Front and Center is a groundbreaking series of op-eds—published by Ms. and created in partnership with the Magnolia Mother’s Trust—which aims to put front and center the voices of Black women who are affected most by the often-abstract policies currently debated at the national level. The series highlights the success of Springboard to Opportunities’ Magnolia Mother’s Trust (MMT), which this year will give $1,000 per month for 12 months to 100 families headed by Black women living in federally subsidized housing.
What possibilities could open up for low-income families if financial survival weren’t always top of mind? What dreams would these mothers and families be able to pursue? What activism and community leadership might arise? The series will answer these and other questions, by placing one mother’s story front and center every other week. The first-person accounts in this series are available for reprint. Find additional guidelines at the end of this story.
My name is Lentrice, I’m 25 years old and I live in Jackson, Mississippi. I have a 4-year-old son named Marcus and a 6-month-old daughter named Elysia. I’m currently working in housekeeping for Merit Health Central, but I’m planning to go back to school to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA) as soon as my daughter starts walking. I don’t have time to study right now because my kids are so young.
I was going to Dental Technical College and had to drop out because I didn’t have a way back and forth. It’s a pretty long way from where I stay. Transportation has been a big barrier, and I just learned how to drive last year.
(Editor’s note: Jackson has notoriously unreliable public transportation, leaving residents waiting hours for buses that may never arrive.)
If I could have any job in the world, I would probably open a daycare or nursing home—that has been one of my dreams, but I would also like to work with the homeless. As a single mother, I know how hard it can be to get my kids back and forth to school. And when children are sick, it’s hard for parents to work. So I’d like to do something for the kids who get sick and can’t go to school so their parents can still work. I know what trying to balance that’s like.
Before the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, I was making about $680 every two weeks. Rent was my biggest monthly expense. I’ve noticed the cost of food rising the past few years and I recently had my food stamps cut off. They said I made too much money with my son, which was not true. I did not make too much money, it was a mistake. So I reapplied and I got them again, but the cost of groceries is high and my SNAP benefits have stayed the same.
I had to work a lot of overtime before I started receiving MMT. Now I get to spend more time with my kids. MMT allowed me to get my children beds, to have money to get back and forth to work, and sometimes when food stamps aren’t enough, I have money to buy more groceries. I would never quit my job just because I got MMT. It’s supposed to help us have more money to do what we need to do. If rent goes up, we don’t have to struggle and work more overtime to make our rent money.
Since starting the program, I was able to take my kids on a trip to Memphis. My son has been before with his grandma, but it was my daughter’s first trip. We’ve been able to go to the trampoline park, and sometimes we get to go out to eat. I’m hoping to take another trip with them in the spring or summer.
My goals while in the program are to take CNA classes, get a vehicle and eventually move. I want my kids to have their own rooms. In the future, I’d like to go back to school to eventually work my way up to be a registered nurse—but I need to wait until my kids are a little older to do that.
In this moment, I’m just finding so much joy in my kids. They make me so happy. I wake up and see them and remind me of why I keep pushing.
Front and Center pieces are free to republish, under the following guidelines:
- To ensure context isn’t lost, at the top of your reprint, include a line that reads: “Front and Center is a series of op-eds—published by Ms. magazine and created in partnership with the Magnolia Mother’s Trust—highlighting the success of Springboard to Opportunities’ Magnolia Mother’s Trust program, which this year will give $1,000 per month for 12 months to 100 families headed by Black women living in federally subsidized housing. The series aims to put front and center the voices of Black women who are affected most by the often-abstract policies currently debated at the national level.” (You can use editorial discretion to alter or shorten the text slightly.)
- You may also republish the photographs included in this story.
- If you share republished stories on social media, we’d appreciate being tagged in your posts. You can find Ms. on Twitter @MsMagazine, on Instagram @ms_magazine and on Facebook. Springboard to Opportunities is on Twitter @SpringboardToOp, on Instagram @springboard_to and on Facebook.
Have questions on the series? Read more here, and direct specific questions to Katie Fleischer at kfleischer@msmagazine.com.
