By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
LEIMERT PARK — The Women’s Leadership Project has determined that “silence is not an option,” so on April 18 the organization will host a Standing 4 Black Girls Missing and Murdered event, demanding justice and recognition for Black women and girls who have fallen victim to violence, trafficking and marginalization.
The event, which includes a rally and march, runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Leimert Park.
The rally aims to shed light on the disproportionate rates of homicide, trafficking and abuse faced by Black females in the United States, with statistics showing that Black women and girls are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than white women. The event coincides with Sexual Violence Awareness Month.
The Women’s Leadership Project was founded by Sikivu Hutchinson, an educator, writer, filmmaker and stage director with a background in gender and social justice youth leadership. The Women’s Leadership Project is a Black feminist mentoring, civic engagement and service learning advocacy program designed to educate and train young middle and high school-age women in South Los Angeles to take ownership of their school and communities.
According to the project, Black women and girls represent more than 40% of missing women and have the highest rates of homicide among female populations in the U.S. They are nearly three times more likely to be victims than white women.
Nationwide, approximately 60% of Black girls have experienced sexual abuse by the time they are 18.
In Los Angeles County, 92% of juvenile justice-involved sex trafficking victims are Black, often as a result of vulnerabilities created by the foster care and child welfare systems.
“We are standing for Black girls because their voices have been erased and diluted for far too long,” said Jessica N. Robinson, project director of the Women’s Leadership Project. “This coalition is unapologetically amplifying the voices of Black women and girls, and we will not be silenced.”
The event will feature a march down Crenshaw Boulevard, where attendees will post signs, demands and artwork calling for a Tioni Theus Youth space.
Tioni Theus was a straight-A student who was found dead on the side of the Harbor (110) Freeway in South Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2022, with a gunshot wound to the neck. She was 16. The case was never solved and authorities are continuing to search for the person responsible.
As the community prepares to gather in Leimert Park, the search for answers and justice for Tioni Theus and others like her remains a pressing concern, underscoring the urgency of the Standing 4 Black Girls rally.
“At the rally, we will honor the land we stand on, say the names of those missing and murdered, and hear from families of victims, community speakers and youth,” Robinson said. “We will have a moment of silence. Also, during the rally, we will chant, ‘Honk, if you love Black girls,’ and ‘We’re Standing 4 Black Girls.’ It’s time to stand up and demand justice for Black girls.”
Members of the Women’s Leadership Project and the Standing 4 Black Girls Coalition will speak at the rally, as will some Black girls who will speak about the micro-aggressions and racism that they experience through social media, the media, and in the school system.
Standing 4 Black Girls is currently in several schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“As the Women’s Leadership Project, we go into schools in South LA,” Robinson said. “We are at King Drew High School, which is the school that I graduated from. We’re also at Mann UCLA Community School and Gardena High School.
“We normally go into a health class and bring information and teach on prevention, and education about domestic violence and intimate partner violence, ending rape, and creating safe spaces in the LGBT community,” Robinson added. “We also share the stats about our city and how Black women make up 4.3% of L.A.’s population, but we are 25-33% of the sexual and domestic violence victims in the city. That’s where we start the conversation.”
Robinson said the program meets once a week at schools.
“At the schools, Women’sLeadership Project becomes a student-led organization, where they create either petitions or surveys, and become activists in their school community,” said Robinson, who is also a digital filmmaker. “The class trains them to be activists in the broader community. And then when they graduate, they qualify for a scholarship based on how long they’ve participated in the program.”
Robinson said some students who have gone off to schools in the University of California system and the program currently has a student graduating from New York University this year.
“They’re part of the Standing 4 Black Girls coalition,” she said. “Some become interns. They make money. We want them to know that what they are doing is important and that they deserve to get paid.”
Robinson said the grants and the money they get goes to pay the interns to become activists in their communities.
“They’ve held meetings with the mayor’s office,” she said. “They’ve held meetings with Supervisor Holly Mitchell. They actually met with Mayor Karen Bass last year. And so they are really learning how to work in a system that they know has historically been built to destroy them. They’re learning how to work within that system to get results.”
Jasmine Hutchinson is an 18-year-old senior at Hamilton High and also the daughter of Sikivu Hutchinson. She is currently an intern at the organization.
“I started working with the Women’s Leadership Project when I was a sophomore,” said Hutchinson, who plans to study music education when she graduates. “Since working here, I learned the importance of self-care and having a personal relationship with yourself.
“It’s about knowing when to step up and when to step back. I’ve also learned not to put unnecessarily high standards on myself because some of it is unhealthy,” Hutchinson added. “I’ve also learned how to identify systems in my neighborhood and world that work against people like me.”
Hutchinson believes the Women’s Leadership Project is necessary in the community.
“We definitely need an organization like WLP,” she said. “Because a lot of the time, as a kid and as a teenager, you get told that you are supposed to be seen and not heard and not to challenge things. That can be invalidating.
“Don’t be afraid to take up space. It’s important for young people to have examples of older folks of color being active and involved in politics and civic matters,” Hutchinson added. “It’s important not to fall into bystander syndrome. Stay connected to the things around you. What WLP does well is to try to balance everything. Even if things feel hopeless, there is always a way.”
The Women’s Leadership Project will launch its Alpha Centauri Film curriculum in May, as part of the Standing 4 Black Girls Coalition and the project’s new film production arm, “Defining Ourselves, For Ourselves Films.”
For more information about the Standing 4 Black Girls event, contact the Women’s Leadership Project at womensleadershipproject.org
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
