Black Girl Magic Educational Services (BGMES) is a community where Black girls are celebrated, empowered and connected to their peers and professional Black women mentors. A recent Black Girl Magic trip to Chicago so see a WNBA game was a transformational event for the girls in the program as the organization rounds out its summer programming and gets ready for the upcoming school year.
“We’ve been able to attend UW women’s basketball games in the past,” Rosa Thompson, the executive director and founder of Black Girl Magic, tells Madison365. “That was something that we had already started. It’s the 50th anniversary of Title IX, so that’s important. Recently, we had the defending WNBA Champions two hours away from Madison, so I was like, why not? Whether you’re a participant in women’s sports or whether you’re a supporter, it’s always important to support our women who are in sports. And to expose the girls to other opportunities that are out there.”
The support and community that these events provide the girls who participate in events for Black Girl Magic are two amazing aspects of what they have to offer. However, Thompson was sure that the benefits don’t stop there as Black Girl Magic makes it a priority to host events that incorporate other educational and skill building opportunities.
“Being on a team teaches you skills that you need in life,” said Thompson. “Whether it’s how to be on a team, how to be a role player, how to take the limelight when it’s your turn, how to deal with coaches, how to be a coachable player, which translates into being a team player in the workplace, or whether it’s a group project in school. All of those skills, especially how to win gracefully, how to lose gracefully, and how to have competitiveness where you put your all into something. All of those skills transfer into school and they transfer into the workplace.”
Thompson was also positive that the events had even more to offer in terms of simply enjoying each other’s company. “I always enjoy time to get to know the girls better and spend time with them. They just bring so much energy, and it’s so much fun. Whether it’s talking with them or listening to them interact with each other, it’s so much fun.”
Black Girl Magic’s most important contribution to the girls who participate in it lies in the connective elements of the organization along with the services they provide to families through their events that allow girls from all across Madison to meet new people. Thompson believes the ability to bring together girls who may not have those opportunities in their own neighborhoods or schools is a vital part of Black Girl Magic’s mission.
“Our families are very responsive,” Thompson said. “They love what we put on. and the girls love the events we put on. We have a youth advisory board that plans a lot of our events as well. We want our events to be for the youth, by the youth, and to be relevant and accessible for our families.
“I look at the signup list and there’s girls coming from schools all across Madison, Sun Prairie, Oregon, Verona, and Middleton, so they come from all over. It’s really nice to see them come together,” she continues. “Especially girls who come repeatedly to see this group of friends that they have here. They look for each other and really check for each other each time that they come. I love to see their relationships grow. Especially for girls who don’t go to the same school or have never met. We really encourage getting to know other people.”
To kick off the new school year, Black Girl Magic will be holding the Black Girl Magic Kick Off event on August 28th at Elver Park to display all of the great potential the organization has to offer those who wish to participate or support.
“We wanted to bring Black Girl Magic to the community with an event that’s just for the community,” said Thompson. “We really want girls who have participated in our programs to come on out, and just enjoy a fun day, along with girls who have never participated. Bring your families and come learn more about us. We’ll have a variety of events. We love music, so we’ll have a DJ. There’ll be free food. We’ll do activities that we have hosted during Black Girl Magic Saturdays, and we bring some of those activities so the girls can get an idea of what we do. We’ll have girls from our Youth Advisory Board talking about just what Black Girl Magic is and some of our programs that we run. It’s really just a day to celebrate our black girls and be out in the community.”
The event will be an opportunity for those who wish to learn more about getting involved with Black Girl Magic to get an idea of what the organization is about and to have a great time on top of it. Thompson was sure the event would be a success and hopes to make an impression on the community that reflects all of the good work that is already being done in Black Girl Magic, and the opportunities to support that work are something she was glad to report are available and abundant.
“Volunteers are needed. For all of our events, we welcome volunteers, especially Black women. We can use volunteers of any demographic for different events. We could use food donations for the events. Then really just hands on support,” Thompson said. “As always, any donation made towards Black Girl Magic goes directly to the girls. We’re really excited. It’s something we wanted to do for a while and we are doing it right before school starts. Then we’ll start Black Girl Magic Saturdays in September, and we have all our dates already. We’re excited that families can sign up for the entire year of Black Girl Magic Saturdays.”
To learn more about Black Girl Magic as an organization and to check out their events page where you can find the Black Girl Magic Kick Off event and more, check out their website here.
