Human Rights Commission
“SRBWI is responsible for my being the Mayor of Hayneville. You invited me to Georgia for a regional convening and talked about our responsibility as women to change our communities. The meeting so inspired me that I came home and told my husband that I am going to run for Mayor. Of course, I want a Commission on Human Rights. There is so much to be done.”
- Mayor Helenor Bell, Hayneville, Alabama*
SRBWI COMMISSIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS: ACCESS TO POWER & DECISION MAKING
SRBWI Human Rights Commissions draw on the power of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948 in addressing issues of economic and social justice for southern rural black women today.
The nine Commissions located in :
Alabama – Hayneville and Wilcox Counties
Georgia – Coffee and Wilcox Counties
Mississippi – Anguilla, Leland, Metcalfe, Mound Bayou, and Shelby
involve SRBWI women of all ages in taking responsibility for the well-being of their communities.
Commissioners implement local action agendas addressing issues from school reform to equitable allocation of state and federal allocation of resources.
Reports and Resources:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations
The Rain Don't Fall to the Ground: The Status of Human Rights for Southern Rural Black Women
Contact: Winifred Green, Senior Consultant, SRBWI at wgreen32@cox.net, 504 218.8908
*Hayneville, Alabama is the county seat of Lowndes County, where the Black Panther Party was founded and SNCC’s Stokley Carmichael and Bob Mants were field secretaries. Jonathan Daniels was murdered in the courthouse square steps away from City Hall where Mayor Bell has her office.
