Kay Emerson | YWCA Women of Excellence Honoree
What inspires you to get up and do the work?
The power of community and collective change.
What have you learned about yourself through the challenges you have overcome?
That life goes on, and there are people willing to believe in you. You have to be persistent in finding them.
How do you take care of yourself?
I enjoy performative arts and creating art. This ranges in writing poems, scripts, acting, painting, and photography.
What is the best advice you've ever been given? Or what advice do you have for others?
Knowledge is power, the more you learn the farther you go and it is not what you say, but what you do. My elementary teacher introduced me to this advice and I have followed it since.
What is your vision for our community? Has it changed through the pandemic and racial justice reckoning of recent years?
That we are intentional collecting community voices when we seek to understand, develop and implement plans on how WE as a community should address it. My vision for our community is that we focus on building the collective power of Black and Brown people by allocating funding to remove barriers for participation.
The mission of YWCA is to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. What does YWCA's mission mean to you?
To me, it means that change for women of color will remain possible.
