A young girl attends the 2024 Black Girl Joy Festival conducted by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute. The institute is launching the Holly J. Mitchell Girls Empowerment Leadership Institute in February to empower young women between 13 and 18.
Courtesy photo
By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — A program designed to uplift and inspire young Black girls by giving them the skills and confidence to succeed will be introduced early next year thanks to the efforts of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, in partnership with Mount Saint Mary’s University.
The Holly J. Mitchell Girls Empowerment Leadership Institute will be a seven-month leadership academy designed to equip middle and high school girls, ages 13-18, with the skills, confidence and networks to thrive in school, career and life. Starting Feb. 14, the participants will meet one Saturday a month from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mount Saint Mary’s University’s Doheny campus.
The program hopes to invest in the next generation of Black women leaders by combining academic excellence, community leadership and mentorship rooted in cultural pride.
The program, which has already received 100 applications, is the brainchild of Kellie Todd Griffin, president and CEO of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, who believes that investing in Black girls is crucial to strengthening communities.
“Our mission is far bigger than a program,” Griffin said. “It is a movement to ensure that Black girls recognize the brilliance, leadership and power already within them.
“The institute’s curriculum includes leadership development, entrepreneurship, civic engagement and college readiness, with mentorship from accomplished Black women leaders. Participants will develop leadership portfolios, build mentor networks and create pathways to community impact,” Griffin added.
“The Holly J. Mitchell Girls Empowerment Leadership Institute is the type of program that I wish I had experienced,” said Krishuana Hines-Gaither, vice president for strategic initiatives and partnership at Mount Saint Mary’s University. “Within a cohort model, girls will cultivate their leadership skills while being mentored and supported by esteemed facilitators. We are delighted to partner with the [Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute] to offer a meaningful experience to program participants. This collaboration exemplifies our university’s long-standing commitment to leadership development and community engagement.”
County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, after whom the institute is named, praised the program.
“Data … consistently shows the disparities that overwhelmingly impact Black girls and women,” Mitchell said. “With this program, we have an opportunity to help change that trajectory by proactively investing in the success of Black girls — an investment that strengthens our communities as a whole.”
The Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic empowerment of Black women and girls across California.
I recently spoke to Griffin about launching the Holly J. Mitchell Girls Empowerment Leadership Institute.
DD: Talk about the inspiration and creation of the Holly J. Mitchell Girls Empowerment Leadership Institute, and its goals.
KTG: We created Black Girl Joy in 2023 to celebrate middle and high school girls. Our data showed us that our girls are more likely to be treated differently than their female counterparts. They struggled with dropouts. We knew they needed something.
They are beautiful, smart and important. It’s OK to have joy. We brought a bunch of Black women leaders together and asked, “What are your best practices?” We also wanted to inform the girls about leadership to showcase the best for them. The first year, we got 300 girls. Then we did it up north. We kept producing it every year. This year, we did it at the L.A. mayor’s house, the Getty House. We had [City Councilwoman] Heather Hutt, Mayor Bass, and Holly Mitchell, and brought them all in to show them you can lead things of this magnitude.
DD: Then what?
KTG: The parents asked, What’s next? We reached out to Mount Saint Mary’s and began working with them to develop this program. We wanted to build the leaders of tomorrow. We wanted a rigorous program for the girls that provided a safe place and a goal of becoming leaders.
How do we build the next Karen Bass’s? Now we’re seeing that we are more likely to be single mothers, taking care of the home. More likely to have sexual violence and domestic violence. How do we pour into the girls earlier?
DD: Why is it named after Holly J. Mitchell?
KTG: We wanted to create a signature program. We really want to see excellence. Supervisor Mitchell was a [state] senator and one of the first to lean into this work. She showed up any time we asked her. We need someone like that.
She would challenge us often to include the youth. She is also a legislator in residence at Mt. St. Mary’s. I thought it was important for girls to have a beacon. My conversation with her was that you have done the work.
DD: How do you envision the institute empowering middle and high-school girls in Los Angeles to become confident, civic-minded changemakers?
KTG: Girls can come from throughout the state. If they come from Sacramento, we will cover their travel expenses. They have to get through a rigorous curriculum. It’s about six sessions over a seven-month program. Faculty at Mount Saint Mary’s will teach the girls about financial and career planning.
Every girl can apply to Mount Saint Mary’s and receive immediate acceptance. We will have a pathway for them even if they don’t go to college. We built this curriculum based on the lived experiences of Black girls and women. We know we are more likely to go to college, but less likely to graduate.
DD: Talk about the partnership between the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute and Mount Saint Mary’s University?
KTG: We have actually been meeting with Mount Saint Mary’s for a while. They are the ones who report on women. They are just a remarkable institute in our community, and the work they do for women and girls throughout Los Angeles County.
I met with Krishauna Hines Gaither. I pitched her on what we wanted to do. They reached out to their faculty and said, “We have this program. Is there anything in this curriculum in which you’d like to participate?” We also have outside faculty members.
DD: Why middle and high school girls, 13-18?
KTG: That age group needs someone to lean in the most. They need to know they are beautiful and brilliant. In this current environment, the way Black women are being portrayed and treated in the community is important to show. We need to bring together all groups to show that our commonality is that we are born out of movements. We stand on the shoulders of giants.
DD: What specific programs and initiatives will the Holly J. Mitchell Girls Empowerment Leadership Institute offer to its participants?
KTG: The curriculum includes leadership, technology and AI programs. We want to make sure they are not left behind. We do journaling and public speaking. It requires the girls to present. We have crucial conversations about how we handle conflict resolution.
DD: How will the institute measure the success and impact of its programs on the participating girls?
KTG: Touch points on evaluation. An onboarding evaluation and other assessments. We talk to the girls. We conduct surveys, including a group conversation, facilitated to ensure we get true insights from the girls. We track the girls over time to ensure they are on track. We are not looking for the girls with straight A grades; we are looking for the girls with a straight A mentality.
Applications are now open for the program, which will be tuition-free for its inaugural cohort. For more information and to apply, visit www.cablackwomenscollective.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
