Larrinita Starks

Girl/Future: Youth Activism and Ending Gendered Violence

While African American girls are heavily represented in the victim quadrant of sexual assault, they are severely underrepresented in the solution quadrant. A Long Walk Home formed the Girl/Friends Leadership Institute, a year-round program, in the under-resourced neighborhood of North Lawndale, Chicago, in response to the epidemic of sexual assault and to arrive at sustainable solutions. Girl/Friends values those most affected by a racialized gender-based violence: African American adolescent girls and empowers them to be sexual and dating violence prevention advocates and social justice leaders in their schools and communities.