Partnership for Southern Equity goes back to the basics

When dealing with a health crisis that has become an economic crisis, how do you keep equity top of mind? That’s the problem that the Partnership for Southern Equity has been trying to solve for the past three months. For an organization that pulls people together, the answer has been going back to the basics. 

The Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE) advances policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South. The vast majority of the organization’s work is high touch. Some in-person leadership development programs, like Resident Leaders for Equity (RLE), have gone virtual. But for many projects, grassroots efforts by community organizers are key.

“Community organizers are our first line of defense,” says Nathaniel Smith, founder and chief equity officer of PSE. “It’s an economically challenging time. Some of our community members don’t have groceries, or their lights are about to get cut off. Our organizers have had to shift to provide frontline help like food and technology resources. Once the community’s basic needs are met, then we can work to engage neighborhoods in climate justice, economic inclusion, equitable development and health equity.”

The organization has encountered a great divide – many members of its audience don’t have access to broadband internet or social media. The problem is worse in rural areas. So, PSE has pivoted and is doing things the old-fashioned way, instituting direct mail updates, phone calls and texting.

“The past few months have been a reminder of where our organization came from and a reaffirmation for why we came into being,” Smith says. “We need people to know we are still here to meet the needs of the equity ecosystem. Because of structural racism, disasters hit vulnerable communities and people of color hardest. We must be a voice for that.”

PSE received a grant from the Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, a partnership between the Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Atlanta. It is using the funds to support direct service projects in response to COVID-19 for two communities: low-wealth Black communities and historically disinvested communities of color. In a recent open call for proposals, it received more than 80 applications.

Smith has been vocal about inequity in Atlanta, notably in two recent opinion pieces – one in Atlanta magazine and one in Nonprofit Quarterly – that challenge our region to think differently. “America is experiencing two pandemics – racism and COVID-19. This is not new, but people are paying attention now. Let’s use that and let’s continue to push for change,” says Smith.