Bria Janelle wants to expose Black girls to the world and the value of golf.
Also known as the “Voice of Atlanta Basketball,” Janelle’s foundation is taking Black girls out to the course with a cause through the Her Shot Golf Program from Juneteenth to July 22. Janelle recently spoke to rolling out about it all.
What are some details about what the foundation is doing?
Two years ago, my mom and I started a family foundation called the Bria Janelle Foundation.
I had this vision of empowering youth through education, inclusion and community support. With my platform, I’ve been blessed and could share and pour into people and pour into young girls.
A lot of people don’t know, but I come from a historic golf family. My grandfather [Ron Townsend] was the first African American to become a green jacket at Augusta National in 1990, so golf has always been in my DNA. I ran from it for so long, but one day, I thought about starting a golf program and calling it Her Shot … [Thanks to] Scott Geary, Carly Bryeans, and Joe for what they’ve done to be incredible partners with PGA Reach.
What is the value of golf?
Out of women who play golf in the United States, 24% are women, less than 5% are Black or women of color, and less than 2% of that group are in the age 6 to 17 range, and less than 1% get scholarships.
So I was thinking, what happens if you eliminate barriers to entry into the game? Because most business is done on the golf course. I’ve been blessed and fortunate to be around the game since I was 12 years old, and I’ve seen a lot of business done on the golf course … I want to show young girls who look like me if you don’t see yourself on the course, or if you like fashion design, you can go into golf clothing. Amanda Barbee, one of 10 female architects in the world, went to [the University of Georgia], which is in our backyard. If you like to draw, you can design a golf course … I also want to show the girls, if you don’t see what you want to become, you can become “her.”
How do you make golf cool to young kids?
It all starts with the logo. Our logo is me. I’m hitting the course, I’m rocking a bun, I got a visor, my Prada sunglasses, my jewelry and that’s what our logo represents. It’s cool. I think golf is such a cool sport, and for me, it’s one of the few things that bridge the gap between me and my grandfather, who’s 83 years old.
It’s one sport we can still play together. It’s the only sport that someone in their 80s, 90s, and even going into their 100s, if they’re healthy, can play … Her Shot is a STEM-based program. Our girls are 11 to 17. What attracts them the most is social media. For the first hour, we do TikToks. Our inaugural program had 25 girls. If you’re in a group of 10, you’ve got one cell phone, but you have to pass the phone and introduce yourself. They learn teamwork and leadership skills. In six weeks, we watch leaders emerge and it’s beautiful to see … We teach digital literacy; that’s so important because we all have cell phones and social media, but how can we become better users? How can we monetize? What is a brand? … We have an aggressive goal to grow our inaugural 25 girls to 25K in 2030.
