GirlTREK

Day 18 The Address: Congo Square, New Orleans Come to Congo Square with us. Come catch the fire. Come learn of the drums that reverberated through the square, calling for protection from the ancestors and the one’s left back home. Come learn of the worship that took place here. Come learn about this place so full of magic -  not at all dark. Come hear about the celebrations, the dance, the music, the food that united Africans from across the continent in this new place called New Orleans.

Day 16 The Address: 110 Calhoun Street, Charleston, South Carolina The Story: Mother Emanuel AME Church is one of the oldest Black churches in the United States, and for 200 years, it functioned as the center for organizing for civil rights. Its name says it all. Emanuel "God with us." And God has been constant. Because there’s never been a church that has withstood the reign of terrorism so bravely. Today, we will explore The Why. Why was this church targeted? Why was it necessary? What kind of spiritual courage was being borne there? Well, that courage has a name: Denmark Vesey Today, we learn his story. The true story of Mother Emanuel’s bravest son. Don’t miss this ah-ha of history.

Day 13 “We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.” - Gwendolyn Brooks The Address: Rosenwald Apartments, 4648 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL, Bronzeville The Story: They came fleeing the terrors of Jim Crow. They came in search of freedom. Still tethered to their southern roots and values, they brought an electrifying energy that would give rise to Black Arts movements, create gospel, and establish a Black mecca known as Bronzeville, the only neighborhood in the country that could rival Harlem as the cultural center of African America. Home to the greats - Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Coleman, Ida B. Wells, and many more. We will start today’s exploration of Bronzeville on S. Michigan Ave at the storied Rosenwald Apartments, once managed by Quincy Jones' mother. From here, we will take a stroll down “The Stroll”, a section of State Street that was the place to see and be seen, and the heartbeat of Black Chicago. Along the way we will talk about how the people in this community influenced and changed the world, from politics to social activism.

Day 10 Of all the Black towns started in the West during Reconstruction, only one still exists… Do you know where it is? Y’all I tried to Google it. … an address for you. But ain’t no addresses. It’s just… Nicodemus, Kansas 67625 NicoDEMus!!! I first saw the name in Washington, DC at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. It was a beautiful way sign pointing to the famous township. Somehow, this sign was miraculously recovered through post-Reconstruction terror, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, AND the Great Depression. There it was - a beautiful relic of Black history (so grateful for archeologists). You see, I was born in Kansas, plus “Nicodemus” sounded Black as H, so I was pumped to learn more. I googled the population today. 14 people. Wait...14? In 2020, it was 54. One chart says 5. Who are these people holding down our history? What are their names? What are their mama’s names? How many generations have their families lived there? Do they have a post office? I can’t wait to tell you the story and circumstances of this beautiful town. The history will give you a deeper understanding of the founding of all Black towns in the West.

Day 6 The Address:  312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011 The Story: Have you ever heard someone speak in tongues? If you don’t know exactly what I mean, tune in today. If you know…you know. Goosebumps. This emoji 👀. The organists and choir stop. Vrrooop. God takes center stage. Skeptics look away. Believers take note. During a revival on Azusa Street it happened in a public venue on American soil, journalists came. “Weird Babel of Tongues” …was the headline. On April 18, 1906, The Los Angeles Times printed: “Breathing strange utterances and mouthing a creed which it would seem no sane mortal could understand, the newest religious sect has started in Los Angeles. Meetings are held in a tumbledown shack on Azusa Street near San Pedro Street, and the devotees of the weird doctrine practice the most fanatical rites, preach the wildest theories and work themselves into a state of mad excitement in their peculiar zeal. Colored people and a sprinkling of whites compose the congregation, and night is made hideous in the neighborhood by the howling of the worshipers swaying back and forth in an attitude of prayer and supplication.” This was The Azusa Street Revival. It lasted three years. How could those journalists, with their poorly veiled racism, possibly understand. It was a spiritual breakthrough. A rallying call for the newly freed. The reclaiming of African know-how …on American soil. 312 Azusa Street, Los Angelos, California was the official birthplace of the Black Pentecostal Movement, the fastest growing religious movement in American history. For every Black girl who played the tambourine and knows the response to lyrics “This joy that I have…” …this is your history. Our history. Black history. And if you KNOW God has brought us through!!! You better shout! Somebody ought to dance.

