ABOUT

Launched in 2006, BLACK GIRLS ROCK! INC. is a 501(c)3 mentoring organization for teenage girls of color established as a reaction to the often seen one-sided media images of women of color in as objects with little worth beyond their physical attributes. Through mentoring, innovative arts programs, and the promotion of balanced images of women in media Black Girls Rock! makes a significant impact on the lives of young girls. Girls are recruited to the program through the organization’s many community-based contacts. Girls are offered access to educational and cultural enrichment opportunities and enriching mentorship and internship programs featuring the arts and cooperative learning. Great efforts are made to ensure that the availability of scholarships are well known to disadvantaged communities and that the process to request scholarships is straightforward and respectful. The main goals of this charitable endeavor in priority order: Mentor at-risk teenage women of color who have interest in the arts, particularly hip-hop culture. Promote positive images of women of color in media. Encourage dialogue and analyses of the ways women of color are portrayed in hip-hop music & culture and in mainstream media. By providing alternative options and role models, and offering support through discussion, education, counseling, internships mentoring and advocacy, our mission is to build the self-esteem and self-worth of these young ladies thereby changing their out-look on life, broadening their horizons and helping them to empower themselves through the arts and entertainment. By speaking to the next generation in their formative years about issues of self-worth, goals, and aspirations we reinforce the message that young women need not objectify themselves or relinquish their autonomy.