16 THE PRESIDENT OF HELPING AND GIVING Crystal Harding
Lawrence “Torry” Winn
Sitting at her desk several feet away from the workspaces of her Black Child Legacy Campaign colleagues, Crystal juggles her time, answering phone calls, troubleshooting with staff, and preparing for an upcoming activity with teens from Foothill High School and Highlands High School. “We have a teen event in a few hours that we are getting ready for. We try to make them feel welcome and for them to know they matter,” she says, referring to the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) program associated with BCLC. She continues to talk about the event and urges me to stay to participate or, as she suggests, “observe the teens in action.”
As Crystal is sharing the logistics, details, and purpose of the teen event, a young African American woman opens the door, positions herself in the middle of the entryway, and requests a few minutes of Crystal’s time. Crystal lets me know that this will only take a moment. She quickly steps away, walks toward the woman, and listens closely to her concerns.
As they are talking, I want to give them their privacy to discuss the issue at hand and slowly stand up to look around the large office. This is my second visit to a BCLC office, so I am curious to see differences in its layout and decoration. I count five work desks. I see two other people whom I have yet to be introduced to. They are immersed in a conversation but acknowledge my presence with a gentle wave. In one corner of the office, literature is neatly placed on a table and posted on a wall. I begin to drift off wondering: Who works in the office with Crystal? How often do visitors come into the space for help? Do all BCLC offices look the same with neatly decorated collateral material? How do the different agencies coordinate their schedules or share data? Who is responsible for communications?
The woman, who needed a hot-quick second with Crystal, now seems reassured by Crystal’s confidence in her. She thanks Crystal, then dashes down the hallway, and disappears. I look at Crystal and laugh, saying, “Real time, real-time needs.” With a smile, she also laughs and nods, “My goodness!” Translation: there is a lot going on here today but “it’s gonna be alright.” Now we are both laughing. This moment of humor, laughter, and optimism is what the entire hour and a half with Crystal feels like.
Crystal’s gift to respond with grace and patience to a series of urgencies is just one of the qualities required to be successful in meeting the needs of others. Getting back on task after being interrupted is a talent. Shifting from answering the telephones to responding to emails, from sending off texts to sitting down for an interview, from giving someone just a minute of your time to giving them an hour can be exhausting for many. But for Crystal—and many of her Community Lead Incubator (CIL) colleagues—juggling roles, coordinating community events, meeting with clients and partners, supervising volunteers, inputting data, writing reports, applying for grants, responding to injustices, completing assigned deliverables, and remaining positive are necessary components of her effectiveness.
I am curious about her job description, how she manages to get it all done, and why she is committed to serving the Black community of Sacramento. I also want to know how she remains motivated and positive. These daily tasks and impromptu meetings (as well as sporadic emergencies) are all parts of Crystal’s lifetime goal to help people, work with youth, and collaborate with others to improve the quality of life for marginalized communities of color.
Within just a few minutes of meeting her, it is evident that she has the capacity and competence to comfort others who are in dire need and reassurance of “it’s gonna be alright.” She exudes a sense of confidence that rubs off on the individuals she encounters. Crystal, like many of her CIL peers, is very experienced and skilled: she is a valuable and integral member of the Sacramento community.
A 10,000-Mile Journey of Liberation and Hope
As the program director for the North Highlands Foothill Farms Black Child Legacy Campaign, Crystal finds herself fulfilling her dream as a social worker. She and the supporting agencies for the Community Incubator Leads dedicate their time and resources to the local youth and families of North Highlands, Foothill Farms, and surrounding neighborhoods. Their purpose is clear: “to serve as a conduit connecting people to power. Let them know that we are here for them. We can hold their hands and walk with them along the way.” Her walk with others during challenging times and her steady hand in moments of uncertainty are deeply rooted in her life journey—literally encompassing more than ten thousand miles—and the lessons she learned along the way.
