\n<\/p>\n
Organizations supporting Black women and girls across the American South can expect a bit more joy \u2014 and more money \u2014 this summer following a new round of grants. <\/p>\n
The Southern Black Girls and Women\u2019s Consortium will grant $350,000 to two dozen Southern community organizations working in thirteen states. The grants will fund organizations that address acute challenges facing underserved Black women and girls, like maternal health, gender-based violence prevention and educational support.<\/p>\n
The funding and tour come at a moment when organizations focused on supporting underserved communities face funding crunches following the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.<\/a><\/p>\n The administration has invoked civil rights laws traditionally understood to have protected the rights of marginalized communities to investigate or prosecute instances of \u201canti-white racism\u201d and \u201cillegal DEI\u201d in companies, non-profits and government agencies. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen this retrenchment in philanthropy, and people are not putting resources on the ground,\u201d said Chance\u00e9 Lundy, Southern Black Girls\u2019 executive director. \u201cOrganizations are struggling, and we want to make sure that people know that we see them. We value the work that we\u2019re doing, and we want to be able to help fill some of the gaps that they are experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n The grants coincide with the organization\u2019s summer \u201cJoy and Justice\u201d tour, which convenes community building activities, resource drives and festivals in nine cities. Most of the tour stops take place at schools and community centers in majority-Black neighborhoods. One rally will take place at the Virginia Capitol alongside agency leaders promoting diversity in the state’s government.<\/p>\n Southern Black Girls has maintained funding from some major corporations and foundations<\/a>, though Lundy described the efforts to maintain those relationships as \u201cextremely difficult\u201d for most groups in the current political climate, where supporting race and gender conscious organizations may prompt backlash from the federal government.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re being punished for who we are,\u201d said LaTosha Brown, a voting rights activist and co-founder of the organization.<\/p>\n