Project Noir calls attention to unequal experiences of Black women living in Cleveland

In January 2020, we were told Cleveland had scored dead last in CityLab's rankings of the worst large cities for Black women to live. The study had examined inequities in several different metrics, including income status, health conditions, and educational accomplishment.

In response to this news, the co-founders of a local workplace, research, and advocacy firm called Enlightened Solutions, created a survey called Project Noir, that aimed to better understand the experiences of this community. 

During the last year, they collected 450 responses from Black women across Northeast Ohio, anonymously sharing their accounts of discrimination, frustration, and abuse.

On the "Sound of Ideas," we'll begin the hour by learning more about the results of the survey, released to the public just this week. We'll also find out if there is anything we can glean from the report which could help guide us in the next steps for improving life for the region's Black women. 

Joining us are the two women behind Project Noir, Chi Chi Nkemere and Bethany Studenic, co-founders of Enlightened Solutions. 

And later in the hour, we'll talk to the creator of OurBlackGirls.com, a website dedicated to counteracting the lack of coverage for  Black and Brown women who go missing.

- Chinenye Nkemere, Co-Founder, Enlightened Solutions

- Bethany Studenic, Co-founder, Enlightened Solutions

- Erika Marie Rivers, Founder of OurBlackGirls.com