Launched online on March 31^st, 2013, Jenn M. Jackson’s future 501c3, The Worth Campaign, sets out to empower young women of color by educating them about images and stereotypes which might cause them to question their worth. The project’s core function is to reinforce self-worth and build up young women where past experiences may have torn them down. Additionally, because the program is intended to serve high school and college-aged young women of color, The Worth Campaign will equip young women with the tools needed to traverse the tumultuous years between adolescence and adulthood.

As a young girl, Jackson found herself struggling with questions of self-worth. From her extraordinary height of over six feet tall at twelve years of age to her difficulties with her inner city surroundings, she often found herself struggling to fit in. And, in an effort to get comfortable, she would often distort or hide her true self in order to be more generally accepted by others. Not understanding what was driving her to this response, she continued the behavior through high school and college to cope with her inability to truly understand her own innate value.

She went on to attend the University of Southern California, receiving an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering. Her interests later moved toward politics as she received a Masters in Political Science and will be starting her PhD program in fall 2014. Now, in her late twenties, Jackson has been writing about black women’s politics on Beyond Black & White while running a blog with her husband called Water Cooler Convos.

And, even with her accomplishments to date, Jackson still struggled with self-worth well into adulthood. It wasn’t until reading Melissa Harris-Perry’s 2011 book, Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes and Black Women in America, that Jackson was able to name and identify the issues she had faced for most of her life.

After joining the blogging community in 2012, Jackson began working with many women of color who each seemed to have a very different perspective of self. Reminded of her own struggles throughout high school and college, Jackson became overwhelmed with a desire to truly make a difference for women of color. In response to a deeper understanding of herself, Jackson set out to build a community for other women like her.

The Worth Campaign was her answer to the dearth of programs addressing the unique conditions faced by many young women of color during this vital period of their personal growth. She started the project after being inspired by Harris-Perry’s prose but it was her inner desire to reach out to others like her that served as the catalyst for The Worth Campaign.

In the coming months and years, Jackson will be building upon her current networks of strong women of color to bring her vision for The Worth Campaign to fruition. She envisions a robust program of mentorship opportunities, empowerment lessons, exercises in self-worth, college preparation and a host of partnerships with community-based organizations as the foundational basis for The Worth Campaign’s high school program. For college-aged women, she hopes to align the Campaign with existing campus groups and programs supporting young women of color to provide forums, guidance, and positive reinforcement initiatives for those seeking community on their college campuses.

Follow along as The Worth Campaign develops into a full-fledged nonprofit organization. There are great things in store for this vital and needed project.