Black Girls Dream Conference Brings West Virginians to Atlanta

By Traci Phillips

The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium (Southern Black Girls) is a collective of Black women in philanthropy, activism and girls’ work, who hold deep roots in movement-building. Their 4th Annual Black Girls Dream Conference took place over the weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, with a group from West Virginia in the building to represent the Mountain State.

More than 1,500 Black women and girls convened at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis representing 13 of southeastern states.

Students from the Exploring M.E. (My Energy) mentoring group at Capital High School along with the Aspire Achievement Project and Girl Scout Troop 10465 from South Charleston took a road trip to Atlanta to experience the consortium.

Tamyah Lewis, 13, from St. Albans attended this year’s event with her mother Tamika. “It’s just so encouraging to see so many uplifting and positive black women in one place. This conference has been so much fun and inspiring. I’m so glad I got to share this experience with my mother too.”

The weekend event was complete with more than 50 interactive workshops for Black girls and women, a silent party for teens, youth performances, vendors, and an inspirational message from keynote speaker Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

You can get a taste of this type of celebration this week. Kicking off Juneteenth is the inaugural Big Black Joy Fest, celebrating Black joy for families in West Virginia. The celebration will be at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Wednesday, June 12 from 9 a.m.- 3p.m. Free event registration on Eventbrite.