Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative

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Historical Background

The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (SRBWI) grew out of a meeting convened by the Ford Foundation in New York, in late 2000. A small group of women met there to discuss with representatives of the Foundation, their experiences working in the rural South assisting low income, low skill and underemployed Black women who were trying to improve the quality of their and their families’ lives. In January, 2002 a slightly larger group of women held a follow-up meeting which led to the formation of the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice which works in a 77 county target area across the Black Belt regions of Alabama and Southwest Georgia, and the Delta in Mississippi.

SRBWI received a one year planning grant from the Ford Foundation which enabled it to:

Build and solidify a southern rural women’s network in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi focused on the needs of unemployed and underemployed Black women;
Explore ways to structure advocacy, capacity building, technical assistance and public education activities so that low income women could become advocates for themselves and others;
Assist women in each state to develop state action plans; and
Develop a proposal for a three state, multi-year plan of action to advance the economic and social rights of low income women in the Black Belts of Alabama and Southwest Georgia, and the Delta of Mississippi.

The Children’s Defense Fund’s Southern Regional Office (CDF/SRO) is the SRBWI fiscal agent, regional program administrator, and state lead in Mississippi. The Federation of Community Controlled Child Care Centers (FOCAL) is the SRBWI state lead in Alabama. And the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education is the SRBWI state lead in Georgia.

With the support of these state lead organizations, local action agendas are developed and supported by leadership and asset development strategies and services, training and technical assistance, policy and advocacy initiatives and ancillary educational forums, research, demonstration and outreach activities. Expert assistance is made available to provide local women the skills and resources required to develop projects they have identified in their local planning processes. SRBWI contracts for technical assistance and other services from existing successful programs, when appropriate. Technical support is designed and offered in ways that recognize the need for low income women to transfer knowledge and skills and in time replace external help with internal capacity and ability.

A SRBWI Regional Advisory Committee, with women representatives from each of the three states provides general coordination and oversight for SRBWI’s regional work. Each targeted state also receives direction and support from State Advisory Committees made up of women from that state’s targeted counties. And a SRBWI Executive Committee composed of the Directors of the lead agencies in each state, the Asset and Finance Development Manager, the Senior Program Manager and the Senior Consultant for Program Implementation, Fundraising and Evaluation provides hands-on guidance for SRBWI regional implementation strategies. Decision making at every level uses a consensus model.

SRBWI’s ultimate goal is improved quality of life for the women, their families and their communities in the 77 county target areas of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.