Ladies of Virtue Launches “This Black Girl” Campaign Campaign to Showcase

Inspirational LOV High School

Seniors & Alumni

CHICAGO, PRNewswire -- In celebration of Women’s History Month, Ladies of Virtue (LOV) is proud to announce its “This Black Girl” campaign in recognition of the impressive achievements of Black girls nationwide who have triumphed over obstacles to become successful, confident, and purpose-driven leaders. “This Black Girl” will highlight inspiring stories throughout the month of March, focused on high school seniors and alumni who have emerged as community role models and serve as an inspiration for younger generations.

“At the heart of this campaign is the fact that Black girls have dreams, and it’s our goal to amplify our amazing LOV seniors and alumni who have excelled despite challenges— demonstrating that barriers can be broken down and glass ceilings can be shattered,” said LOV Founder Jamila Trimuel. “We will focus on compelling and motivating stories that celebrate who our seniors and alumni have become and how they got there.” change agents within their respective communities. The program matches girls with mentors who help them build character, prepare for their chosen career path, and make a difference in their communities. Upon graduation, the girls become “LOV for Life” alumni and receive continued support and guidance for an additional six years.

Threats To Marriage Rights Are Threats To All Rights

BY SVANTE MYRICK

If you’ve been watching what’s going on in state legislatures lately, you know that red-state lawmakers are all-in on attacking three things: abortion, voting rights and LGBTQ rights. And in Tennessee, a real alarm bell just rang.

The state House passed a bill that would effectively end marriage equality in the state, by allowing county clerks to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In fact, the law would allow clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses for any couple if they disagreed with the union. That could mean same-sex couples, interracial couples, or interfaith couples.

We don’t know how far this bill will go in the state Senate. But a sufficient number of Tennessee House members voted for it, and that’s disturbing enough. Especially since President Biden just signed the Respect for Marriage Act to protect marriage equality at the federal level. It turns out this bill takes advantage of a loophole in the federal legislation, because the federal law does not say states have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

We may or may not be in same-sex marriages ourselves, or know people who are. But those of us who disagree with this inhumanity being inflicted on other Americans have to speak out. I’m proud to say my mom, who is my hero in many ways, set this example for me.

Mom played the piano in our church for two decades. There came a time when the question of same-sex marriage came up, and individual churches within our denomination were allowed to make their own decisions about whether to perform them. Sadly, our church decided not to. And Mom resigned there and then.

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The “This Black Girl” campaign launched on March 1, with a strong social media presence, with followers encouraged to share the stories and celebrate the successes of LOV high school seniors and alumni. Trimuel hopes the campaign not only inspires young Black girls, but also motivates individuals to support the organization’s mentoring program for girls ages 9 to 18.

As a leading mentorship and leadership program in Chicago, LOV understands the impact mentoring has on academic success, engagement in extracurricular activities, and connections to new opportunities. According to mentoring.org, quality mentoring relationships have a positive effect on young people across personal, academic, and professional situations. Mentoring demonstrates personal growth and development, as well as social and economic opportunity, yet one in three young people grows up without this critical asset. With more than 2,000 girls and their families assisted to date, LOV is committed to supporting and uplifting 400+ additional Black girls in 2023 to become trailblazers.

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LOV’s mission is to instill purpose, passion, and perseverance in girls ages 9 to 18, preparing them for college and careers while also building their confidence to become

“I founded LOV after understanding that many Black girls feel their voices aren’t heard, or concerns aren’t addressed, and I was determined to change that,” said Trimuel. “LOV represents a safe and supportive space where girls can flourish and achieve their dreams. It’s my hope that ‘This Black Girl’ campaign will draw even greater attention to our cause while also inspiring our next generation to be change-makers in their communities.”

Founded in 2011, Ladies of Virtue (LOV) is the leading mentoring and leadership program for Black girls in Chicago, with a mission of instilling purpose, passion, and perseverance in girls ages 9 to 18. For more than 10 years, the organization has empowered Black girls in underserved communities by building their confidence for college and careers, while simultaneously preparing them to become change agents in their communities. They are the only Chicago-based organization to offer a community-based model that integrates culture, one-on-one mentorship, group mentoring, leadership development, and mental health support exclusively for Black girls. LOV has been recognized by The Obama Foundation, the University of Chicago, and the Chicago Innovation Awards.

To learn more about LOV’s efforts to transform lives, visit lovchicago.org.

She did that even though nobody in our family or immediate circle was in a same-sex relationship. She did it because she had the courage to stand up for other people even when she had no skin in the game herself. Later, when I became mayor of Ithaca, I had the honor to perform the first same-sex wedding in our city.

Mom taught me that we need to stand up for the full spectrum of civil and human rights, whether a particular right affects us personally or not. It is the moral thing to do. And that’s enough. But for those who need more convincing, it’s well-known that if someone is coming after a right that doesn’t affect you today, chances are they will come for rights that do affect you tomorrow. Authoritarians have a pattern of chipping away at rights until they win the big prize.

A classic example of this is the long road to undermining Roe and the right to choose. For years, people were called alarmists for warning that Roe could be overturned. And guess what; the alarmists were right.

Not only that, but when the Supreme Court did away with Roe last year, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the words that everyone feared: “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” That means “reconsidering” the right to use birth control (Griswold), the right to same-sex intimate relationships (Lawrence), and the right to same-sex marriage (Obergefell).

The prospect is chilling – and where does this end? What about Loving v. Virginia, the case that affirmed the right to interracial marriage? Many of us would have said it’s alarmist to think that right could be lost. But again, the alarmists were right when it came to Roe. And the bill in Tennessee’s House appears to open a door to this possibility.

I’m deeply concerned about what is happening in Tennessee and the red flag raised by Justice Thomas. More than 40 years ago another Supreme Court justice, the late Thurgood Marshall, spoke words that are as apt today as they were then. Justice Marshall said, “Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.”

Our rights depend on it.

Svante Myrick is President of People For the American Way. Previously, he served as executive director of People For and led campaigns focused on transforming public safety, racial equity, voting rights, and empowering young elected officials. Myrick garnered national attention as the youngest-ever mayor in New York State history.