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A portrait of black women

Results of a survey paint a complex portrait of black women who feel confident but vulnerable, who have high self-esteem and see physical beauty as important, who find career success more vital to them than marriage.

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From left, Ruth Lawrence Driver, 69, Niya Nelson, 16, Tracie Gaines Nelson, 46, and Alani Nelson, 17. The four live in the same household in Upper Marlboro. The house in Prince George’s County also is a place where its occupants wrestle, sometimes uncomfortably, with the stereotypes of black women.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Ruth Lawrence Driver in her home in Upper Marlboro, Md. She attended segregated primary schools in North Carolina, where teachers used old textbooks handed down from white schools. She attended a historically black university in 1960 and flourished in spite of the racism and sexism that was present all around her. Now, she is a retired teacher who takes water aerobics classes, goes hand dancing at a nearby senior center and attends church every Sunday.

Ruth Lawrence Driver in her home in Upper Marlboro, Md. She attended segregated primary schools in North Carolina, where teachers used old textbooks handed down from white schools. She attended a historically black university in 1960 and flourished in spite of the racism and sexism that was present all around her. Now, she is a retired teacher who takes water aerobics classes, goes hand dancing at a nearby senior center and attends church every Sunday.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Tracie Gaines Nelson in her home in Upper Marlboro, Md. Nelson, a social worker, studied for her master’s degree while raising her two daughters alone. According to a poll conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation, 40 percent of black women say getting married is very important, compared with 55 percent of white women.

Tracie Gaines Nelson in her home in Upper Marlboro, Md. Nelson, a social worker, studied for her master’s degree while raising her two daughters alone. According to a poll conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation, 40 percent of black women say getting married is very important, compared with 55 percent of white women.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Alani Nelson, 17, clashed with her mother, Tracie Gaines Nelson, when she said she wasn’t interested in going to college. Alani relented and has begun the application process. Like nearly three-quarters of the black women in the Post-Kaiser survey, Tracie Gaines Nelson sometimes worries about having enough money to pay her bills. She is constantly telling her daughters to search for careers that will pay them six figures, hoping they will have more financial comfort than she does.

Alani Nelson, 17, clashed with her mother, Tracie Gaines Nelson, when she said she wasn’t interested in going to college. Alani relented and has begun the application process. Like nearly three-quarters of the black women in the Post-Kaiser survey, Tracie Gaines Nelson sometimes worries about having enough money to pay her bills. She is constantly telling her daughters to search for careers that will pay them six figures, hoping they will have more financial comfort than she does.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Niya Nelson, 16, plans to attend college. Nearly six in 10 black women say they worry about providing a good education for their kids. “It’s important to me that they see that they are building upon a foundation,” says Niya’s mother, Tracie Gaines Nelson. “We have to continue to build each generation. It’s important for our uplift as a people and our uplift as women.”

Niya Nelson, 16, plans to attend college. Nearly six in 10 black women say they worry about providing a good education for their kids. “It’s important to me that they see that they are building upon a foundation,” says Niya’s mother, Tracie Gaines Nelson. “We have to continue to build each generation. It’s important for our uplift as a people and our uplift as women.”

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Ruby W. Lawrence, 99, who suffers from dementia, receives regular visits from her daughter Ruth Lawrence Driver, granddaughter Tracie Gaines Nelson and great-granddaughter Niya Nelson in Largo.

Ruby W. Lawrence, 99, who suffers from dementia, receives regular visits from her daughter Ruth Lawrence Driver, granddaughter Tracie Gaines Nelson and great-granddaughter Niya Nelson in Largo.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Ruth Lawrence Driver regularly stops by Manor Care, a nursing home, to see her mother, Ruby W. Lawrence, in Largo.

Ruth Lawrence Driver regularly stops by Manor Care, a nursing home, to see her mother, Ruby W. Lawrence, in Largo.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Niya Nelson brushes the hair of her great-grandmother Ruby W. Lawrence in Largo.

Niya Nelson brushes the hair of her great-grandmother Ruby W. Lawrence in Largo.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Ruth Lawrence Driver visits her mother, Ruby W. Lawrence, in Largo. A 63-year-old cousin of Driver’s moved in with Driver and her family last year to save enough money to return to college and finally get the degree that had eluded her for nearly three decades.

Ruth Lawrence Driver visits her mother, Ruby W. Lawrence, in Largo. A 63-year-old cousin of Driver’s moved in with Driver and her family last year to save enough money to return to college and finally get the degree that had eluded her for nearly three decades.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Tracie Gaines Nelson holds a family photograph of all five women, who once lived together, before Ruby W. Lawrence went to stay at Manor Care, a nursing home in Largo. The family regularly visits Lawrence.

Tracie Gaines Nelson holds a family photograph of all five women, who once lived together, before Ruby W. Lawrence went to stay at Manor Care, a nursing home in Largo. The family regularly visits Lawrence.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Tracie Gaines Nelson helps her daughter Alani Nelson through the college application process in their home in Upper Marlboro. Black women with college degrees earn nearly as much as similarly educated white women. Businesses owned by black women have nearly doubled in the last decade to more than 900,000, according to Census figures.

Tracie Gaines Nelson helps her daughter Alani Nelson through the college application process in their home in Upper Marlboro. Black women with college degrees earn nearly as much as similarly educated white women. Businesses owned by black women have nearly doubled in the last decade to more than 900,000, according to Census figures.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Alani Nelson, left, and Niya Nelson both plan to attend college. Their mother, Tracie Gaines Nelson, enrolled Alani in debutante classes organized by her sorority last year and sent Niya to a leadership workshop at which she met black lawyers and businesswomen.

Alani Nelson, left, and Niya Nelson both plan to attend college. Their mother, Tracie Gaines Nelson, enrolled Alani in debutante classes organized by her sorority last year and sent Niya to a leadership workshop at which she met black lawyers and businesswomen.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

“There are a lot of lessons that come out of this house,” Niya Nelson says of living with her sister, mother and grandmother.

“There are a lot of lessons that come out of this house,” Niya Nelson says of living with her sister, mother and grandmother.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Tracie Gaines Nelson, far left, along with her girlfriends, attends a class with fitness trainer Joe Neil in Largo. According to the survey by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation, 67 percent of black women describe themselves as having high self-esteem and 40 percent of black women say they experience frequent stress.

Tracie Gaines Nelson, far left, along with her girlfriends, attends a class with fitness trainer Joe Neil in Largo. According to the survey by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation, 67 percent of black women describe themselves as having high self-esteem and 40 percent of black women say they experience frequent stress.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Ruth Lawrence Driver, Niya Nelson, Tracie Gaines Nelson and Alani Nelson live together. “Living in a household of women is portrayed to be this horrible place, but it’s not,” Alani says.

Ruth Lawrence Driver, Niya Nelson, Tracie Gaines Nelson and Alani Nelson live together. “Living in a household of women is portrayed to be this horrible place, but it’s not,” Alani says.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

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