The goal of this collaborative reporting between two women-run, statewide news organizations in Mississippi is simple, but complicated: Dig into and report the systemic inequities that caused COVID-19 to hit Black women harder than any other group, including Black men, in its early months in 2020. A team of women journalists is zooming in on specific counties, using our deep Mississippi networks, on-the-ground reporting and solution circles to, first, learn from Black women in counties across Mississippi about the deep-seated challenges the pandemic magnified, then to report their stories in deep historic and data-driven context. The journalists then take those county-level discoveries and report them through a solutions-journalism lens, seeking actions that can work in counties across Mississippi, with support from the Solutions Journalism Network.

→ To get involved, join a solution circle or sponsor BWC Project systemic journalism, email solutions@mississippifreepress.org.