Christine Yvette Lewis works as a coordinator for the organization known as Domestic Workers United, which advocates for the labor rights of domestic workers.
According to Christine Yvette Lewis, she has occasionally covered the rent for Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a location that Domestic Workers United utilizes for its monthly meetings during the past ten years.
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The organization aims to coordinate grassroots efforts to secure labor rights for caregivers who assist the elderly, such as housekeepers and nannies. Lewis is paid nothing for his role as coordinator of culture outreach. While she acknowledged that “we got grants along the way,” she occasionally had to pay for the space “out of my own pocket” for it to be completed.
Lewis expressed, “I did that unseen.” However, her efforts did not go unappreciated, and as a result, she was selected as one of the five recipients of the 2024 Just Brooklyn Prize.
She will get a $20,000 cheque, free of conditions, along with the other four grantees, from the Social Justice Fund, a charity founded by Clara Wu Tsai, who owns the New York Liberty alongside her husband, Joe Tsai. They own the Brooklyn Nets as well. The Brooklyn.org, which rebranded itself from the Brooklyn Community Foundation last year and distributes funds to other NGOs for both short-term emergencies and long-term initiatives, and the Social Justice Fund is in charge of overseeing the awards.
In 2010, New York State passed a domestic workers’ bill of rights, thanks to the efforts of Domestic Workers United. It formalized rights to overtime compensation, paid holidays, sick days, and vacation time—things that most employees take for granted.
Lewis, who moved to New York in 1989, was trained as an early childhood teacher in Trinidad and then worked as a nanny. Her income comes from her career as an actor and musician; she has performed in shows presented by the Public Theater. She referred to her work with Domestic Workers United as “a labor of love.”In 2010, New York State passed a domestic workers’ bill of rights, thanks to the efforts of Domestic Workers United. It formalized rights to overtime compensation, paid holidays, sick days, and vacation time—things that most employees take for granted.
Lewis, who moved to New York in 1989, was trained as an early childhood teacher in Trinidad and then worked as a nanny. Her income comes from her career as an actor and musician; she has performed in shows presented by the Public Theater. She referred to her work with Domestic Workers United as “a labor of love.”
“Because of the nature of our jobs, we are most times in the shadows,” She went on to say that she regularly runs across the employees in the vicinity of their places of employment, whether it be at parks, libraries, or even on the streets as they push the strollers of their employers.
“All of the work we do is centered around educating employees,” she noted. “When we educate employees, we are able to educate the employers as well. We’re not a union. It’s advocating to have women stand up and speak for their rights. It’s having the courage to stand up and negotiate for wages.”
Ninaj Raoul is the director of Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees and another Just Brooklyn Prize recipient. “Even bigger than the money,” she remarked, referring to the prize’s timeliness.
“Anti-Haitianism is out there,” particularly with former President Donald Trump’s campaign, she remarked.
“Having this prize raises our voices,” she said. “That’s larger than the money.”
When waves of Haitians escaped on improvised boats in the 1990s, she remembered. The Cuban naval facility at Guantánamo Bay housed thousands of detainees under the Watch.
“What I saw there was horrible — people were detained in tents,” she noted while adding, “I never would have imagined fast-forwarding 32 years and people would be living in tents like we’re seeing on Floyd Bennett Field and Randall’s Island. It’s been overwhelming, not just for organizations like ours but for the city as a whole.”
The other recipients of the Just Brooklyn Prize for 2024 are: Carolyn Butts, the creator and director of Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series and African Voices Communications Inc. Derrick Hamilton, a co-founder of Family and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted, and Chino Hardin, a co-executive director of the Center for NuLeadership on Human Justice and Healing
Antonio Reynoso, the president of the Brooklyn borough, and Maya Wiley, the chief executive and president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, who participated in the Democratic primary for mayor in 2021, were among the eight judges.
The Just Brooklyn Prize, according to Clara Wu Tsai, was established to honor “the work of the borough’s unsung heroes,” work that is “pivotal to building a more equitable and just Brooklyn.” According to her, a few of the award recipients planned to “expand their impact in Brooklyn” using the funds.
“But I hope that they also use some of it to treat themselves,” Lewis remarked. “They most certainly deserve it.”
