Many of us struggle daily, wishing there was an alternative to working multiple jobs. As of 2020, more than 4.2 million Black Americans lived at or below the poverty line. This increased due to the pandemic.
But there’s hope.
Magnolia Mother’s Trust is a Mississippi-based organization addressing the gender and racial injustices Black women in the state face. The program, designed by Dr. Aisha Nyandoro, gives $1,000 every month to low-income mothers, no strings attached, for 12 months straight.
Since its inception, it’s helped hundreds of Black women across Mississippi. This is the first program to target low-income women, but more than 48 other guaranteed income programs are running across the country as well.
Brown Hope and The Black Resilience Fund, based out of Portland, Oregon, is one of these programs. Funded mainly by donations, the program gives $1,000 to single participants and $2,000 to families each month. Its creator, Cameron Whitten, wants to “[invest] in Black Portlanders without red tape, without bureaucracy.”
A universal basic income of $1,000 per adult and $300 per child, per month would eradicate US poverty. Programs like these are changing Black lives in extraordinary ways every day and pushing us to reach the goals of eradicating poverty in our communities.