The ongoing paucity of public and private investment in the rural South has caused outsized harm to African-American women and girls. In a study published this week titled “ Unequal Lives: The State of Black Women and Families in the Rural South ,” the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative (SRBWI) found “on nearly every social indicator of well-being — from income and earnings to obesity and...
Rural America has a greater need for investment but is getting less of it, according to two new reports by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One analysis found more than one in four rural children lives in poverty. That number jumps to one in three or higher across much of the South, where manufacturing boomed in the 1990s but plummeted during the severe recession that began in 2007. The...
An attempt to start a race war in America is backfiring in vibrant fashion. People of all backgrounds are mourning nine black parishioners who welcomed a white supremacist into their Bible study at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church, a hallowed shrine to freedom, equality and inclusion. The congregation is overwhelmed by the condolences and donations pouring in from every state. Thousands packed...
Sophia Bracy Harris is Executive Director of the Federation of Child Care Centers of Alabama (FOCAL) and Alabama Director of the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (SRBWI). Her lifelong dedication to improving educational opportunities for children and their families has been recognized with the Rockefeller Public Service Award, Gleitsman Foundation “People...
For many Americans, next Wednesday is the most dreaded day of the year. Not only does Tax Day mean settling your debts with Uncle Sam, it also brings the perennial political promises about tax reform. It’s a popular platform: A Pew Research poll conducted last month found 59 percent of Americans believe the tax system is deeply flawed and in need of a complete overhaul. There’s less consensus...
