Detroit, MI
Detroit Demolition Department leader breaks barriers for Black women
Detroit Demolition Division head breaks down boundaries as Black lady
LaJuan Counts is the one Black lady within the nation to steer a demolition division.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – Each step Detroiter LaJuan Counts takes is full of goal.
“What I feel is necessary for younger Black ladies to see, is that not solely are we part of the competitors – we’re successful,” stated LaJuan Counts.
On Thursday Counts, the director of the Detroit Demolition Division, walked by way of this neighborhood on the town’s east aspect speaking to residents about what they hope to see.
“It’s a chance for us to get to know the residence and listen to a few of their issues,” she stated.
Counts can be making historical past and breaking down boundaries. She is the one Black lady within the nation to steer a demolition division.
“It is really an honor,” she stated. “It implies that somebody acknowledged my talents and my abilities, and thought that it was sufficient to command such a duty.”
Counts has 30 years of expertise within the development discipline. She says it’s a journey that hasn’t at all times been simple.
“It was isolating,” she stated. “You study to mainly preserve your head down, and be quiet, and simply get your work carried out. Not as a result of there was a menace of hurt, however simply because it was simpler to get work carried out. You didn’t have to fret about being judged or questioned as a lot.”
Now Counts is utilizing her voice — management and expertise to encourage different Black ladies to pursue careers in development.
“There are generations of younger Black women who don’t know that there’s area for them within the development business,” she stated. “So I purposely went to demolition simply so I might make it possible for I expose the truth that I used to be there.”
In accordance with the Nationwide Affiliation of Girls in Development, throughout the nation ladies make up lower than 10 % of the business. And of that 10 %, 44 % are in administration, and 28 % are in gross sales.
“There have been instances the place I’ve seen extra ladies within the business. We’re type of in a valley proper now, I’m not seeing as many ladies as I want to,” she stated.
Counts works to make a distinction alongside Detroit neighborhood law enforcement officials and District 5 managers. She’s busy, however shes by no means too busy to mentor and encourage different Black ladies to proceed breaking down boundaries.
“Name me I’d love to speak to you,” she stated. “I’d like to carry you out, I’d like to introduce you to those that I do know who’re within the enterprise, and present you what development actually appears to be like like.”
For extra details about the Metropolis of Detroit’s Demolition Division CLICK HERE.
