Several organizations this week are #BreakingtheSilence about violence against Black girls and women at a Black Girls Matter town hall discussion on May 28 in Miami. The event will be held at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center at 6P/5C.
A coalition of groups, including the Advancement Project, the Dream Defenders and the African American Policy Forum among others, will talk about the problems that girls of color face in the nation.

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“We must emphasize the intersection of Race, Class, and Gender in order to obtain liberation and justice for all Black Lives,” writes Jonel Edwards, of the Dream Defenders. “When we ignore the experiences of Black girls and women then we perpetuate the patriarchy that continuously silences, undervalues and ignores the stories and experiences of Black girls and women.”

Last week, on the National Day of Action for Black Women in Girls, several Black women and men participated in protests across America to recognize young African-American women who have been victims of violence and police brutality.

“Black girls matter precisely because every message sent out from our society wants to convince us that they do not,” said Phillip Agnew, executive director of the Dream Defenders, in the Black Girls Matter video below. “Because we reserve the worst treatment of any person in our society for Black girls and it wants to convince us to turn away, that nothing is happening. Black girls matter because the world wants us to forget them.”
To participate in the conversation on social media, use the hashtag #BlackGirlsMIA and #BreakingtheSilence.

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(Photo: Dream Defenders)