• Proud Scholar Moments

    T-Shirt Design Partnership with RAYGUN by Hayley Taylor-Schlitz

    At age 17, Haley Taylor-Schlitz, Young Scholar and second year law student was a delegate to the Democratic Party National Convention and was also active in Senator Harris’ campaign for President. When Senator Harris was picked as the nominee for Vice President by Joe Biden Haley was overwhelmed with excitement and joy. To celebrate those feelings she sat down and designed a new T-shirt about Senator Harris, ambitious girls, and making history.  Haley is happy to share that her design has been accepted by the amazing team at RAYGUN for production and has decided to have RAYGUN donate all the proceeds from her T-shirt design to the African American Policy Forum!…

  • Think Wellness

    MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

    “The year 2020 is one that people, including myself, are still grappling with. Not only are we dealing with a health pandemic, but a racial one as well. The effects of these pandemics are not singular. Through the events of these past couple of months, underlying inequalities such as economic and educational have been magnified for the world to see.  In the time of COVID-19, Black girls and women are adjusting to working from home, doing schooling from home, or having to go back to high-stress environments. As such Black girls everywhere are grappling with unresolved trauma and issues, anxiety, stress, and fear. With access to mental health care services,…

  • Billboard,  Young Scholars Program

    YSP!

    YSP! SisterSoul as a piece of each of our Young Scholars, your virtual sisters, giving you the girl talk and R&R you deserve.  We also know how important it is to not only create space for our fellow sisters, but to support them as well, and that’s why we’ve included Black-owned businesses, ranging from beauty, haircare, and more, as well as sharing some amazing books to read on your downtime. Trust, we all know how hectic and stressful the summer has been. For us to create Welcome to SisterSoul: For the Self-Isolating Black Girl! SisterSoul is our virtual zine culminating our tips, tricks, and advice as we go and navigate…

  • Proud Scholar Moments,  Young Scholars Program

    Aniah Francis – Young Research Presenter

    Young Scholar, Aniah Francis, has been accepted to present at The 5th Annual Gwen’s Girls and Black Girls Equity Alliance’s 2020 Summit! With the support of YSP Director, Dina Wright Joseph and Research Instructor/Advisor Dr. Venus Evans-Winters, Aniah will be representing YSP as one of the youngest presenters on the roster. Congratulations Aniah! For more information about Gwen’s Girls and the Black Girls Equity Alliance visit www.gwensgirls.org/equity-summit

  • Proud Scholar Moments

    Journal Entry by Kasayah Alexis

    Kasayah July, 2020   A Shower Thought Rank: Rethinking the term “Street Smart” The following is an excerpt from my personal journal. It started as a thought I had in the shower. I, being the annoying one in the family that takes very long showers, usually have one thought that leads me to a rabbit hole of arguments, questions, supporting evidence, counter arguments, etc.. All of which lead me to some sort of conclusion that sticks with me all day, and sometimes even all week. Many of my best papers, even my college essay, came from a shower thought. I find it therapeutic, no distractions—allowing my thoughts to flow like the…

  • Proud Scholar Moments,  Research Team

    YSP Research Teams

    AAPF’S MOST WANTED Kasayah Alexis, Haley Taylor-Schiltz, Kimberly McKoy  As a Black woman who has grown up in a predominantly white community and school district, we know how it feels to feel out of place. Within the African American community, you can see the hurt, isolation, and a rise in mental illness for those who experienced racial trauma. It is also crucial to acknowledge the negative impacts of one’s homebase (their neighborhood or homelife). Although all families in the neighborhood are affected by this change, we notice that Black girls and women are impacted differently on both dramatic and acute levels. All such factors can cause feelings of isolation. We…

  • Artifacts

    Intersectionality Matters: Black Girls Talk …

    Dual Pandemics: Black Girls talk about Health and Education during the time of COVID 19 Today’s swirling conversation is about students re-entering learning environments, re-examining methods of education and mitigating plausible concerns about how to safely reintroduce students into education. But sadly, we don’t hear enough from the generation that is actually putting their bodies in these buildings, in these classrooms and in mixed social spaces that haven’t been tested since the onset of the most recent racial uprisings.  During this episode, you’ll join a conversation led by 12 brilliant young Black Women scholars from universities all over the country as they discuss the profound impact that COVID-19 has on…

  • Proud Scholar Moments

    Poetry by Aniah Francis

    The Voice of Freedom       I often wonder what my voice sounds like,  How does it feel on your ear,  Does it touch your soul?   “What does my voice sound like to you?”    What does it sound like  When I expose the depths of who I am?  What does it sound like in silence?     Silence is deafening  It is oppressive  It is the final death.      Today I’m I met a unicorn    Today I met a unicorn  And we had a conversation about  Life.  She took me on a journey.  And told me the struggles she had faced  As life beat her down  To the…

  • Proud Scholar Moments

    Journal: A Lesson For Young Black Girls by Haley Taylor-Schlitz

    Calling Kamala Harris ‘too ambitious’ is a lesson for young Black girls   OPINION: As a teen Biden delegate for the DNC, Haley Taylor Schlitz says she rejects recent criticisms lodged against the potential VP nominee Op-Ed in The Griot https://thegrio.com/2020/08/03/kamala-harris-too-ambitious-biden/ By Haley Taylor Schlitz One of my favorite quotes is “Well-behaved women seldom make history” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. I can remember as a little girl my mother sharing this quote with me and telling me that as I moved through life, I would face barriers and challenges because of my ethnicity and gender. My mother uses this quote to remind me that when I reach those barriers that it’s OK…

  • Proud Scholar Moments

    Journal Entry by Kimberly McKoy

    Kimberly July 23, 2020 After reading the Blacks Girls Matter Report, I was able to look at all of the experiences that Black girls go through during their educational experiences. The article discusses the issues of the discipline of Black girls in the school system. The counselors in the school system would treat their students based on stereotypes on black girls as being “ghetto” and “rowdy”. After reading that portion of the text, it allowed me to reflect on my own experiences of being in a predominantly white public school. I experience counselors doubting my success and stunting my educational growth. When I was in kindergarten, my school told my…