Always a celebration.
Always re-education.
Healing for all Black girls. 
Always.

As we continued to expand our work to Black girls nationwide in 2021 with the help of our Always® partner, it brought us great joy and responsibility to be able to give voice and validity to the Black girlhood experience once again virtually, void of geographical limitations. After hosting the 2020 Summit, we realized just how much of an opportunity we had to help girls (right in their own homes!) unlearn and dismantle the false and incomplete narratives that inhibit them, and in turn substantiate their accounts of being Black girls in America.

THE 2021 UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT WEEKEND VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE

Ultimately, we believe in giving Black girls space to have, create, and experience joy. We honor that belief by maintaining the connectivity and intimacy that our annual Summit is known for. Shipping our Weekend Wellness Kit to hundreds of Black girls around the country to participate in UYS 2021 is just one reflection.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2021 - MORNING

In 2021, the APA (American Psychology Association) reported that “Black teenage girls outpace both White and Hispanic teenage girls in suicide attempts.” Suicide deaths among Black adolescent girls rose 182% between 2001 and 2017.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2021 - AFTERNOON

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021 - MORNING

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021 - AFTERNOON

GIRL EXCHANGE SESSIONS

Before, after, and in between our large sessions, Black girls participate in our Girl Exchange Program. These segments, better known as “GXC,” are one of the most fundamental and impactful portions of the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT for Girls experience. During and throughout the weekend, Black girls are appropriately grouped by grade & age so that the shared experiences among these groups can be discussed in a safe and intimate environment with peers.

WE TOOK A BEAT TO LEARN HOW THE PANDEMIC WAS IMPACTING BLACK GIRLS

In real time we took a beat to learn, record, and document how the pandemic, their personal worlds, and the world at-large were impacting and shaping the emotional wellness of Black girls. The information shared will continue to help us create, shift, and shape programming evident in the Black girlhood experience. One of our commitments to Black girls is to help them discover and use their unique and diverse voices, and so it was our honor to offer a space for their individual voices to be heard.