Paulette Norvel Lewis

I think a good work ethic. I've always tried to do my work and volunteering with excellence. I try not to half-do anything. I learned from my mother that how you do things, and how you serve others, reflects your respect and regard for them and for yourself. I try to do everything with excellence, especially what I do in service for others. That can sometimes be misuderstood but, I think I've learned to work around it.

One thing that Dr. Dorothy Height told me when I worked with her on the National Council of Negro Women's National Black Family Reunion in the 1980s has really resonated with me over the years. I was working as Interim Executive Vice President. I am often perceived to be a very serious, focused kind of person. As I was working with Dr. Height one day, she said she had learned very early on to take her work seriously, but not herself. As I thought about that, I concluded that I sometimes took myself too seriously. I think she meant she didn't allow her sensitivities to impede important work. She tried to remain open to suggestions and input from others, even when she may not agree. In other words, don't put your ego on the fence in everything...take your work seriously, but not yourself. There will always be innovation, new perspectives, and improvements to your ideas if you're open to them. I'm sure I got a lot of other professional advice, but that, I think, resonated with me more than anything. I was also told by a total stranger that I should smile more. That has made a big difference in how others perceive me.

From the government, it's a very, very difficult time, but what advice I would give to women is to look outside, to look outside of what they were used to. When I was working with the women's program when it first started, one of the things we had for our work was, if there's no wind, row. In other words, find a way to get there. Look beyond what you are accustomed to, have done in the past, and dare to be creative and innovative. And that's not... work is not easy, that's why they call it work. And careers are not easy, and they're a lot more difficult today than when I came along. But I think women are a lot more enlightened and stronger, maybe not stronger, but enlightened than we are, and there are a lot more opportunities. We just have to look beyond what we have always done, and always been accustomed to, and how we've always done it. And I think young women are very creative, and I have every confidence that they will figure it out and do well, despite the obstacles that are in their way.

It's a very difficult time for many in the workforce and the education system. Over 600,000 African American women have been laid off from government jobs, vital entities such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Education have been dismantled, leaving masses of people unemployed, confused, lost, and struggling to survive. The drastic and sudden changes in our government structure, I believe, present the biggest challenge to employment opportunities today. These changes not only threaten the security of individuals, but they also have a drastic impact on the security of families. If we add AI to the scenario, the employment landscape becomes dire. The closing of government agencies that are not only vital to the security and well-being of the country, but also to the well-being of families, has been catastrophic. Can you imagine a country, a world leader like the United States, without a Department of Education, a Center for the Disease Control, and other entities that are critical to an advanced civilization? So, this is the primary challenge as I see it. It has disoriented people, businesses, the legal system, and organizations, leaving little recourse for recovery. Young people, women, and people of color have been targeted and disproportionately affected. Where do these individuals and families go to maintain their dignity and restore their quality of life? So, as I see it, those are the obstacles. It will take the will of our government and leaders, and quite a bit of time, to restore these vital systems.

Time to reflect. And time to appreciate what I have learned, what I have seen, the people I know, the people who are in my life. I wrote a book a couple of years ago called My Mother's Daughter, a legacy of Faith, Service, Wisdom, and Love, where I captured stories of African American women, all family and friends, and their relationships with their mothers, and what they learned from their mothers, and carry into their lives. So that kind of thing. You know, stories about life, and learning, and love. That's what I value most.