Women of color like Brown, whose mother is white and father is Black, are often likely to have low-wage jobs like home care work, which offer a critical service but lack protections, including paid sick leave and predictable schedules. Among the millions of unemployed Americans who sought jobs in August, prospects were particularly bleak for Black workers, who were the only racial or ethnic group whose unemployment rate increased overall. Unemployment in Carroll County, where Brown lives, hovers just above the state’s average of 6 percent, while two of the four neighboring counties have unemployment rates of 8.1 percent and 12.2 percent.