Black Girl

What does it mean to be a civic actor who is Black + Young + Female in the United States? Do African American girls take up the civic mantle in the same way that their male or non-Black peers do? What media, educational, or social platforms do Black girls leverage to gain access to the political arena, and why? How do Black girls negotiate civic identity within the context of their racialized, gendered, and age specific identities? There are scholars doing powerful work on Black youth and civics; scholars focused on girls and civics; and scholars focused on Black girls in education. But the intersections of African American girlhood and civics have not received adequate attention. This book begins the journey of understanding and communicating the varied forms of civics in the Black Girl experience. Black Girl Civics: Expanding and Navigating the Boundaries of Civic Engagement brings together a range of works that grapple with the question of what it means for African American girls to engage in civic identity development and expression. The chapters collected within this volume openly grapple with, and disclose the ways in which Black girls engage with and navigate the spectrum of civics. This collection of 11 chapters features a range of research from empirical to theoretical and is forwarded by Black Girlhood scholar Dr. Venus Evans-Winters. The intended audience for this volume includes Black girlhood scholars, scholars of race and gender, teachers, civic advocacy organizations, civic engagement researchers, and youth development providers.

“Dear Black Girl is the empowering, affirming love letter our girls need in order to thrive in a world that does not always protect, nurture, or celebrate us. This collection of Black women's voices… is a must-read, not only for Black girls, but for everyone who cares about Black girls, and for Black women whose inner-Black girl could use some healing.” –Tarana Burke, Founder of the ‘Me Too' Movement "Dear Dope Black Girl, You don't know me, but I know you. I know you because I am you! We are magic, light, and stars in the universe.” So begins a letter that Tamara Winfrey Harris received as part of her Letters to Black Girls project, where she asked black women to write honest, open, and inspiring letters of support to young black girls aged thirteen to twenty-one. Her call went viral, resulting in a hundred personal letters from black women around the globe that cover topics such as identity, self-love, parents, violence, grief, mental health, sex, and sexuality. In Dear Black Girl, Winfrey Harris organizes a selection of these letters, providing “a balm for the wounds of anti-black-girlness” and modeling how black women can nurture future generations. Each chapter ends with a prompt encouraging girls to write a letter to themselves, teaching the art of self-love and self-nurturing. Winfrey Harris's The Sisters Are Alright explores how black women must often fight and stumble their way into alrightness after adulthood. Dear Black Girl continues this work by delivering pro-black, feminist, LGBTQ+ positive, and body positive messages for black women-to-be—and for the girl who still lives inside every black woman who still needs reminding sometimes that she is alright.

Youth Empowerment for Black Teen Girls from Famous Black Women “It’s time for us Black girls and Black women to be empowered, and I’m glad we have Fievre to show us the way.”―Monique Jones, author of The Book of Awesome Black Americans #1 Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult Nonfiction on Prejudice Even strong, fearless, and badass Black teen girls and Black women need empowering words of affirmation. Now more than ever, we must give our minds and bodies the TLC they deserve because Black women empowerment begins with the youth empowerment of Black teen girls. Author of Badass Black Girl, M.J Fievre brings you inspirational words of wisdom through famous Black women who have changed the world, including Audre Lorde, Lupita Nyong'o and Angela Davis. Take a deep breath. We don’t always have to be strong. It’s essential for Black women and Black teen girls to understand that taking a break to focus on our mental health is bravery. We, too, need reminders and empowering words of affirmation that we are incredible and enough. Empowered Black Girl teaches you to: Master using daily words of affirmation Experience a life filled with love, Black joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction Take control of your destiny and direct your future Strengthen your self-esteem and youth empowerment If you enjoyed empowering books like Badass Black Girl, Badass Affirmations, Well-Read Black Girl, or Brave: A Teen Girl’s Guide to Beating Worry and Anxiety, then you’ll love Empowered Black Girl: Joyful Affirmations and Words of Resilience.

Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag poses the question: how does the #BlackGirlMagic political and cultural movement translate outside of social media? The essays in this volume move us beyond the digital realm and reveals how Black girls and women foster community, counter invisibility, engage in restorative acts, and create spaces for freedom in the face of structural oppression.