Crystal’s zealous fight for families begins seven thousand miles away from Sacramento. As a child she and her family resided in Liberia. Located in Western Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, Liberia was founded in 1822 by freed American and Caribbean slaves (Americo Liberians). It is Africa’s oldest republic. When Crystal was seven years old, a civil war broke out, which ultimately killed more than 250,000 people and destroyed many homes, businesses, and infrastructure. It also forced Crystal and her family to leave Liberia and make the journey to Oakland, California, in the early 1990s. After residing in the Bay Area for a few years, in 1994 her family moved another one hundred miles east to Sacramento where the cost of living and employment opportunities were more advantageous.
On graduating from Foothill High School, she journeyed another 2,300 miles to Montgomery, Alabama, to attend Alabama State University (ASU), a historically black college and university (HBCU). Montgomery is the home of Rosa Parks and where the 1955–1956 boycott of public buses helped elevate the civil rights movement to a national and global level. It is the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pastored Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. ASU is situated within the heart of America’s freedom movement and the fight for the recognition that Black lives matter. Crystal’s educational experience at an HBCU gave her insight into race and social justice issues. She began to grapple with the impacts of colorism, anti-Blackness, and the oppression of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). More importantly, she was surrounded by a community of Black students and professors, which felt very similar to her experiences in her native country of Liberia where Black African culture, thought, and life were celebrated. After graduating with a BA degree in social work, she then traveled another 2,300 miles back to Sacramento, where she received her MSW degree from Sacramento State University before working for several nonprofits in the region.
Crystal first learned about BCLC when invited by the Liberty Towers CIL to attend a Profound Purpose Institute. The institute provides a powerful structure of support for CILs, the Steering Committee, and other community leaders to build collaborative relationships and a learning community. In the fall of 2018, the North Highlands Foothill Farms incubator hired her as the program director, and her dream as a social worker came to fruition: “When I was younger, I told people that my dream job was to be president of helping and giving. I did not know that was social work and philanthropy.” As the program director, she feels right at home advocating, creating innovative solutions, helping, and working with community members. She is applying the lessons learned from her journey of ten thousand miles—responding to the needs of the community where she grew up, currently lives, works, prays, and plays.
A Celebration of Life
Crystal shares her workspace with the members of the North Highlands Foothill Farms multidisciplinary team. Standing up from her desk, she points out where her team members work during the day. But before she is able to provide the details of the office space, the phone rings, and we both laugh again at her “real-time” requests. She finishes her call and then points out that one desk is reserved for a representative from the Department of Human Assistance (DHA); another one is for a Child Protective Services (CPS) employee. The last desk area is for the Probation Team. She introduces me to the DHA employee. The middle-aged woman describes her work and the collaborative efforts between the different agencies. She points out that she has already witnessed success in the community and that Black lives are being saved and their needs are being met. Crystal later shares a passionate description of the multidisciplinary team: “We meet the families as they are. Connecting with them. No judgment. Just open arms and open hearts. And with genuine love and empathy, so that they know they have someone, a team, and network that’s there to support them through it all.”
The team works together to ensure that families do not fall between the cracks and do not miss out on any opportunities or resources. Crystal makes it clear that programming, resources, staffing, and the name itself of BCLC are important but that “a personal story or personal connection” makes it relatable for the community. Crystal’s natural gift to relate and show compassion for the concerns and needs of others makes it easier for community members to trust her. Trust is essential to building healthy relationships with vulnerable families, many of whom are skeptical of government agencies or nonprofits because of failed promises.
The role of the program director is not just connecting the family to resources and helping individuals figure out urgent issues. “We are here to celebrate with them,” asserts Crystal. This is evident in the abundance of love and support that the youth of North Highlands Foothill Farms receive throughout the year. After visiting with Crystal, I received an email inviting me to a February 2019 Student Voices gathering. Local leaders, elected officials, law enforcement, school administrators, and community service providers came to this gathering to listen to the youth and the incredible insight they bring to “the table.” According to Crystal, “the youth are the why. They are our present and future, we are doing this work for their generation to thrive and really live fully. We need to start engaging and connecting with them when they are younger. We will be able to have greater impact partnering with them.” I still receive an email every two months from Crystal highlighting and celebrating the progress and achievements of young people.
