R.A.G.E.

Member Mondays are meant to highlight community leaders that showcase the excellence of residents Greater Englewood and Joyce Scott is a great example. Ms Scott has been instrumental in empowering our community through public speaking by spearheading the Toastmasters Club in Greater Englewood. Offering her knowledge of generational wealth building and utilizing her communication proficiency through volunteering, which includes the workshop offered at Kennedy King College by Harvard Professor Steven Rogers called ” Pathways to Capital for Black Entrepreneurs” on September 24th. Ms Scott brings her knowledge and experience to RAGE and Greater Englewood so that we are able to learn from our past.

Origins: Auburn Gresham, Harlen, and Loyola.

Ms Scott was raised and educated in Chicago. Growing up on 90th and Filmore she attended Harlen Academy off of 95th and Michigan Avenue where she says, ” I was in to books, you know getting my studying on, and I was in the honor society”. She enjoyed attending basketball games and going on bike rides. After graduating she stayed in the city and decided to pursue her dream of being an attorney.

Ms Scott attended Loyola University and studied criminal justice. Staying home in Auburn-Gresham she commuted to the Lakeshore campus as well as the campus downtown off of Michigan Ave. Ms Scott saw one major benefit in her commutes saying, ” the nice part of commuting to the Lakeshore campus was being able to do my work on the way”. While attending she was a member of the Black Student Association and after graduating she worked with the Federal Aviation Administration until she retired.

Career:Toastmasters and Consulting

Ms Scott is currently retired but isn’t slowing down her contribution to society for the leisure life. Her passion is empowering her community and she does that through many mediums, but wealth consulting and public speaking is where she hones her skills on. In 2011 she was living in Englewood and was part of Englewood Toastmasters Club for “several years”; originally the Toastmasters Club was based out of Kennedy King College and Ms. Scott says “Once they graduate from Kennedy King College they go to Governor’s State or Prairie state, so once I got on the Englewood board I said ‘well I’m going to talk to people in the community so that we will have members beyond college students'”.With Toastmasters being based on teaching communication and leadership skills, Ms Scott took the club from being Englewood Toastmasters to Greater Englewood Toastmasters.

Ms. Scott considers herself a consultant. Experiencing and learning of the exclusion in generational wealth-building that occurred to the black community during the implementation of redlining, land contract sales, and the structural racism that disenfranchised the black community she has made a mission of educating folks on the importance of estate planning and self-employment. Ms. Scott points out the history stating, “Back in the 60s black families couldn’t get mortgages and they would have land contracts after World War 2 black veterans weren’t able to take out home loans, but other people could; We ought to get reparations”. She looks to talk to people about home-ownership over renting even pointing that it’s possible to get a mortgage with a credit score of 580. She adds, ” I try to tell young people like yourself you can put your money together with someone you trust, buy a property, have them live on the lower level and that can cover your mortgage. You don’t have to have a 700″.

RAGE, Englewood, and Life

Ms Scott’s path to joining RAGE was directly linked to her time as a leader with the Englewood Toastmasters Club. After living here and looking to increase the number of community members who are part of Toastmasters, in 2012 she was invited to Northern Illinois University to “teach the youth about public speaking”. After this event, she became a member of RAGE and was able to host multiple Toastmaster workshops that were open to the public throughout 2013. By 2015 she was even able to facilitate an expo at Teamwork Englewood on self-employment, to where she brought tax professionals to educate the community on the benefits of working for oneself. On the self-employment expo, she states, “there are not a lot of jobs in the Englewood community; there is no industry there; so while you have a job you want training for your side hustle or to start a business”. Though she no longer lives in Englewood her presence still resonates.

During her time with RAGE she has had many unforgettable moments.During her trip to NIU she developed a bond with Samiya Butler, who was her, “little helper”, which even led to Ms Scott attending her prom send-off. During her time with Toastmasters she witnessed residents like Andrea Natay Drane, Cherice Price, and Michelle Rashad grow into the leaders they are today. Drane and Price both were in the first Englewood Business Pitch Competition and Ms Scott has been gifted to see their growth as local entrepreneurs. Rashad has impressed Ms Scott by taking on president duties with the Greater Englewood Toastmasters Club. Of all these moments, her most favorite is the opportunities she has to volunteer with RAGE as an ambassador and assisting the Health and Wellness Taskforce and the Jobs and Economic Development Taskforce with the Quality of Life Plan.

Joyce Scott joined RAGE because “they help do good in the community”. Her favorite quote is, ” you can have anything that you want in life if you help others get what they want”. Both these statements reflect the altruistic spirit that Joyce brings to her community work. The issues that impact Englewood affect Auburn-Gresham, where she is part of a neighborhood accountability group on the red light cameras and the ticketing practices. She is still active in Toastmasters within her community and stays up to date on the happenings in Greater Englewood. RAGE is blessed to have members like Joyce Scott and we thank you for all of your contributions!