“A Domino Effect”: Former KARE 11 Anchor Alexis Rogers on Layoffs Hitting Black Women Hardest

Black women are being forced out of the U.S. labor market at an alarming rate. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, 306,000 Black women have lost their jobs this year. Among those women is former KARE 11 anchor and community relations manager Alexis Rogers. 

"I literally got notified that I was being laid off right after I announced that I was pregnant," she said. That happened in January. Citing her college studies in Black feminist thought, Alexis explained why the losses are particularly devastating for families. 

"Statistically, most Black women have a higher chance of being the breadwinner in their homes than their counterparts. That means that all of these educated Black women are being laid off, that’s not just them impacted. That’s the families that are attached to them. So it’s this domino effect that is going to impact this particular community much differently than our counterparts."

The economic consequences ripple beyond Black households. "The Black dollar is strong," said Alexis. "But the majority of the folks who are spending the Black dollar are the same folks who are now being laid off."

Independent journalist Georgia Fort sat down with award-winning journalist and new mom Alexis Rogers to discuss her layoff from KARE 11 and the wider impact of job losses among Black women. The interview was broadcast live at Power 104.7 FM

She also pointed to the pattern of overwork and undervaluation that many Black women experience in the workplace. Recalling her late mother’s government job, Alexis said, "She was doing five jobs for the price of one. And quite frankly, even my job at KARE—it was two, sometimes three jobs for the price of one."

That imbalance, she says, is part of a cycle that leaves communities vulnerable. "Just because we can, doesn’t mean that we should and it’s cyclical," Alexis said. "We were already fixing messes that we didn’t start in the first place."

Despite her frustration, Alexis underscored the resilience and excellence of Black women in the face of systemic inequities.

"Fact is: we are out-degreeing many people out there. Fact is: we’re doing it while babies are here, while we’re being wives and while we’re trying to just do all the things and we’re doing it well, we’re doing award-winning things and yet you’re telling me that’s still not good enough to keep my job."

Economists say the number of Black women being forced out of work means a loss of $37 billion from the U.S. economy. They point to Trump’s massive cuts to the federal workforce as the driving factor. Black women alone make up over 12% of federal employees, nearly double their share of the labor force overall.