🌱🤫The Cost of Silence: When Advocacy Turns into Accountability⛓️‍💥🪓

Hello Lovelies,

Part 1: Behind the Mission Statement

By Lady Erin Love

For nearly eight months, I poured my expertise, heart, and strategy into an organization with a bold public mission. I joined not as a junior hire, but as a senior leader brought in to build structure, funding systems, and a sustainable path forward. I did that—and far more.

But what I couldn’t predict was the pattern that followed: a slow unraveling of integrity behind closed doors. A silence that speaks louder than any slogan. A cost too many women, especially Black women, are asked to carry in exchange for proximity to purpose.

When Passion Becomes a Liability

I led global development strategy, built a funding pipeline with over 50 qualified opportunities, and coordinated more than 20 submissions to world-class funders. I filled gaps left by disengaged leadership. I activated dormant centers for profitability. I mentored, trained, onboarded and led consultants. I raised urgent concerns when internal dysfunction risked collapse.

Yet when it came time to honor what had been delivered and documented? Silence.

The Reality of Unpaid Labor

I submitted invoices with full transparency. I followed up professionally and privately. I gave grace. I protected the brand.

Still—no payment. No explanation. No accountability. Just posts from leadership at luxury events, while my livelihood was hanging in limbo.

I was told to “wait.” I was told “we’re on vacation.” But rent doesn’t wait. Deadlines don’t wait. Dignity doesn’t wait.

And when I stood up? I was met with deflection, condescension, and legal threats.

This Is What Retaliation Looks Like

They say silence is golden—but in some cases, it’s weaponized. When you refuse to be underpaid, undervalued, and overextended—especially as a Black woman in leadership—you’re no longer “team.” You’re suddenly “too much.”

And yet, I stayed rooted in truth. Every contribution was documented. Every hour accounted for. Every act aligned with the mission they claimed to live by.

This isn’t escalation. It’s boundaries.

The Start of Something Bigger

This blog series is not about revenge—it’s about revelation. It’s for every woman who’s ever carried the weight of someone else’s mission on her back while her own needs were ignored. It’s a mirror for those silently asking, “Is it just me?”

It’s not.

Coming up in this series:

• 📌 Part 2: When Mission Masks Mismanagement: A Quiet Culture of Control
• 📌 Part 3: The Receipts Always Matter: What Transparency Really Looks Like
• 📌 Part 4: Lessons from the Retreat: Gaslight, Ghost, Repeat
• 📌 Part 5: Radical Reclamation: Rebuilding Your Voice, Value, and Vision

Let this be a reminder: your voice is not a liability. Your boundaries are not unprofessional. And your peace is worth protecting.

Stay tuned.

Lady Erin Love