Our History

The Mary S. Daniel Foundation for Health Equity was established in 2022 to honor Mary S. Daniel, a Jackson State University (JSU) alumna and retired JSU employee, who through her work with organizations such as the Jackson Urban League, Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, and JSU Department of Education, positively impacted the educational goals and outcomes for students and teachers across Mississippi. Former employers estimate that during her career, she was instrumental in introducing more than 50,000 students and teachers to possibilities for furthering their education, as well aiding them in that pursuit. The impact of her love for and service to church, family, community, and mankind live on through her daughters, extended family, friends, and life’s work, as well as those who are beneficiaries of the educational programs and services she created and worked to implement. Ms. Daniel, with the aid of attentive doctors, family, and close friends, managed and lived with heart disease over several decades prior to succumbing to the diagnosis in 2022. In the years prior, she began assembling southern recipes which support a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle and healthier diets for those diagnosed with chronic illnesses.

Thus, the Mary S. Daniel Foundation for Health Equity (FFHE) continues Ms. Daniel’s commitment to community by its mission to achieve health equity for Black, minority, and under resourced communities across the state of Mississippi. FFHE is a nonprofit corporation that partners with organizations, community members, organizers, and leaders to support and develop healthy communities in the state. This is accomplished through mission driven programs, projects, and services that improve health and wellness outcomes. We believe healthcare access, quality and costs must be equitable for all individuals, families, and communities. In actioning this belief, a comprehensive evaluation of systems, policies, practices, and results, using frameworks such as the Social Determinants of Health, is essential to eradicate barriers which prevent, celebrate successes which achieve, and invest in innovations that proliferate improved outcomes. Volumes of published research and data outline the missive and need for urgent focus on and investment in healthcare issues that are specific to Black, Indigenous, and minority women, men, children, families, and communities as these groups historically have experienced and continually experience under-resourced, unfunded or, disinvested healthcare solutions. This work is the HEART of healthcare justice.