SRBWI believes in constantly evaluating ourselves and working to improve and enhance our abilities to best serve rural women and remain sustainable for the future.
In order to build our human capacity, our regional and state organizations regularly bring women of multiple generations together to receive leadership training, connect with resources, engage in skill building and strengthen intergenerational bonds.
Leadership Development
Advocacy & Public Policy
To tackle public policy issues that impact the lives of rural Black women, SRBWI utilizes Commissions on Human Rights. Eleven commissions across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi work to educate women so that they realize that homelessness, inadequate education and a lack of gainful employment and access to healthcare are human rights violations. These commissions meet regularly and provide training that empowers women to change the conditions in their states and communities through informed advocacy.
Read more about Human Rights Commissions.
Lifting Women out of Poverty: Asset Development for Rural Black Women
Rural Black women have a history of self-reliance and ingenuity, whether farming the land for fresh produce or sewing with one-of-kind craftsmanship. Lifting Women out of Poverty is designed to inform and nurture the development of local and regional self-reliant networks.
Women’s groups throughout the region are putting their creativity and willpower behind income-producing projects, ranging from sewing cooperatives to transportation services.
In addition to working to expand opportunities in allied healthcare, SRBWI assists women in marketing and producing speciality crops and produce across the region.
SRBWI provides women with:
This leaves women empowered through a greater understanding of what is needed to manage their enterprises. Our alternative economic and asset development strategies have grown a sustainable employment model that helps close the gap between state economic development strategies and impoverished areas.
Self-examination is a large part of our process. The women actively involved with SRBWI programs meet regularly to review program planning and policy focus. We develop specific timelines and benchmarks to ensure and track program progress.
Developing issue priorities and identifying women to participate in training sessions.
Monitoring the effectiveness of skill building activities to determine the ability of women to take what they’ve learned and apply it to social action.
Surveying involved women to gauge their confidence as effective communicators that can engage in regional and national strategies that impact women of color.
Engaging with communications experts on timelines and deliverables to advance our strategies.