GirlTREK

It happened on a Thursday.February 18, 1965.  The exact moment we fell in love with James Baldwin.It wasn’t because he was a boy genius who spent every day at the library. It wasn't event his fiery church sermons as a teen or loving debates with Malcolm X as a young man. It was on this day, that he was propelled onto the world stage.  He was raw, nervous, authentic.  A Black man with vocabulary as arsenal, able to tag a full picture of our pain.  This was his opus.  His coming out as our Jimmy, our defender against bullies on the schoolyard.  Baldwin stood toe-to-toe with “the father of conservatism,” segregationist William Buckley in the hallowed halls of Oxford under the glare of entitled white boys. By himself. With a cloak of our peoples' sorrow and swag flying from his tiny frame. He said, not today.  At that moment, he became our tragic hero - an outcast, small, gay, committed, way too smart for any neighborhood.  It was swoon-worthy.  And from there he went on a world tour of verbal lashing and protest speeches, articles, and books to demand the total liberation of Black people.  Let’s go on a victory lap for this man’s life.Join the second edition of GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories and explore the pivotal moments from some of the most powerful movements in Black history.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Janelle Monáe - Tightrope:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbcJames Baldwin and Paul Weiss Debate Discrimination In America | The Dick Cavett Show:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzH5IDnLaBA&feature=youtu.be

On the night of June 1, 1863, Harriet Tubman arrived on a ship in South Carolina with 150 men ready for battle. She was the first woman to led an armed military operation in the United States, and what happened in South Carolina that night would solidify Harriet Tubman as one of the greatest military strategists the world has ever seen. Known as the Combahee River Raid, what happened that evening changed the course of history and gives us a powerful example of what liberation can look like. Are you ready to dive in? The walk and talk is going to be fire! We will do Mama Harriet proud. You already know! #WeareharrietJoin the second edition of GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories and explore the pivotal moments from some of the most powerful movements in Black history.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Mavis Staples - Wade In The Water:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmxGqqZf8gcErykah Badu - Soldier:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4925nvQ3XfE

We did it! We just wrapped up #BlackHistoryBootcamp. It's been 21-days of life transforming lessons and walks courtesy of our foremothers. Over 100,000+ Black women and allies made a real change this month. Congratulations! Right now, all of the ancestors are standing together - cosmically cheering for you. So, let's celebrate. It's time to take a victory lap. Join us for a conversation full of our reflections and favorite moments.And if you haven't completed your bootcamp journey yet, it’s okay —it’s not too late! You can join the 21 Day Black History Bootcamp at any time. Sign up at  https://bit.ly/blackhistorybootcamp to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each featured legendary Black woman.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Beyoncé BLACK PARADE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJT1m1ele00

As we close out this 21-day series, and prepare for the next (yes, there is more of this goodness to come) we end not by looking back, but by looking forward as we examine the life and legacy of the extraordinary writer, Octavia Butler, a Black woman who dared to imagine a future that centered Blackness and the voices and experiences of Black women.  The invitation into her sci-fi world was an invitation for all of us to think beyond the drab expectations of a cruel reality that does not see our magic or power,  to create a future that makes space for all of our glorious gifts to be on full display. The godmother of Afrofuturism. Octavia Butler was a pioneer who traveled from the future to warn us and prepare us for a time such as this. She knew what would happen if power went unchecked, if the earth continued to be neglected, and if the wealthy were allowed to cannibalize the poor. She knew. And throughout her illustrious career as a science fiction writer, which included her winning every major award in her field, she tried to warn us. Today we listen. Today we acknowledge that an awkward Black girl with an almost paralyzing shyness was given the gift to foretell the future and that she wrote it all down in a series of masterpieces that literally read like a blueprint for survival.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Janelle Monáe - Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEddixS-UoUOctavia Butler on Charlie Rose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1W9CNwl2e8

Ruby Dee was the zeitgeist of Black womanhood.  She was our Ruth in Raisin in the Sun, our Queen in Roots, our Mother-Sister in Do the Right Thing, our Mama Lucas in American Gangster.  Ruby Dee's face, her soulful voice, her spirited laughter is the very epitome of Black cinema. Her Hollywood career was phenomenal but life painted an even more brilliant story.  She was an activist.  A forceful member of CORE, SNCC, NAACP, Urban League, AND Delta Sigma Theta.  Harlem through and through, Ruby was for us, by us.  And can we talk about Black Love? You can’t utter the sound of her name, Ruby Dee, without your tongue clicking praise to her lover, Ossis Davis.  Their love was definitive. Instructional. Swoon-worthy. ...an aperitif for our collective imagination. They gave us a master class on Black Love as Legacy. Eye contact. Hand holding. Passionate embraces.  Side-by-sideness. It was, well, satisfying.  They made us remember. It is no wonder that upon their deaths, they were cremated and their ashes put in the same urn, with the inscription, "In this thing together."  Today is a celebration of Black Love, starring Ruby Dee....and Ossie Davis.Join the 21 Day Black History Bootcamp at https://bit.ly/blackhistorybootcamp to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each featured legendary Black woman.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Stevie Wonder - If You Really Love Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmR4y4slhmoRuby Dee - Men Who Have Loved Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVRzeTWP9Fk&feature=youtu.be

