WOMANIFESTING

My name is Aiesha Turman and this is my womanifesting story.

I was coordinating an afterschool cultural arts and literacy program for high school students in Brooklyn when I observed that my female students were experiencing a lot of the same issues that I faced when I was their age and thought it would be a great idea to explore these issues with them in a girls-only group because it was important for other young women and girls to realize that they are not alone and there are ways to reach out.

My passion urged me to do more. So I decided to do make a film---First I needed to learn how to make a film, and since I learn by doing, I came up with the idea of having our culminating project that year be, well, a film. I found a curriculum from the Directors Guild of America and set about spending two and a half months teaching a group of 20 12th and 10th graders how to write a movie while I served as director. After we made the film and had our "premiere", it gave me the confidence to do make The Black Girl Project.I called on the help of the young women I initially worked with who were now all either in college or entering college. It took two years, but I made an hour-long documentary, but I wanted to do more.

Knowing that I wanted the film to spark dialogue, I sought fiscal sponsorship and the organization, The Black Girl Project, whose mission is to help equip young women andgirls with the tools needed to become healthy, self-actualized women, was born. I then called on the help of some fabulous scholars, educators, business-womenand creatives to be on my advisory board. Our first big accomplishment was pulling off a big premiere screening at the Spike Lee Screening Room on LongIsland University's Brooklyn campus. We faced challenges with having a very little budget, but what we did have was will. I am fulfilled because of the feedback I have received from the film and the work that the organization hasbeen able to do, such as safer sex outreaches, workshops, and more.

Right now, we are planning an all-girl youth-symposium, co-leading twice-monthly workshops with the Urban Yoga Foundation, and developing a workshop series with the hopes of: expanding, duplicating and packaging the film so that it can get into the hands of as many wonderful folks as possible. I'm creating mini-docs or digital stories of between 10-12 minutes each which will take you a bit deeper into the lives of the young women featured in the film; Publishing a book! The BGP book will explore the why's, what's and how's behind the origins and process of the project, as well as take a look at the young women's lives since the initial filming; and creating curriculum and screening tool-kit. The whole of The BGP is intended as a teaching tool and the curriculum will explore the themes that were explored in the film: family, obstacles, dreams, love and relationships, the media andmore. The screening tool-kit will assist anyone who's interested in hosting a screening create a memorable, educational, and enlightening experience.

How can you help? We're on Kickstarter until the end of March to help raise funds to do all of this, and if you pledge support, there are many tangible rewards you can receive at any level. But we'd also love to hear from you. We're on Facebook and Twitter as well.

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Now this is some pretty awesome womanifesting. PLEASE SUPPORT The Black Girl Project. Also, if you have a womanifesting story, please share it with us at woma@womanifesting.org. You may be feautured in a future WOMA blog.

Black Girl Project Around the Web:

WEB: http://blackgirlproject.com/

Kickstarter  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/810890058/the-black-girl-project

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblackgirlproject?ref=ts

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/blackgirlproj