What have been some of the challenges involved with doing this work?
Many community organizations that are mission-driven face funding challenges. [The] Girls Like Me project is no different in that regard. Perhaps an even bigger challenge is technical capacity. There is elitism and political undergirding to the type of support community leaders receive.
A lot of the social uprisings and movement[s] [have] begun to shift the landscape. There was a time when storytelling and media were considered frivolous issues. But that has remained our focus, irrespective of the support. I knew this to be fundamental to our girls fully being liberated. We’ve been consistent in our mission.
Yet the challenge remains in those cornerstone elements to success. Things like curriculum design, evaluation, [and] funds to hire more staff.
What’s on the agenda for the Girls like Me Project in 2022?
2022 promises to be next level for the Girls Like Me Project. We are expanding our Digitally Innovative Voices of Advocacy Sisters program to include a talk show component, the only all-girls produced and hosted talk show for girls by girls. We have our own space for the first time. We are taking a day of advocacy to Springfield, [Illinois], during Women’s History Month to push for a task force on missing and murdered Black women and girls. We will also lead a coalition to make Day of the Girl an official day of observation in the state, county and city.
