Safe, high quality in-person schools and access to higher education are top concerns for Black women – nearly as important as protecting voting rights and fighting racism, a new national survey has found.

Conducted by brilliant corners Research & Strategies, “Our Power, Our Legacy,” a June survey of 733 randomly selected Black women over the age of 18, was commissioned by The Highland Project to identify what priorities Black women identify as critical for future economic success after the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on Black communities.

“I want to turn and ask Black mothers, what do they need, and how can we better engage them more authentically in co-architecting solutions?” said Gabrielle Wyatt, who founded the Highland Project in 2020. About 89 percent of Black mothers surveyed say reaching educational goals is a key measure of success; while 85 percent say improving K-12 education is the top priority.

The report’s sample is geographically representative, with 27 percent of respondents having children under 18; 32 percent holding a higher education degree; and 38 percent married or partnered.

The findings will inform programming for The Highland Project’s first cohort of Black women leaders and advocacy plans for their local partners, including the education-focused Mind Trust in Indianapolis. Wyatt, Newark Schools’ former chief of strategy, created the nonprofit Highland Project as a coalition of Black women leaders aimed at closing the racial wealth gap via systems-level change.

Wyatt told The 74 that The Highland Project’s mission was born out of a belief that wealth provides opportunity — to things like home ownership and rainy day funds — yet economic solutions alone cannot solve the racial wealth gap.

“I think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs — our lives and our bodies to be protected and need to be thriving. We need access to incredible health care,” said Wyatt. “We need access to great and nutritious foods. We need access to a community policing model… We also need access to great and incredible schools. When we say wealth, we need to be thinking about pulling multiple policy levers in order to get there.”

Read the full article about Black women prioritizing education by Marianna McMurdock at The 74.