As we celebrate and give thanks for the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during this historic time, it’s impossible not to think of Dr. King’s prophetic “mountaintop speech,” given the day before he was assassinated. So much has changed since then. Twelve years ago, we elected our first Black president. This week, our first Black, Asian, female vice president will take her oath of office. There is much to celebrate.

But the facts on the ground can make the victories at the top of the ladder feel hollow. We are reeling from an international pandemic that has disproportionately harmed Black and Latinx citizens; police shootings of unarmed Black victims continue unabated; lawmakers tried to block the impeachment of a president who incited a white supremacist-led attack on the Capitol. Less publicized but equally important are the disparities between Black and white communities in income, education, homeownership, and life expectancy, which have flatlined since the 1970s and even earlier. This surely isn’t the promised land that Dr. King saw from that mountaintop.

How do we make sense of this, and what can we do to get back on course? Shaylyn Romney Garrett and Robert D. Putnam, authors of The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again have an idea. They observe that the injustices that flourished in the late 1800s were largely due to the white backlash that ended Reconstruction. In the same way, white backlash dismantled the progress of the Civil Rights Movement. Garrett and Putnam also make a case for a destructive trend toward individualism at the end of both centuries (think of the 1970s “Me Decade”). A slow, steady improvement in the early 1900s can be attributed to the Great Migration, as Black migrants began claiming a place for themselves in the great American “we”, fueled by their belief in the promise of American democracy. 

Garrett and Putman write that we find ourselves in a similar place today. Factionalism and narcissism, they argue, have encouraged racists and bigots and those who would splinter our society—but we are poised to turn things around. It is on us to expand the American “we,” to build coalitions across race, ethnicity, gender, and religion—to not only claim space as our forebears did a century ago but to actively make space for others who have been excluded. White folks need to do the work. BIPOC and other marginalized communities need to remain hopeful and energized. Parents and educators must continue to share and discuss our history and our present challenges with our children to prepare them to lead thoughtfully. And together, we can bring our nation back from the brink and once again begin to realize Dr. King’s vision.

At Cinnamongirl, we encourage girls to dream big despite the obstacles that life puts in their paths. Last year, we challenged ourselves in the same way and set a fundraising goal of $100,000. When COVID 19 severely limited our programs, our girls, and our fundraising outreach, we were discouraged, but we didn’t give up—and in the end, everyone came through and we were able to raise an incredible $91,972. We are so grateful to the Cinnamongirl community: to our mentors, to our families, and to our donors. You are the reason that we can continue to support our girls as they become the leaders of the future.

We have so much in store for our Cinnamongirls, and we are excited this year to be able to offer gifts to show our appreciation for your support as we launch our Dream Big fundraising campaign for 2021. Stay tuned for more information!

First Free Town Founded by Runaway Slaves 

The virus brought the Cinnamongirl Travel Cohort’s plans to a grinding halt last March, but the girls are now gearing up to re-start their individual fundraising campaigns. If you'd like to support the Cinnamongirls’ travels, or just want to meet our girls and learn more about our travel cohort, please visit our Cinnamongirl Travel Cohort Fundraising page.

Cinnamongirl is proud to co-host Dr. Monique Morris, acclaimed social justice scholar, author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls, and creator of the documentary film by the same name. Attendees will view Dr. Morris’s documentary and participate in a lively discussion afterward, led by Dr. Torie Weiston Serdan, author of Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide. Our co-hosts are The Youth Mentoring Action Network and Code Switch: Restorative Justice for Girls of Color. The event will take place on Tuesday, February 16, 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. PST.

Words and statements of solidarity are not enough, and protesting is just the beginning. We must also leverage this moment with action. Thus, we invite you to join us for a viewing and discussion of Dr. Monique Morris’ Pushout documentary. The goal is to develop a strategic plan of action to advocate for replacing school police with more restorative discipline approaches. We’ll also develop a list of “asks”, as well as a timeline to launch our plan of action. If interested in being the change you want to see, and committed to gender and racial justice for Girls of Color attending local schools, then we invite you to join us! Click here to register.

 Mentor Spotlight

January is National Mentoring Month! All of our wonderful mentors pour their time, energy, and care into their relationships with our Cinnamongirls. Not only do they connect one-one-one with the girls, providing advice and a sympathetic ear, but they plan fun, educational, culturally relevant group activities to heighten their awareness of the wider world and tighten their bonds with each other. All three of this month’s featured mentors have careers in STEM, where there are so few role models for young women of color; we are deeply grateful to Tiffany, Lena, and Alicia for being those role models for our girls.

Tiffany Blake has been mentoring Cinnamongirls since 2011. Born and raised in Oakland, she lives in Union City, California and works across the bay as a Strategic Communications Lead at the NASA Ames Research Center. Her hobbies are decidedly non-STEM, however: she enjoys writing and keeping up with pop culture.

Tiffany became a mentor to give back to her community and to “inspire young girls to love and be their best self.” She adds, “mentoring has poured just as much into me, as I have into mentoring.”

Lena Jennings was born, raised, and currently resides in Oakland. She works as a People Analyst, using social science, experimentation, and statistics to improve the working environment for employees at Google. When she’s not at work, she hosts bible studies, delivers workshops on concepts from The Personable Life, and follows her love for the simple things; before (and hopefully after) COVID she finds joy in traveling.

One reason she loves Cinnamongirl is how much of herself she sees in them. She says, “I’ve always been high performing, high achieving, ambitious, and always craving more. I was them, and still am.” Her love of mentoring comes from her belief that relationships and connection are essential to the soul, and we’re so glad that she’s connected with our girls.