A powerful, beautifully written memoir about coming of age as a black girl in an exclusive white suburb in "integrated," post-Civil Rights California in the 1970s and 1980s. At six years of age, after winning a foot race against a white classmate, Jennifer Baszile was humiliated to hear her classmate explain that black people "have something in their feet to make them run faster than white people." When she asked her teacher about it, it was confirmed as true. The next morning, Jennifer's father accompanied her to school, careful to "assert himself as an informed and concerned parent and not simply a big, black, dangerous man in a first-grade classroom." This was the first of many skirmishes in Jennifer's childhood-long struggle to define herself as "the black girl next door" while living out her parents' dreams. Success for her was being the smartest and achieving the most, with the consequence that much of her girlhood did not seem like her own but more like the "family project." But integration took a toll on everyone in the family when strain in her parents' marriage emerged in her teenage years, and the struggle to be the perfect black family became an unbearable burden. A deeply personal view of a significant period of American social history, The Black Girl Next Door deftly balances childhood experiences with adult observations, creating an illuminating and poignant look at a unique time in our country's history.

What's a black girl from sunny Southern California to do? White people are blowing up black girls in Birmingham churches. Black people are shouting "Black is beautiful" while straightening their hair and coveting light skin. Viveca Stanton's answer: Slap on a bubbly smile and be as white as you can be! In a humorous and pointed coming-of-age story spanning the sixties through the nineties, Viveca blithely sails through the confusing worlds of racism, sexism and Broadway showbiz until she's forced to face the devastating effect self-denial has had on her life.

A blazingly honest essay collection from a refreshing new voice exploring the in-between moments for Black women and girls, and what it means to simply exist “At thirty-seven years old I can say Shenequa is a big name and I’m a big, bold woman.” Shenequa Golding doesn’t aim to speak for all Black women. We’re too vast, too vibrant, and too complicated. As an adult, Golding begins to own her boldness, but growing up, she found herself “kind of in the middle,” fluctuating between not being the fly kid or the overachiever. Her debut collection of essays, A Black Girl in the Middle taps into life’s wins and losses, representing the middle ground for Black girls and women. Golding packs humor, curiosity, honesty, anger, and ultimately acceptance in 12 essays spanning her life in Queens, NY, as a first generation Jamaican American. She breaks down the 10 levels of Black Girl Math, from the hard glare to responses reserved for unfaithful boyfriends. She comes to terms with and heals from fraught relationships with her father, friends, and romantic partners. She takes the devastating news that she’s a Black girl with a “flat ass” in stride, and adds squats to her routine, eventually. From a harrowing encounter in a hotel room leading her to explore celibacy (for now) to embracing rather than fearing the “Milli Vanilli” of emotions in hurt and anger, Golding embraces everything she’s learned with wit, heart, and humility. A Black Girl in the Middle is both an acknowledgment of the complexity and pride of not always fitting in and validation of what Black girlhood and womanhood can be.

Speaker, writer, and producer Trey Anthony breaks it down, giving black women a relatable voice and personalized "keeping it real" to-do list on how to practice self-love and self-care. Therapy is not just for white women-no matter what your momma told you! After a lifetime of never truly relating to the personal development experts because of the color of her skin, Trey Anthony has written the book she needed to read as a black woman trying to navigate a world filled with unique challenges that often acts like she doesn't exist. On the outside Trey Anthony was the overachieving, reliable, and strong black woman she was raised to be, but on the inside the pressure of sacrificing her own needs to please others was building. When her grandmother and mother raised her strong, they also unknowingly taught her that self-love and expressing emotions were weak, creating an unhealthy dynamic that had Trey facing burnout and rock bottom. In Black Girl in Love (with Herself), Trey breaks down the lessons and tools that she used to heal her life, including how to: Set clear and healthy boundaries-even with the people who raised you Quit being the family ATM Sort out who is a real friend, and who is just there for parties and gossip Confront microaggressions at work without missing a beat Forget who black women are "supposed" to be And fall in love with yourself!