New York City educator Aiesha Turman is doing her part to soothe the struggles of young black girls. Turman is currently filming The Black Girl Project, a full-length documentary that finds young girls sounding off about who they really are. This project is one of many initiatives stemming from Turman’s Super Hussy Media, an outlet that she developed to explore the many facets of black womanhood using workshops geared to empowering young women, resources promoting healthy self-esteem, and now films to spark dialogue among teens, parents, and teachers.

“I have students who are homeless. I have students who are getting beat up by boyfriends.”

Growing up in western New York as one of few of her school’s black students, Turman experienced her own struggles with identity. Although exposed to culture and history at an early age, the absence of constant discussion about the roles of women proved particularly challenging during her upbringing.

“Thinking back to the friends that I had growing up, I know a lot of us were having so many issues,” Turman says, “but we came from this community where you don’t tell your business, and you don’t talk to other people regardless if it’s a trained therapist. You will not go and speak to someone and tell anyone else. There are so many shameful family secrets.”

After a difficult stint in college, Turman eventually found her calling through an internship at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City, where she once again found herself as the token black, but this time celebrated the opportunity to flourish in a foreign setting. This internship brought Turman to predominately black schools, teaching Jewish history through the eyes of an African American woman.

Courtney James is entering her junior year at City College of NY. She's currently working as a residential adviser for a summer program at Yale.

“I would go to the schools, speak to them, and then we would do a tour,” said Turman. “I had a different perspective than some of the folks who would do the tours. We would then go back to the schools and workshop on social justice and what they can do in their communities based on what they did at the museum. That’s really what started for me.”

She went on to serve as a coordinator at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, bringing literature, arts, and history to high school students. It was here that she began her work with teenage girls, serving as a confidante to a host of young women forced to sort through difficult experiences on their own.

“As the coordinator of the program it’s like running a mini high school. I’m having girls who are having irresponsible sex. I have students who were sexually abused. I have students who are homeless. I have students who are getting beat up by boyfriends, and these are all that you would see on paper, as good girls and good kids. They look healthy, but a lot of things were going on. That’s where my whole idea for Super Hussy and the Black Girl Project came from—working with these girls and really getting to know them on an intimate level.”

The young women featured in the film are candid about their experiences, giving viewers access to a voice that’s rarely heard. Set to be released this fall, The Black Girl Project will blend interviews, images, and historical footage to tell a compelling story told by girls ages 10 to 20-years old. Turman is also developing a curriculum to accompany the film to encourage an ongoing discussion about the weighty topics that the young women address, and to encourage mothers, aunties, and sisters to foster a healthy development and a strong sense of self.

“These conversations need to constantly take place. You have to show them alternatives because the television is not going to show them, and neither is the internet. It’s up to us.”

the black girl project {i am} from Super Hussy on Vimeo.

Each youth participant is paired with a dedicated mentor for one year, who works to establish a bond and help the teen overcome obstacles through skating, surfing, and snowboarding. Stoked also offers an after school program geared toward career development, and a workshop called “Stoked Sistas,” which boosts girls’ confidence by getting them on a board. The work of Executive Director Larosiliere and co-founder Sal Masekela have racked up a ton of sponsors including Zoo York and ESPN, and several partner schools throughout NY and LA. Check out the organization’s promo video below, and visit their website to find out how you can contribute your time.

Stoked Mentoring Video from stokedmentoring on Vimeo.

Ella Baker Center's Books Not Bars Rally

These days, activism and public service are essential to the country’s rebuilding process. Books Not Bars, an organization founded by the Oakland-based Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, is dedicated to the alternative rehabilitation of California’s youth, and to the concept of community service.

Looking to remedy the state’s inhumane juvenile justice system (where troubled kids are often locked up in 21-hour solitary confinement, leading to the deaths of six young people), they aim to educate rather than suppress and abuse. Since its creation in 2004, the organization has amassed some impressive milestones and racked up key victories, including reducing the prison youth population by 60 percent, and garnering critical and increasing support from community leaders and families of incarcerated children.

This year, Books Not Bars aims to shut down two California youth prisons, Preston and Stark, where just five years ago two young inmates hung themselves after a grueling 23 hours of confinement. You can help fight California’s Division of Juvenile Justice by visiting ellabakercenter.org/bnb to spread the word.