Always a celebration.
Always re-education.
Healing for all Black girls. 
Always.

As we continued to expand our work to Black girls nationwide in 2021 with the help of our Always® partner, it brought us great joy and responsibility to be able to give voice and validity to the Black girlhood experience once again virtually, void of geographical limitations. After hosting the 2020 Summit, we realized just how much of an opportunity we had to help girls (right in their own homes!) unlearn and dismantle the false and incomplete narratives that inhibit them, and in turn substantiate their accounts of being Black girls in America.

THE 2021 UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT WEEKEND VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE

Ultimately, we believe in giving Black girls space to have, create, and experience joy. We honor that belief by maintaining the connectivity and intimacy that our annual Summit is known for. Shipping our Weekend Wellness Kit to hundreds of Black girls around the country to participate in UYS 2021 is just one reflection.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2021 - MORNING

In 2021, the APA (American Psychology Association) reported that “Black teenage girls outpace both White and Hispanic teenage girls in suicide attempts.” Suicide deaths among Black adolescent girls rose 182% between 2001 and 2017.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2021 - AFTERNOON

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021 - MORNING

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021 - AFTERNOON

GIRL EXCHANGE SESSIONS

Before, after, and in between our large sessions, Black girls participate in our Girl Exchange Program. These segments, better known as “GXC,” are one of the most fundamental and impactful portions of the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT for Girls experience. During and throughout the weekend, Black girls are appropriately grouped by grade & age so that the shared experiences among these groups can be discussed in a safe and intimate environment with peers.

WE TOOK A BEAT TO LEARN HOW THE PANDEMIC WAS IMPACTING BLACK GIRLS

In real time we took a beat to learn, record, and document how the pandemic, their personal worlds, and the world at-large were impacting and shaping the emotional wellness of Black girls. The information shared will continue to help us create, shift, and shape programming evident in the Black girlhood experience. One of our commitments to Black girls is to help them discover and use their unique and diverse voices, and so it was our honor to offer a space for their individual voices to be heard.

the firsT-ever virtual uniquely you summit weekend experience

A celebration, re-education, and healing for Black girls. 

Although we were apart physically in 2020 due to the pandemic, the goal was to keep connectivity and maintain as much intimacy as possible in a digital space.  We accomplished that by sending each and every registrant the same “Weekend Survival Kit.” In that kit they received dry snacks, a t-shirt, books by Black women authors, affirming buttons specifically for Black girls, a journal & a pen (to record notes and positive affirmations), products that promoted health & wellness, and a personal gift that educed joy!

Those kits reached 463 girls across 30 states!

Weathering the digital climate to host our flagship program for Black girls ages 11 to 18 years old wasn’t easy, but we were determined to reach Black girls across the country despite the pandemic. This three-day VIRTUAL forum provided a safe space for Black girls to share their stories and participate in a much-needed dialogue about the complexities and shared experiences of being Black girls in America.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020 - MORNING

Intentional about the speakers and presenters chosen to deliver immensely important messages to Black girls, UYS invited Yara Shahidi, Lyric Ross, Eris Baker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Teyonah Parris; as well as scholar-activist Dr. Yaba Blay, Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones, Fatin Dantzler of Kindred The Family Soul, Jeff Johnson, Drs. Rebekah Fenton & Charis Chambers, Eraka Rouzorondu, and internationally acclaimed Brazilian ballerina, Ingrid Silva, to lead intentional and healing conversations.

The full UYS 2020 Weekend was hosted by 14-year-old actress and author, Trinitee Stokes.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2020 - AFTERNOON

For the last 10 years, without apology, our organization has loved on Black girls and 2020 was no different — even while virtual. Described as a “purposefully created space Black girls,” the 2020 Weekend Summit on November 13-15, welcomed 463 Black girls nationwide. During the UYS Weekend the girls were affirmed, shared their unique Black girlhood stories — and all while socially distanced — maintained solidarity through their collective experiences.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2020 - MORNING

It is our desire to break the cycle of fatherless conversations among Black children and give the Black girls we serve the opportunity to hear the truth in love, where difficult conversations must be had. We understand at UYS that every Black girl isn’t afforded the opportunity to have a relationship with her father, so “DADDY LOVE” is a conversation for Black Girls with Black #GirlDads.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2020 - AFTERNOON

Joining UYS Mega Mentor & actress Teyonah Parris in a two-part conversation were Eris Baker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Lyric Ross, Yara Shahidi, and internationally-acclaimed Afro-Latina ballerina Ingrid Silva to provide the perfect ending to an incredible weekend. During this authentic dialogue, the conversation between big sisters and little sisters in the industry succeeded in driving home the message that “when one Black girl wins, we ALL win.”

UYS 2020 SURVEY FEEDBACK

As we continue to grow as an organization, it is our desire to offer ongoing support, provide safe spaces for Black girls to develop bonds with their UYS sisters, and explore topics critical to their personal development. At the conclusion of UYS 2020 we asked our participants to take a few moments to complete a survey. Here is the data we collected. The information shared will continue to help us create programming relevant to the Black girlhood experience.

GIRL EXCHANGE SESSIONS

Before, after, and in between our large sessions, Black girls participate in our Girl Exchange Program. These segments, better known as “GXC,” are one of the most fundamental and impactful portions of the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT for Girls experience. During and throughout the weekend, Black girls are appropriately grouped by grade & age so that the shared experiences among these groups can be discussed in a safe and intimate environment with peers.

Created in 2020

UYS ACADEMY | NOURISHING BLACK GIRLS

(nour·ish: provide with the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition).

The UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT ACADEMY (UYSA) is a place for Black girls in middle & high school to connect, learn, unpack, and heal in a nourishing environment, with other Black girls their age, under the guidance and tutelage of Black instructors who are passionate about their teachings.

LOVE & LEARNING LABS

The UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT ACADEMY is non-traditional, and therefore does not consist of traditional classes. Instead of “courses or classes,” we have intentionally chosen to dub these virtual weekly experiences: “Love & Learning Labs.” These Labs are a safe space for Black girls to be NOURISHED in an environment that fosters love of self, and emanates love of, for, and toward Black girls.

Love & Learning Labs
were created for experimentation, healing, connection, and nourishment.

Love & Learning Labs were purposefully selected to inform, teach, and love on Black girls amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a fragmented America, violence in the world, and 400+ years of racial injustices and inequalities for Black Americans.

UYSA has purposefully assembled virtual “Love & Learning Labs” to resemble the sessions of our annual UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT, and provide the regular engagement (and education) that our annual participants have desired over the last decade. The UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT ACADEMY meets each of the commitments that we’ve made to Black girls. The mission and vision of the Academy are not different than that of the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT Organization, but help us to further accomplish them both. These Labs have been crafted to intensify the impact of the work of UYS.