“Black Girl Joy” features live music and free food at Midtown Global Market. But more importantly, organizer Nakara White says Black Girl Joy honors women of color who are making an impact within the community.
“Black Girl Joy is a healing space to celebrate women and girls who cultivate joy in the community in various ways, either through their businesses or through their entrepreneurship,” said White.
White is the Youth Program Coordinator at the Hope Community Best Buy Teen Tech Center. She runs programming at the center for young women, including GEMS (girls’ empowerment) and CTC (clubhouse to careers).
“We focus on specifically young women of color being exposed to different avenues of technology in hopes to broaden their perspectives about what their future looks like where technology is involved,” said White.
In 2021, after the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for George Floyd’s murder, White noticed how women were creating safe places for the community.
“I just took special notice that a lot of my peers and big homies were doing a lot to just ensure that the community healed and bounced back and became better from all of the wild things that were happening,” said White, “so I just wanted to create a space to celebrate that. I needed to make sure that women and girls were recognized.”
White says Black Girl Joy’s performers, vendors, and caterers are all women of color.
“I just believe strongly that Black women need to be paid, Black women need to be recognized, Black women need to be celebrated and so this event just encompasses all those things.”
Black Girl Joy takes place from 2-5 pm on Sunday, June 5th at Midtown Global Market.