It’s time to center the needs of Black Girls in our national policies.
Our Mission
Born out of the pivotal 2020 election and launched in November 2019, A National Agenda for Black Girls has been and continues to be a national call to action for elected officials and government to center the needs and policy priorities of cis (cisgender) and trans (transgender) Black girls and gender expansive youth. A National Agenda for Black Girls (NABG) is a culture shift and movement building collaborative project bringing the needs of Black girls to the national stage and amplifying the voices of Black girls in the 2020 elections and beyond by engaging organizations across the United States who are committed to the well-being of Black girls.
Who is a Black Girl?
Black girls, like all communities, are not a monolith. We recognize and center the full spectrum of gender identity of Black young people, including cis and trans Black girls, and all young people who have experienced Black girlhood.
Through gender and racial justice work, we have learned that by bringing Black girls and Black young people along the gender spectrum from margin to center, we are actively working to liberate and uplift all experiences of Black girlhood. We also acknowledge that the language that speaks to this work is constantly evolving.
We intentionally use the phrase “cis and trans Black girls and gender non-conforming Black youth.” Where brevity is required, we use the phrase “Black girls” as an umbrella term to refer to our communities.
Black girls are the experts of their own lived experiences.
The National Agenda includes six national policy priorities that were informed by the experiences and self-identified needs of Black girls across the United States
We’re demanding more of our nation’s leaders
Presidential candidates were asked to respond to the NABG Candidate Questionnaire and to participate in a digital town hall to discuss their responses.
We amplified the NABG policy priorities to the 2020 presidential candidates throughout the election cycle. The NABG Youth Steering Committee, composed of youth activists from across the country, also held town halls where they discussed their experiences with issues around education justice, democracy, health and wellness, and more.
In Summer 2021, NABG youth organizers centered the importance of cultivating and protecting Black joy and radical self care. Joy As Resistance: Youth Conversations on Liberation was a space where Black girls and gender expansive youth were able to dream up what freedom, happiness, and truly being carefree looked like. Young people were joined by Black queer author and poet, Jasmine Mans and media, journalist, and content queen Danielle Young.
Check out our events page to stay connected on what’s coming up next and how you can attend!
