Since the beginning of 2025, roughly 300,000 Black women have lost employment over a three-month period, and particularly Black women in executive or leadership roles. Black women are expected to out-perform at work and rarely experience the protections from other groups. This “Unicorn Effect” as coined by New Orleans native, Dr. Ronicka Briscoe, is part of the burnout many Black women experience. She brought together a group of Black women across different fields at the Community Book Center on Bayou Road on Aug. 29th and at JE Banquets on Aug. 30th to kick off what she describes as a movement in which Black women take time to reflect on the current times and choose their path with purpose.“I was intentional about curating contributors from different backgrounds, industries, and regions, because our collective narrative is stronger and more impactful than any single voice,” said Briscoe, educator, scholar, and CEO of Winning on the Road, LLC.
“The Unicorn Effect,” a term coined by Briscoe, explains the pressures placed on Black women to meet unattainable professional goals with the additional realities of Systemic Racism and gender bias.
A variety of highly accomplished Black women teamed up with Briscoe to release a 2025 Ethnographic Anthology, “In Relentless Pursuit of Me: Upending the Unicorn Effect.” The Anthology consists of life reflections from Contributing Authors Ebony Allen, a Clinical Therapist and Counselor, Dr. Jawan Brown Alexander, an Education Leader, Dominique Luster, an Archivist and Entrepreneur, LaShon Ormond, a Youth Empowerment Advocate, Aaron Harrison, an Educator and Co-Founder of Legacy Foundation for Girls, Monica Pierre, an Emmy Award-Winning Reporter and Producer, and Dr. Dorothy Doolittle, an Education Transformation Leader, alongside Briscoe.
After the Anthology’s release on July 22nd, it ranked as a No. 1 Amazon bestseller in 11 categories, featuring stories from each author telling their journey as a Black woman navigating complex social dynamics, and struggles with identity.
“I wanted to show that real strength isn’t doing more, it’s choosing peace without apology,” said Ebony Allen, on her observations on the “Unicorn Effect” and the toll it can take on the Black women she has worked with.
She explained that some women have been able to “flip that pressure into power,” while others may not. Her chapter explores her own feelings of overwhelming pressure and how she overcame it slowly but surely.
“Telling our individual stories is always an Act of Courage. There is healing in the telling,” said Emmy-Winner Monica Pierre. “On the Book Dedication page, each author shares the names of their grandmothers. We wanted their names to be written down in history so they can be celebrated and never forgotten,” Pierre said, adding that she used this book as an opportunity to unveil a vulnerable side of herself that most may not know.
She encouraged Black women to be confident in their own sense of self and to find their own voice. “Journey to my Voice by Monica Pierre is a reminder that life is a journey, not a destination, even among the most talented,” said Ms. Shelia Higgs Burkhalter, who attended the book launch and is a Vice President of Student Affairs at Winthrop University. She shared that being a woman in leadership, the book and event resonated strongly with her personally.
“We’re naming the truth, reclaiming our narratives and reminding each other that we are not alone,” Briscoe said in a statement.
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