Black Beauty, Liberation, and Education
Several posters with positive and uplifting sayings and images of Black youth and families decorate the walls of the North Highlands Foothill Farms BCLC office. They are neatly displayed on a table and perfectly angled on a wall. I am drawn near by the big green words “BLACK CHILD LEGACY CAMPAIGN” spread across every piece of literature. This small space dedicated to BCLC literature, news, and information feels sacred. The images of Black families and black excellence featured on the collateral material bring joy to Crystal. As a native of a country that was the first republic in Africa and was founded by freed enslaved people from the United States and the Caribbean, she appreciates Black beauty, liberation, education, and self-determination. Crystal did not always see these images and language of Black empowerment in Sacramento.
As a child and later as a young adult, she experienced the impact of the media’s negative portrayal of Black people and the agonizing pains of colorism. “Being darker skinned and not seeing us on TV all the time or teachers not reflecting my culture or respecting my difference” frustrated her. Crystal speaks adamantly about the way Black children are represented in school textbooks and in the media. The great histories of Black legacies are not accurately described; even worse, they are most often invisible or left out of the K–12 curriculum. When Black children only see anti-Blackness themes and negative images of them and their communities, they internalize them. She expresses how schools and the media perpetuate these harms and lower the self-esteem of many Black students, especially Black girls. “What are we teaching our babies? Our Black babies?” asks Crystal.
In addition to the pervasiveness of anti-Blackness, white supremacy, and cultural imperialism in K–12 schools and the influence of negative media depictions, Crystal also deals with the issue of colorism, which is when light-skinned individuals are given preferential treatment over darker-skinned individuals. Every ethnic group (Latinx, Asian, etc.) struggles with colorism. Crystal recalls attending Alabama State University and learning about African American history and discussing the impacts of colorism. It was one of her first times she felt liberated and connected to others who thought like her. BCLC provides a similar space and platform for her and others to talk about the mistreatment and dehumanization of Black folk because of the color of their skin. She embraces the name “Black Child Legacy Campaign” because it elevates Black people and highlights their past and their future. It also gives hope to young people in elementary, high school, and college to see themselves as leaders in their community. CIL staff and other BCLC leaders are present in the community, working with apartment complexes, schools and their staff and students, community-based organizations, and partner agencies. The constant promotion of the name “Black Child Legacy Campaign” and the appearance of Black leaders speaking positively and eloquently not only about the issues in the Black community but also about successes and accomplishments push back against the deficit model narrative of Black people. She believes that BCLC helps shape a positive narrative. BCLC leaders provide black youth with positive role models and examples of Black people changing the world.
Futures Matter
Crystal leads me down one of the hallways of Liberty Towers Church, which is the site of the North Highlands Foothill Farms BCLC local office. It is located about fifteen minutes north of downtown Sacramento off I-80. We enter a room that is bustling with teens. The students are preparing to participate in Student Voices, one of the youth programs affiliated with BCLC, which uses YPAR to engage students to change their community.
Student Voices is one of the emerging success stories of the North Highlands Foothill Farm BCLC. It connects local high school students with local leaders, elected or appointed officials, and service providers. However, the youth are the trusted experts in charge. This program provides a “brave space” and time for students to let their voices be heard and share their concerns, ideas, solutions, and perspective on the present and future. In the process, they provide authentic recommendations to policy makers. The intergenerational attendees share their hopes for their community. Student Voices is one effective way that the Liberty Towers CIL engages youth to reduce Black child deaths. BCLC’s work is not always about reviewing data or participating in protests, but about finding ways for “them to use their voices, provide solutions, discuss their fears, and to actively collaborate for brighter futures.” The goal is to collectively amplify teen voices and implement their suggestions without red tape.
Crystal stands back from the YPAR Circle and watches the youth with a proud smile. They are lively, bubbly, talkative, and engaged. Crystal continues to smile. She knows that the future is bright, and this is why we gonna be alright.