Day 4 “You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.” - Fannie Lou Hamer The Address: 40 Acres, Ruleville, Mississippi The Story: Raise your hand if you knew that Fannie Lou Hamer started a 600- Acre Farm to feed The People!! Shut the front door!!! What! For real? For real. Fannie was trying to save actual lives up in here. Today, we finna learn y’all. But before we travel back in history to Ruleville, Mississippi, let’s start here… What did you eat for breakfast this morning? Where did the food come from? Is it organic or GMO? Was it grown on US soil? Did a Black farmers hands touch it? Let’s talk about it. For Fannie. We already know that YOU know that Fannie Lou Hamer sang This Little Light of Mine. You can see in your head the Fannie Lou who put her purse on the table at the DNC as she talked about being beaten for registering Black voters across Mississippi. But Farmer Fannie!? Let’s turnip (you see what i did there??)! Ha. I can’t wait to tell you about her radical work that never gets discussed. Fannie Lou Hamer understood that the most intractable problem facing people in the American South was poverty. She said “I know what the pain of hunger is all about.” So, with a $10,000 grant, she bought 40 acres of land and created Freedom Farm Cooperative. When it succeeded, she bought an additional 640 acres. Somebody make me a T-shirt that says “Fannie Fed the People!” Today, her farm is no longer there. Let’s talk about why… In her honor, we pledge to eat better and do better. (Shoot, someone may quit their job, buy some overalls, and move to Ruleville. Hope so.)

Day 2 “I’m kicking new flava in ya ear!” - Craig Mack The Address: Do you know what happened at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in The Bronx, New York? The Story: Somebody’s uncle, with a good government job, signed the purchase order to put electrical outlets in light posts in Black neighborhoods across America. He’s a hero. Some say, that tiny detail, the ability to plug in amps and turntables outside on the corner is responsible for the birth of Hip Hop! It’s a cute idea. …and maybe there’s an ounce of credence there but here’s the TRUTH. There is no hip hop without Cindy Campell and her big brother Clive who lived at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, New York. Their basement apartment is known around the world as the birthplace of Hip Hop!!! The rest is history: I said-a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie, to the hip hip hop-a you don't stop the rock It to the bang-bang boogie, say up jump the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.  Now what you hear is not a test….

Day 1 “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” - Malcolm X The Address: 3448 PINKNEY STREET OMAHA, NEBRASKA The Story: The historical marker is behind the building. You cannot see it from the parking lot. Near the historical marker lies a small structure that is supposed to resemble the original house. The original house was the brick-and-mortar dreams of Reverend Earl and Louise Little. The current building houses the Malcolm X Foundation. There are five sets of stairs inside to represent the five pillars of Islam. Outside the historical marker reads “El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz was born Malcolm Little at University Hospital Omaha,” although neighborhood historian Bertha Calloway says he was actually born at home, right there at 3448 Pinkney Ave, attended to by doctor W.D. Lear and assisted by doctor A.S. Pinto. It was common practice back then for official birth certificates to conceal home births by listing a hospital name. Malcolm would live in this house on the north side of Omaha for less than a year before the Nebraska KKK, which at the time had a membership of more than 45,000, including a women’s branch, a kids club, an annual state convention, ran them out of town. Unfortunately, the family couldn’t run far enough, and on the corner of E. Michigan Ave and Detroit St. in Lansing, Michigan the terror caught up to them, killing Earl Little. A quick google image search reveals that there is a Chevy car dealership sitting at the corner now. No one there to tell the story of how that intersection helped birth the great Malcolm X. But during this episode we will tell that story, a story that starts at 3448 Pinkney Street. The story of Malcolm’s birth home is a story set amidst a red summer and a mob rising. It includes the story Louise Norton Langdon Little who was born in Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada to Ella Langdon who was the daughter of Jupiter and Mary Jane. We don’t know if their names were printed in a family bible, or if Earl would have had a chance to grab that bible before taking his family and fleeing. What we do know is that the story didn’t end there on that street and that that street birthed one of the greatest revolutionaries of anytime.

Our neighborhood stories are too important to be lost to creditors and big banks who take away our grandmother’s houses. Our neighborhood stories are too valuable to be left buried under the foundations of condo buildings that our families can’t afford to live in. Our neighborhood stories are our treasure troves. That's why we want EVERYONE to join us for our newest season of Black History Bootcamp, where not only will we tell the real stories of our neighborhoods - but we will raise up an army of foot soldiers to support them. This is our mission - and if you’re down to join us - then we want you to play tag like we did in the neighborhoods that we grew up in and tag in five friends to join you for Bootcamp. This one’s for the homies, for the hoods that birthed us, for the soldiers still on the block holding our communities down. May we rise with each step we take. Join the 21-Day Bootcamp at https://blackhistorybootcamp.com/#register

We did it! Today marks the end of our first official month of walking and organizing for the 2022 GirlTrek season. We hope you are inspired as we head into the weekend. If so, plan to join us live tomorrow for the last day of Black History Bootcamp, The Crew Edition! Tomorrow will be a celebration of the ultimate crew - YOU! Be Alive | Beyonce:https://open.spotify.com/track/1RI4YQVFh7onQD07QuL8ND?si=586000c4d45948bcCelebration | Kool & The Gang:https://open.spotify.com/track/3K7Q9PHUWPTaknlbFPThn2?si=30bde051635a4e07