Carolyn Newton with the NCBW is an Alabama Bright Light in the Alabama Black Belt
Carolyn Newton, an Alabama Power retiree, works through the National Coalition of 100 Black Women to help women and girls in underserved communities get the knowledge they need to improve their lives. (contributed)
African American women in the Black Belt of central Alabama face many obstacles, but there is a group that advocates on their behalf to improve lives and give them opportunities. This group is known as the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and the president of the Central Alabama Chapter is Carolyn Newton.
“The National Coalition of 100 Black Women is a national organization with over 63 chapters across the country. Within those chapters, we advocate on behalf of Black women and girls in the areas of economic empowerment, health and leadership,” Newton said.
The NCBW works to influence policy, which is accomplished through advocacy and working as a change agent. The ultimate goal is for Black women and girls to live in a world with socioeconomic equality.
“What we do here in the Central Alabama Chapter is to advocate on behalf of Black women and girls in the underserved areas of the state, which are mainly the Black Belt counties,” Newton said. “The way we help these women and girls is through our programs. We have a mentoring program, a scholarship program and a few others. Last year we gave eight scholarships to high school seniors in the Black Belt counties. We have other programs like economic empowerment programs where we have different speakers. We also do a lot of work on college campuses.”
[vimeo 637936527 w=640 h=360]Carolyn Newton is a friend to Black Belt women, girls through life skills training, scholarships from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
All of this work in the Black Belt can be challenging due to broadband limitations. Newton and her staff manage to overcome these challenges and others.
“Logistically it’s challenging to serve in that area because of issues dealing with the internet and access to other resources,” Newton said. “In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously affected us. For the last year and a half we could not do anything face to face. Everything had to be done virtually. It was very challenging in the area we serve because internet access isn’t always available.”
Overcoming these challenges takes hard work and financial support from organizations like the Alabama Power Foundation.
“Our relationship with the Alabama Power Foundation has been excellent,” Newton said. “The benefits we gain from partnering with the Alabama Power Foundation aren’t just financial. They have helped us in so many ways and have partnered with us with many efforts.”
Newton does her work thankful every day for the opportunity to advocate for women and girls in the Black Belt.
“I am so passionate about doing the work that I do for this organization. One of the reasons is my work at Alabama Power Company. I worked with low-income and underserved families and I was an advocate for them. When I retired in 2015, it was an opportunity to use those experiences,” Newton said. “I’m passionate about seeing women succeed despite all the obstacles put in front of them.”
For more information, visit www.NCBW.org
