The Future is Female! We see and hear this everywhere, which brings to mind the previous waves of feminism where Black women were not so strongly represented or considered when space for women was made at the table. The pertinent question is if the future is female where will our Black girls and women be? Will they stand side by side with White, Asian, Latina, and Aboriginal counterparts or will they have to start their own movement and find a separate voice because the future did not make space for them, again? Don't they deserve a voice in dreaming and determining a future where all women will be empowered?
The objective of this project is to inspire the future to include the visions, voices, and agencies of Black women all over the world. In particular, the Black women who will in that future safeguard the futures of the next generations. What we invest in our girls today will determine what they will invest in their children and future generations. Currently, Black girls all over the world have to struggle for equity, not only with men but with other women as well. They are becoming the most educated and fastest rising demographic professionally but are still under represented in positions of real power and authority - politically, economically, and socially - globally.
Time moves incredibly fast and the future we speak of will soon be here. For people like me, the future that comes to mind is retirement. Given past recessions and current global instability, we the older generation are concerned about our retirement but many us of have daughters, nieces - girls we look at as "the future." Our responsibility as guardians of their future is to prepare them for it and to ensure there is a future that is worth looking forward to.
This competition will inspire Black girls all over the world to determine their futures and seek out opportunities that make their dreams a reality. Let's encourage young Black girls all over the world to think of the future as theirs to discover. Let's take up the mantra but also take action that will ensure that there is a future worth possessing for our girls.
Please support this project with donations and by encouraging young women who are aged 16-22 to think of the future that belongs to them today.
Thank you,
Dr Tapo Chimbganda