Alicia Andrews was born in the San Francisco Presidio when it was still a military base. She grew up in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, returned to Oakland for high school, and now lives in the Mission District of San Francisco.

She is a civil engineer by profession and a construction manager by trade, which means she gets to combine her STEM smarts, organizational skills, and people skills. Hobbies? She purchased a standup paddleboard last year. “It is so relaxing while seated, laughing with friends. To push myself, I actually stand! It becomes a full body workout.”

As a Cinnamongirl mentor, she’s enjoyed taking personality tests with her mentees, and then discussing their reactions and tactical styles. Traveling and working abroad are the source of her spiritual expansion, she says. “It is not always pretty, but my best stories are from these periods.”

Thank you, Alicia, for sharing your spirit and your stories with our Cinnamongirls!

Kids, especially, have lost a lot over the past year and might have a hard time finding and talking about what they are thankful for. Questions that focus on their lives can help lead them to gratitude. For example: Who has had the most positive influence on you? What experience are you really glad you had? This article lists more great questions to get teens thinking and talking about gratitude. (Caveat: the question about which of their peers they admire most is tricky: some teens may interpret it as being asked to judge their friends.)

Take a social media break 

We’re always nagging our teens for spending too much time on Snapchat or Instagram. But adults are often just as guilty and just as addicted, and kids come with highly sensitive hypocrisy detectors. One idea: get an app that limits your screen time and have your teen help you decide what your limits should be. Even better, get one that requires a password to override it—and have your teen be the password keeper.

On January 9, the Write Your Story Cohort welcomed Michelle “Mush” Lee for a dynamic, heart-opening, inspiring class that was about far more than just writing. “To the girl who closes up like a fist,” she wrote in an introductory email, “this sacred space was created with you in mind . . . you'll learn about the history of spoken word, the secret relationship between poet and listener, and engage in a story circle about the miracle of being born a girl and woman. We will dive into what it means to love right now, in a time of COVID-19, Black Lives Matters, and improbable loneliness. We'll meditate, engage in fun, rapid-fire writing games, and search for stories that illuminate who you are, and how you are becoming.”

Ambitious, to be sure, but Mush delivered. She shared the fascinating history of spoken word, and the story of Frida Kahlo, whose iconic art grew out of her recovery from a terrible accident. She shared some of her spoken word poetry, and created space for the girls to connect with themselves, and to write and perform their own spoken word. As one of the Cinnamongirls told her, “Your amazing spirit just radiates even over Zoom!”

An accomplished poet who has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Mush is also the Cultural Affairs Commissioner for the City of Oakland, as well as founder and CEO of Whole Story Group, a coaching team that uses storytelling strategies to help leaders and organizations define and achieve their goals.

The next Master Class, about memoir, will be taught by author and peace activist Deborah Santana.

Photo credit: Black Milk Women: 20 Books Every Black Woman Needs to Read in 2019

After taking December off, the Passport Book Club Cohort will read The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta—and have a chance to chat with her over Zoom during the book club meeting. Based on the Hindu legend of the Serpent King, this novel follows sixth-grader Kiranmala on a wild journey with two princes on flying horses. Kiranmala must fight off demons and escape the wrath of the Rakkoshi Queen so that she can save her parents’ lives and eventually save the world. 

Eyes That Kiss In The Corners by Joanna Ho

Tiny Pretty Things by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra

You may already have seen the thrilling Netflix adaptation. Beneath the graceful, beautiful surface of an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, cutthroat competition and dark drama thrive. Three girls, each grappling with their own painful problems, must navigate and manipulate their way past friends, rivals, and enemies in their quest to become the prima ballerina. Clayton, who used to work at a ballet school, is also the author of the bestselling novel, The Belles; Charaipotra is the author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak. Best for ages 13-18.

The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes

If your reader likes myths, monsters, and legends-based books like Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief or The Serpent’s Secret, they will love The Storm Runner, an action-packed novel based on Maya legend and myth. Zane walks with a cane—kids at school call him Sir Limps a Lot, and Uno, for his one good leg. But he still loves hiking the dormant volcano near his home in New Mexico with his beloved dog, Rosie; little does he know, it’s the gateway to another world. A new friend tells him that unless he goes with her to the volcano to help her recover an ancient Maya relic, he is destined to release the evil god that’s trapped inside the relic. The two friends are attacked and Rosie is taken. When he goes to rescue her, Zane finds himself in the middle of a war between the gods—one of whom is his father. To survive, Zane will have to become the Storm Runner. But how can he run when he can’t even walk well without a cane? The Storm Runner is the first in a series of three books. Best for ages 9-12.

Cinnamongirl thrives on the strength of a small board of talented individuals who love what they do. We are currently seeking an influencer personality type who has an expansive circle of contacts, who can help us grow corporate donations, and who can cultivate relationships with individuals passionate about supporting the growth and development of future women leaders of color.

If this sounds like you and you’re interested in doing meaningful and deeply rewarding work, please send a cover letter and resume to cinnamongirl30@me.com.

We're inspiring girls everywhere to lead, mentor, and be the changemakers in the room. Won't you please consider a gift of any amount. 60% of our funding comes from our amazing supporters.

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Teachers, we need your help! As educators you cross paths with future Cinnamongirls every day and that is why we are reaching out to YOU!

You can help us identify prospective Cinnamongirls who could use a platform like Cinnamongirl to support their dreams, help them develop their voice & be the leaders they were born to be.