From adults to young people, the Holiday season seems to be filled with joyous occasions and celebration. Decorations light up our homes and neighborhoods. Our days are serenaded with carols and holiday themed music. All the more, there is gleeful anticipation for parties and gatherings with friends and loved ones. Inevitably, capitalism is front and center at this time. This can present pressure to produce and consume that often yields high stress or depression. Not only that, grief of missing loved ones who are absent physically or mentally can impose a thread of sorrow in the collective quilt of community joy. Through it all, unjust systems and the economy sustain themselves through the reliance of everyone acting on all of the above. This mixture of capitalistic drive, societal pressures, and human frailty can lead many to overindulge in gluttony or self-destructive forms of comfort. Things we do to mask our pain or to keep inbounds with social norms often perpetuate dysfunction. Ultimately, we lose the connection to what sustains us, and latch on to what makes us feel good. Yet real joy is in the substance of life, it is not a moment’s reaction to our condition or material delight. As we hear so often during this season, joy to the world is the high pursuit. Nevertheless, joy to the world is void if more than half of the word lives under oppression and poverty. So as we go about our merry way this season, let us remember to keep in practice with real joy. We can look to the African-centered principles found in our cultural and spiritual traditions. Whether we identify with Nguzo Saba (the 7 principles of Kwanzaa) or basic tenets of the Golden rule, we can BE the joy we seek. With grace, La’Keisha Executive Director Read the full GLMPI Newsletter
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Growing up, one of my biggest dreams was to become an actress. The limited presence of black women on my favorite television shows and movies inspired me. The few times that I did see people that looked like me I clung to those characters, paid very close attention to their roles and appearances. An important part of a black woman's appearance is her hair.
We recently celebrated women who embody the core values of Girls Like Me Project, Inc and the value of leadership! Join us in thanking each honoree for playing a unique role in providing leadership and inspiration for future women in media and beyond.
We recently celebrated women who embody the core values of Girls Like Me Project, Inc and the value of leadership! Join us in thanking each honoree for playing a unique role in providing leadership and inspiration for future women in media and beyond. We kicked off our celebration of leadership with our very own, India DeJonge! Not only is India a GLMPI member, but a young woman who has displayed true leadership and been present throughout our transition from in-person to virtual programming. Tricia Hersey is the founder of The Nap Ministry and a true advocate of Self Care. Hersey was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, thanks to her grandparents migrating from Mississippi and Louisiana during the Great Migration of the late 1940’s. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Divinity from Emory University, Candler School of Theology. Jamilah lemieux is undoubtedly on the front lines of empowering Black girls and raising #blackgirlmagic!⠀ Lemieux’s written work has been featured via a host of print and digital platforms, including Essence, Mic, The Guardian, Colorlines, The Washington Post, The Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation and The New York Times. She penned the foreword for the 2015 anniversary of Michele Wallace's Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman and the 2017 re-release of Ann Petry’s Miss Muriel and Other Stories. ⠀ ⠀ Currently, she pens a weekly advice column for Slate's 'Care and Feeding' parenting section and is a co-host for the Mom and Dad Are Fighting podcast. Natalie Moore is relentless in her pursuit and illustration of the truth on race, class, and communities in Chicago. We are excited to welcome her as our guest journalism instructor! Moore covers segregation and inequality for WBEZ Chicago. Her enterprise reporting has tackled race, housing, economic development, food injustice, and violence. Natalie’s work has been broadcast on the BBC, Marketplace and NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. We are in awe of Mellody Hobson for her courage, leadership, investment in our youth, and storytelling. ⠀
⠀ Born on April 3, 1969 in Chicago, IL, Hobson is the president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments. She is the youngest in a family of six children, an alumna of St. Ignatius College Prep and Princeton. ⠀ ⠀ In 2017, Hobson was named to head the Economic Club of Chicago, the first African-American woman to do so. On October 8, 2020, Mellody Hobson and the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation made the lead gift to establish a new residential college at Princeton University. Hobson College will be the first residential college at Princeton named for a Black woman and will be built on the site of First College, formerly known as Wilson College. What role should parents play in affirming our girls? If you are in search of new ways to boost your daughter's self-esteem or to simply hear an empowering conversation about the conversations we should start having with our daughters at an early age. Take a moment today to watch to a powerful discussion featuring our founder, La'Keisha Gray-Sewell, Jamila Trimuel, founder of Ladies of Virtue, and Sheri Johnson Crawley, founder of Pretty Brown Girl; a non-profit developed to empower Black and Brown girls while encouraging self-acceptance by cultivating social, emotional and intellectual well-being. My goal now is to make sure that this generation of girls don't hold the dreams that God has given them. Who is carrying the torch as our new storyteller?⠀
⠀ In the spirit of Ida B. Wells, we are highlighting women who are using their voice, gift, artistry, and craft for the future. By amplifying their voice and thanking them for ringing the alarm on social justice issues, news, and historical context that moves us to action, we hope to inspire our girls and community to do the same. According to the Women's Media Center, an estimated 64,000-75,000 Black women and girls are currently missing in the U.S. Additionally, the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children confirmed this report, adding that Black women comprise around 7% of the entire population and more than 10% of those missing in the entire country. The Global Headquarters of Female Empowerment Stories and Voices (GIRLTALKHQ) is keeping this startling story alive with their latest feature "Gone Black Girls: Finding the Forgotten, Telling Their Stories." "When these girls go missing, then, they’re usually labelled as runaways instead of missing persons — resulting in a lack of urgency to find them." |
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December 2022
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