Protect Black Girls (PBG)

County of Los Angeles

The problem to be addressed is the lack of advocacy initiatives geared towards Black girls in LA County. While the Black community has been historically underserved, Black girls are particularly marginalized due to an array of socioeconomic factors that subject them to a perpetual cycle of hardship. In a 2019 study, Black girls reported receiving less support from authority figures than their non-black counterparts and indicated that such figures punish them more harshly than their peers. According to Monique Morris, EdD, “racialized and gendered expectations inherent in the public school system leave Black girls feeling simultaneously targeted and invisible.” Morris additionally indicates that Black girls are the only group of girls overrepresented in all discipline categories for which data are collected by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Furthermore, 35% of girls in juvenile facilities are Black, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

Part 1: CISE will donate 100 exclusive PBG Bags (valued at $15,000), which boldly state “Protect Black Girls” to JBG in support of their three primary initiatives: Freedom Fighters Fund, JBG Ambassadors Program, and JBG Annual Conference. Part one of this initiative will culminate in CISE x JBG’s Protect Black Girls campaign and photoshoot, highlighting JBG Ambassadors. This campaign tasks folks with the safekeeping of Black girls while centering Black girl joy and creativity. Part 2: PBG Fashion Cohort | CISE will partner with JBG Ambassadors to elevate Black girls as experts and center their voice and advocacy. Here, CISE team members will partner with five JBG Ambassadors to collaborate on products tailored towards Black girls. JBG Ambassadors will be trained by CISE staff with foundational knowledge in fashion, entrepreneurship, and product development through a series of virtual meetings. This will then culminate in a second photoshoot and campaign, led and designed by the CISE x JBG team (COVID safety measures will be implemented accordingly). JBG Ambassadors will be awarded $500 stipends each for participating in the program. JBG will also receive a portion of proceeds connected to the PBG products release to help fund the three aforementioned initiatives.

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative

CISE x JBG’s vision of success for PBG is to bring the highest level of awareness possible towards issues centralizing around the welfare of Black girls in Los Angeles County, as well as to make a positive impact on the lives of Black girls in the region by connecting them to programs such as those provided by JBG and enabling them to participate in the PBG fashion cohort. We believe that placing Black girls in Los Angeles County at the forefront of a large-scale advocacy campaign will create widespread awareness that will spur civic engagement that ultimately serves in the best interest of Black girls. Additionally, providing monetary support and merchandise to JBG will support critical programs designed to situate Black girls in positions of power, including the Freedom Fighter’s Fund, JBG ambassadors program, Black girl Curriculum, and JBG national conference, which will take place in Los Angeles County.

CISE will donate 100 exclusive PBG Bags to JBG in support of their three primary initiatives, which will ultimately be gifted to Black girls in Los Angeles County. CISE will sell 300 PBG bags throughout the 12-month award period and donate over $5,000 worth of proceeds to JBG. CISE will track audience engagement on Instagram to gauge traction gained from the PBG campaign. Insights from CISE’s initial post introducing our partnership with JBG indicated that the post garnered 715 likes, 14 comments 111 direct messages, and 69 saved posts. CISE anticipates on maintaining and/or exceeding these insights throughout the PBG campaign. CISE will evaluate the effectiveness of PBG Fashion Cohort by administering a questionnaire to JBG Ambassadors at the end of the project to gauge their attitudes towards the program and the extent to which they gained knowledge in the areas of fashion, entrepreneurship and product development.

CISE’s partner organization, Justice for Black Girls (JBG), will essentially serve as a primary connection between the project and its beneficiaries in that CISE will donate merchandise and a monetary donation to JBG to fund the following initiatives: Freedom Fighters Fund, JBG Ambassadors Program, and JBG Annual Conference, which will transpire in Los Angeles County. Ambassadors participating in the PBG Fashion Cohort will be current beneficiaries of JBG who reside in Los Angeles County. JBG will also partake in the media campaign by sharing PBG on their social media channels.

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