My Daddy is a Friend of Mine
Danielle Buckingham sitting on her father’s lap, 1995 One of my favorite memories with my daddy is going to the beach at Lake Michigan in...
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Perdita Patrice
- Jul 6, 2021
Who All Gone be There???
Poetic Justice –Tupac Shakur from GIPHY When I think about attending a cookout nothing but pure joy comes to mind. Dancing, loud...
Perdita Patrice
- Jul 2, 2021
Where Can a Black Girl Feel Safe? Who’s to Say?
Photo by Jessica Felicio on Unsplash When my mom, aunt, and I walked into Dirt Cheap and went our separate ways, off to find deals,...
Margaree Jackson
- Apr 13, 2021
A Letter to My Sisters
When BGX editors asked The Lighthouse staff to write a letter to a woman they loved, it inspired Margaree Jackson to reflect on what it’s...
Perdita Patrice
- Jun 17, 2020
COVID-19’s Impact on Young Black College-Age Women in the Americas
No one imagined this year we would be experiencing a global pandemic. No one guessed the toll COVID-19 would take on Black girls and...
Perdita Patrice
- Jun 9, 2020
Questions of Comfort, Perfection and Wellness
I heard about Natalie Collier and The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects several months prior to actually sitting with her in her office in...
Perdita Patrice
- Jun 2, 2020
Plugged In and Connected
Like many of you, near the end of Spring Break, I received the first of many emails from the school district regarding its decision to...
Perdita Patrice
- May 29, 2020
Resting While Black
I am coming to accept that the Hot Girl Summer I was looking forward to might become an extended season of self-isolation, or maybe some...
Perdita Patrice
- May 26, 2020
The Girls Are Not Alright
If your life is anything like many of us who work at The Lighthouse, whenever your phone buzzes lately, it’s one of a few things: someone...
Perdita Patrice
- Mar 31, 2020
Food is Love: A Q&A with Sade Meeks, Founder of G.R.I.T.S
I’m not a foodie, but I do love good food. Growing up, the smells from the kitchens or grills of the women and men in my family made my...
Perdita Patrice
- Aug 29, 2019
B Graham Beauty: Natural Products that Represent Black Girls and Women
Many girls dream of owning a business and becoming a #boss. Sixteen-year-old Brayden Graham never imagined that a Christmas shopping trip...
Perdita Patrice
- Jun 5, 2018
Leilani’s Limitless Life, Pt. V
Today’s the last day of us staying in my mom’s friend’s place. We’re going grocery shopping so when we go to our next Airbnb we’ll have...
Perdita Patrice
- Feb 25, 2018
Safe Spaces for Black Girls in an Unsafe World
Grace* was honest because she thought it was the right thing to do, but it was her position in the program—one of her safe spaces—she was...
Perdita Patrice
- Dec 8, 2017
Jackson, “Pro-Life,” And What It Means For Black Women
Last Thursday night, people quietly crowded into theater #9 at Malco Grandview of Madison to see Jackson, the documentary. Jackson shines...
Perdita Patrice
- Dec 5, 2017
Old Scars, New Legacies
Years ago, I began writing a poem about one of the languages my mother spoke. It began, “Pain is my mother’s tongue, but I speak it...
Perdita Patrice
- Jul 24, 2017
Say, Bruh | For Brothers Still Defending R. Kelly
F**k R. Kelly. Not in the way we usually bash celebrities. No, in a real, only-his-security-and-my-children-are-keeping-me-from-stepping...
Perdita Patrice
- Jul 6, 2017
Investments, not Just Funding, Create Change for Black Girls in the South
People invite me places to talk to them. Sometimes the crowds are large; other times, they’re more intimate. But every time, they listen....
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