#EveryBlackGirl: An Open Letter to Shakara, Niya and Black Girls Everywhere

Today the White House announced a 5 year $100 million initiative that is intended to advance equity for women and girls of color. Against the backdrop this historic announcement we at Black Lives Matter NYC want to make sure that black girls are centered and not forgotten in the initiatives that will come.

Just a few weeks after we witnessed Shakara, a student in South Carolina, being manhandled and thrown about in her classroom by a school resource officer we want to remind the country that all is not well with her or other black girls who find themselves in similar predicaments around the country.  It is our responsibility to continue to lift up the need for increased resources and wrap around supports for young black girls and women in schools and communities. For far too long we have turned a blind eye to the suffering and pain of black girls in places where they are meant to be safe. We’re calling for a divestment in police in our schools and communities and the reinvestment in social emotional support, counselors, restorative justice practices and an end to criminalization of black girls for being black girls. As a nation, our philanthropic and social policy must send the message to Black girls that they matter. The time is now to take a stand for Black girls everywhere. We are sending this open letter from Black Lives Matter NYC and signed by 1000 people and counting to Shakara, Niya and Black Girls everywhere so that they know that without a doubt that they are loved, they matter and we are fighting for their bright futures.

>> View the open letter and full list of signatures here.

>> Click here to sign the #EveryBlackGirl letter.