Remarkable Women: Barbara Black

JOHNSONVILLE, S.C. (WBTW) — Barbara Black has served the Johnsonville and Pee Dee counties for more than a decade through her clothing and food drives for the homeless. She has also helped teenage mothers.

Her story is one of triumph and perseverance. Black, who has a background in nursing and a doctorate of divinity degree from Agape Bible College, said the act of service was instilled in her at a young age by her family.

“I’ve always had a heart for helping people,” she said. “When I graduated high school, I became a nurse because I wanted to help people, and so I’ve always had a heart for community outreach.”

Black, a two-time Remarkable Women nominee, started the nonprofit group “Lydia’s Bowels of Mercy,” also known as “Lydia’s Nest.”

“The name comes from the Bible,” Black said. “When God first gave me the name Lydia, I really didn’t know who she was, and I kind of studied up on her and found out that she’s one of the most forgotten ladies in the Bible. The ‘bowels of mercy’ part came from [when] he said that he loved us from his bowels and that’s how he wants us to love others.”

The nonprofit provides support to often marginalized communities such as the homeless, women, the elderly and children.

“There’s people that really need, and they need an angel to come through for them,” Black said. “It don’t have to be toys, and it don’t have to be the items, just to give them a smile, just to give them a hug.”

Community members see her as an angel on earth, serving 3,000-plus people in Johnsonville through her community center. She also hosts events like her Christmas Angel Program, during which she has gone door to door giving gifts to the elderly, and a community baby shower for teenage mothers.

“I was a single mom, young, in high school, got pregnant,” Black said. “So I wanted to reach back out to single moms and let them know there is support here.”

Black’s single mom ministry has helped women get back on their feet, and her clothing and food drives have helped dozens of local families.

“I think the main thing that keeps me grounded is the smile on peoples’ faces, like, I had one client that called me back and said, ‘you just don’t know, I had no food in my house. You don’t know how you made me feel,'” Black said. “Those kinds of things keep me going, even when I’m tired and I don’t want to stop and I want to give up, I just think about those people who really need me.”

Click here to find out more information and support Black’s initiatives.

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Annette Peagler is an evening anchor at News13. Annette is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She joined the News13 team in December 2020. Annette is an Emmy-nominated journalist and has won journalism awards in Mississippi and Tennessee. Follow Annette on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.

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