Macon Magazine

August/September 2024 | maconmagazine.com 65 LEFT The organizing group in Macon listens to speeches from local careworkers at the mural unveiling. Dream in Black mission because of how it sets a vision for not just care workers, but also for improving society at large. Clay is interested in how her work shapes policy: "The most important thing right now, I believe, is that childcare needs to be for everyone. It needs to be free, definitely." She's been energized by being part of NWDA and enjoys canvassing and encouraging people to vote: "We're doing the work." The mural and kickoff event in Macon was meant to inform and remind Central Georgia care workers of the opportunity to advocate and to know their value. Faye Cooper is one of them. She's been doing this work in Macon for 38 years and began as an unpaid family caregiver. "Families really have to go to work, and I understood that when I first started because my mama had to work. So instead of me going on to college, I stayed [home] to take care of my grandma so my mom could work." This became a career for Cooper, who is a member of the Georgia chapter of the NWDA. Cooper said that care workers deserve more recognition; her top priority is more pay and better conditions. "We need a whole lot more," she emphasized. Davis agreed. "We just want to live a life that's worthy. We want respect. We want dignity on our jobs. When we go to work, we should feel proud about what we do, and when we come home, we want our checks to reflect that." Reflecting that need, the care workers wore t-shirts emblazoned with the motto "Put some respect on our names" on the back. She said the Macon event was meant to galvanize care workers around Central Georgia and coincided with celebrating Juneteenth and International Domestic Workers Day. Young was contracted this spring to design the

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