Front & Center is a groundbreaking Ms. series that began as first-person accounts of Black mothers living in Jackson, Miss., receiving a guaranteed income. Moving into the fourth year and next phase of this series, the aim is to expand our focus beyond a single policy intervention to include a broader examination of systemic issues impacting Black women experiencing poverty. 

Front & Center’s Next Phase: How We Fix Systems Designed to Fail Black Women

2024

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When we started Front & Center three years ago, our goal was to give Black women living in extreme poverty—too often ignored in our politics and press—a platform to share their lived experience. We wanted them to be the authors of their own stories, and to build empathy among our audience for their struggles and successes. We are proud to have achieved this, with an array of stories that have been featured in bestselling books to congressional white papers.

Things have changed, and hard-won progress is under threat on countless fronts. In response, we are shifting our focus to look at the bigger picture, diving deeper into the interconnected challenges they face, including: navigating the existing safety net; healthcare, childcare and elder care; and the importance of mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

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Hear directly from Black women navigating existing social safety net programs, while also trying to care for their families and build a career—their struggles, their children, their work, their relationships and their dreams for the future.