A New Program Focus: Black Girl Literacies
As we embark upon the new fiscal year, support is needed for the Leading Ladies of Legacy Girls Mentoring Program focus: Black Girl Literacies.
Black Girl Literacies is defined as:
“Specific acts in which Black girls read, write, speak, move, and create in order to affirm themselves, the(ir) world, and the multidimensionality of young Black womanhood and/or Black girlhood” (Muhammad & Haddix, 2016).
Our hope is to focus on more critical conversations with girls on reading their stories, telling their stories, and discussing what it really means to be a black girl in today’s society. This new program element will help us to sustain the conversation on understanding their identity.
“The mere thought of what could happen when girls are given a safe space to explore this topic in-depth and create counternarratives, new literacies, new media, or new art, leaves me in eager anticipation for our future,” says Regina Coley, Executive Director. “Where else are they allowed to explore and discuss this within the confines of a normal academic day?”
With this Black Girl Literacies framework integrated into our curriculum, our goal is that girls will:
- be exposed to new authors and literature as well the full liberation of the black girl
- strengthen their literacy skills specifically in the area of reading, listening, speaking and writing
- create new forms of digital media and an use of social media to storytell and share counternarratives and complete underwritten stories
- build social-emotional skills