share of Black (13 percent) and Latinx (12 percent) respondents who trusted the government.

Since leaving her job as a certified nursing assistant in March, Nakita has leaned on what her mother taught her as a child: you have to make a way for yourself–and not rely on the government. “There’s resilience in our communities,” she said in her July interview.

She had no choice but to make a way for her family when the city of Chicago shut down. The neighborhood daycare closed, leaving her no childcare options when she was at work. She even held off until June to apply for unemployment with IDES because she had enough in her savings to care for her family, and she received a refund for her 2019 taxes and the federal stimulus payment provided through the CARES Act—both of which she says took care of some basic necessities.

When she did file for unemployment, it struck her as odd that she was required to report her quarterly income, dating back 18 months. That included time she spent last summer working for Amazon, which she expected would nullify her claim. So far, her last employer has yet to respond and she’s been left waiting. During this time, she’s been on the hunt for a new job and taking her prerequisite courses in nursing, though the current environment has her examining all of her future career options.

“[Still], I shouldn’t have to make a decision between my life, my family’s life, and needing to make a living,” said Nakita. “[But] I’m going to make it happen. We’re not going to fail.”

There’s No Going Back (To Normal)

“Black people have always been resilient in the face of unprecedented adversity and a government that does not care about us. We are holding readings for children, book clubs, happy hours and more online. We are leading relief efforts in our communities and taking care of our families. Most important, we are continuing to organize online, through Twitter, conference calls, video chats, and text messaging. As we continue to innovate in our efforts to make our government responsive and accountable to our needs, the government must answer back.”

– Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter writing about her organization, Black Futures Lab, for Time Magazine. Their Black Census Project conducted the largest survey of the Black community in America since Reconstruction and identified top priorities and policy recommendations for their Black Agenda.

Black and Latinx communities are resilient because they have to be. On issues ranging from disparities in healthcare for Black women, over-policing and mass incarceration, to economic mobility, the government continuously turns a blind eye to the needs of communities of color. And while many people nationwide seek a return to normalcy, this pandemic has exposed the frailties and inequities within our systems that should be impossible to ignore, that we can no longer afford to ignore.

The system didn’t break, it was already broken. COVID has only further exposed that fact. Returning to so-called normalcy, in light of what we as a country have experienced over the past 6 months (and communities of color have been experiencing for decades), would be immoral. What we can do now is build it back, better, and stronger — most of all, it must be inclusive. This begins with centering the voices, needs, and experiences of Black and Brown workers, and untangling the web of broken systems that have kept them from achieving economic equality.