STAFF FOCUS: Chauncey Jenkins
If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Chauncey Jenkins, our General Manager in Richmond, you’re missing out. Not only is he a whisky connoisseur and a rapper/songwriter, he’s one of the most connected and positive people we’ve ever met.
Over the past few weeks, he’s been hard at work, connecting with community organizations and providing resources for Richmond to get involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
One such effort was sitting down with Eat It, Virginia to discuss his experience as a Black man in America, starting as a kid visiting St. Simons Island, GA to serving as GM of Lemaire in The Jefferson Hotel. His stories describe a heartbreaking history of micro-aggressions, intended to keep Black people in their place. They’re important to hear and we hope you’ll listen.
Despite all this, Chauncey says “don’t feel sorry for me, help me,” leaving us with several concrete takeaways that go beyond the here and now. In his words: “Support schools. Now, more than ever, we need to focus on shrinking the achievement gap and disconnecting the school to prison pipeline.”
Further, he challenges companies to go beyond donating and commit to making people of color feel valuable and comfortable. “Are there people of color in positions in power within your company? Are you amplifying their voices? What’s your commitment to the future? These are questions businesses should be asking themselves.”
We hope you’ll listen to the full interview and join us. As a country, we need to listen, act, and know we’re only just beginning.