Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenisha Dennis.
Founded Black Girls Can Inc. to help foster the next generation of Black Girl talent within the areas of STEM, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, Arts and Wellness by providing free enrichment programs to middle school and high school girls in the NYC and DMV area and eventually throughout the East and west coast. Kenisha is a native of New York and has always taken a significant interest in the betterment and progression of Black Girls by initiating conversations throughout her school, home, and church community. She had been having conversations about the community and making small strides to do her part for the next generation of Black Girls but felt like more needed to be done. One evening while researching some of the top issues facing black women in America, Kenisha began thinking of ways to help solve some of those challenges which later cultivated Black Girls Can Incorporated. Kenisha believed the work to produce, write and create would always be for the betterment and progression of black girls. She believed this was her mission work from God.
By day, Kenisha works as a corporate strategic marketer and works tirelessly by night on Black Girls Can Inc. becoming a top of mind thought leader among black girls and women for educational, professional resources and entrepreneurship development and all things Black Girls’ led.
Kenisha spent her undergraduate and graduate career rallying on behalf of underrepresented women of color, hosting panels and encouraging actionable tasks to initiate in the community. Kenisha’s commitment to the progression of black girls and women of color has existed since she was 16. Kenisha created the Black Girls Can program curriculum, conducted research, and leveraged her connections in the entertainment, media, tech corporate arena to help provide events, workshops and interactive sessions that allows Black Girls Can programming to be what it is today. Kenisha initiated conversations with school staff to run pilot programs for Black Girls Can programming. Running these pilot programs, Kenisha established a relationship with New York and D.C public school which cemented Black Girls Can programming as an ongoing programming within public schools. Kenisha has held every position from running the operations, events, partnerships, curriculum while leading various workshop series. Now at 28, Kenisha is still on-the-ground working to ensure no girl of color goes left behind by increasing strategic partners, raising Black Girls Can awareness and building a strong donor pipeline to allow programming to sustain and reach more girls.
Equal opportunity and inclusion are, unfortunately, what is standing in the way of black girls and women of color getting ahead in the world. Because of systemic race and gender discrimination, black girls are often stereotyped before they even enter a school building, and this affects their self-perception and self-esteem as well as the perceptions of their teachers.
This disproportionate view can lead to the setting of lower academic expectations for black girls, significant discipline disparities and a higher rate of referrals to the juvenile justice system, all factors that push black girls out of school (Unlocking Opportunity Report, 2017).
With this alarming data in mind, Black Girls Can wanted to create an infrastructure that will allow programming to create a space for girls to feel safe, work alongside school advocates to understand black girls and provide resources to girls that will allow them to dream big in STEM, leadership and entrepreneurship.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like most nonprofits raising funds can be difficult. Outside of that working in the community and helping others is not a glamorous and often times started out it was lot of Nos, dead end roads in gearing this program up but I didnt stop at a No nor did I stop at the first sign of struggle. I stayed committed because I had the bigger picture in mind, the betterment of our girls means the betterment of our communities.
Please tell us about Black Girls Can Incorporated.
Black Girls Can Inc. is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization empowering black girls and women owning, leading, creating, innovating, and inspiring in their communities and at large.
Black Girls Can Inc. helps foster the next generation of black girls and women into entrepreneurship, STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) and civic engagement by offering free hands-on educational programs, workshops, and events.
Black Girls Can Inc. program offering includes mentoring, self-esteem building, wellness, financial literacy, STEAM simulations, brand building workshops and panels with the intention of enlarging the number of black women entrepreneurs in STEAM fields while cultivating civically engaged black women leaders, tastemakers, and entrepreneurs.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Ask for help a lot earlier. I carried a large amount of weight of the program, from running the program to establish partnerships, coordinating volunteers, working with parents, outreach, and so much more that I could have simply asked for help a lot sooner to take some of the weight off my shoulders. I’ve done that now, and have seen quite the difference in the ability to get more done.
Pricing:
- We offer hoodies and tshirts…100% of proceeds goes towards running the organization
- Hoodies are $45.00
- Tshirts are $20
Contact Info:
- Website: blackgirlscaninc.org
- Email: kenishadennis@gmail.com
- Instagram: @blackgirlscan
Image Credit:
For professional shot: @worldtravelingQ
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