“Let the people see what I have seen.” Mamie Till-Mobley launched a movement with those words, insisting on an open casket funeral for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally murdered by two white men in Mississippi. That strategic decision, and the decision to publish graphic photos from the funeral in Jet magazine, galvanized the country and forced the world to finally make eye contact with the horrors being inflicted on Black people, especially throughout the American South. Mamie Till-Mobley was an ordinary Black woman who used her darkest hour to shine a light on injustice and mobilize the masses, and for that, we celebrate her legacy on day 19 of Black History Bootcamp.Join the 21 Day Black History Bootcamp at https://bit.ly/blackhistorybootcamp to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each featured legendary Black woman.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Summertime / Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child by Mahalia Jackson: https://youtu.be/gfYlzSeSFu4Mamie Till Speaks of Forgiveness: https://youtu.be/6Q3ZOCjkEwY

No Black women were in the military? She changed that. No Black women were in law school at Howard? Bam. Now there are. Black women everywhere were forced to give up their seats on buses? Before the Freedom Rides or RFK could call a press conference, it was her landmark case that waged the first blow against “separate but equal”. She was the first Black woman admitted to the all-white DC Bar Association. ...one of the first women to be ordained as a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. And as she did all of this justice work, and ran her DC law firm on “greens and leftover pound cake” as payment, she moonlighted at the post office to pay the bills. We gone celebrate her today. If Black excellence had a name, it would be Dovey Johnson Roundtree.  Just two days ago, June 22, 2020, Netflix made a historic investment of $40 million to Spelman College. Spelman named this unprecedented scholarship after one woman: Dovey Johnson Roundtree. “The Fixer” of The People.  A one-woman crusade. Today we salute this unsung hero. Join the 21 Day Black History Bootcamp at https://bit.ly/blackhistorybootcamp to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each featured legendary Black woman.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Betty Everett - Shoop Shoop Song (it´s in his kiss): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4KN6TFhy2IDovey Roundtree: Howard Law School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ng_My7jtU&mc_cid=9d55451262&mc_eid=b187d8127e

It makes sense to us that God would plant the blueprint of rock 'n' roll into the soul of a little Black girl born in a town called Cotton Plant.  Sister Rosetta Tharpe sang music that was infused with the melodies of Black folks who understood loss and survival. A child prodigy who was touring with her preacher mother and a troupe of evangelical musicians by the age of 6, Rosetta Tharpe dared to combine the sacred with the secular, mixing gospel music with rhythm and blues to create a rock 'n' roll sound that would change the world. But it is her life, not just her music that we will gather to talk about on today’s call. From this woman – queer, Black, bold, and brave – we learn about living authentically, taking risks, and understanding your value. Join us for the live discussion or download the recap. Either way, tune in to this history!Join the 21 Day Black History Bootcamp at https://bit.ly/blackhistorybootcamp to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each featured legendary Black woman.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Hallelujah (1979) - COGIC International Mass Choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4bzWtOLEzAI"Up Above My Head" - Sister Rosetta Tharpe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ

If John Henry has a folk song this woman needs one too! Introducing Stagecoach Mary a.k.a. Mary Fields a.k.a. Black Mary.At 60-years old she was the fastest person - man or woman - in the state of Montana to hitch a team of six horses to a coach.  She was the first Black woman to earn a US Postal Service contract.  She drove that team of horses for eight years, through rough and wild territories of the West.  In the winter, the snow was so deep that she’d leave the horses behind and carry-on with the mail on her back. She never missed a day. Not a single day.  She carried a shotgun to demand respect.  She once got kicked out of a Catholic convent for using it.  When the law banned women from drinking in saloons, she got an exception from the mayor.  “I fight through rainstorms...snowstorms ...risk hurricanes and tornadoes. I like to be rough. I like to be rowdy. I also like to be loving ...caring."  We are the daughters of hard and soft. ...that edge hitting a soft breeze.  We are electric.  The storm of posibility.  Like the clap of Juneteenth in the middle of global meltdown.  Like the swirl and swagger of Mary Fields. "I do bold and exciting things." she confessed. Cheers foremother.  Cheers!(She needs her own folk song.)Join the 21 Day Black History Bootcamp at https://bit.ly/blackhistorybootcamp to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each featured legendary Black woman.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:More Bounce To The Ounce - Zapp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ijvN7ADt4Our Vision Is Our Voice - Sonia Sanchez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckFKVT2fzJk&feature=youtu.be

Born to enslaved parents, one year before the Emancipation Proclamation, Ida B. Wells was once considered the most famous Black woman in the United States. As a journalist, she spent her entire life tirelessly fighting to tell the truth and shame the devil – to their face. She wasn’t afraid to pick a fight and she always seemed to show up prepared for battle, with the truth on her side. We think her life is a lesson for all of us and on today’s call we will honor her by speaking truth to power. We promise it’s a conversation you don’t want to miss.Join the 21 Day Black History Bootcamp at https://bit.ly/blackhistorybootcamp to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each featured legendary Black woman.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Lost Ones - Lauryn Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HhfKArW3BYBeautiful Black Men - Nikki Giovanni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DX6i_4WSXQ