Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2018)
Page 20 The Skanner January 10, 2018 Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New Enrichment Program for Black Girls Transforms Lives By Candace J. Semien The Drum/NNPA Mem- ber t a time when many messages for young girls seem to be conflicting, Baton Rouge teens are experiencing an influx of organizations and programs designed to show them how amazing and powerful they are in the world. From Black Girls Rock on a national scale to the local Wom- anhood101 initiative and the TransfHERmation program, the brilliance of teen girls are being magnified and strength- ened. “I believe girls are a special gift from God and they should be nurtured as such,” said Quintina Ricks, founder of Trans- fHERmation, an enrich- ment program for girls. For two years, more than 20 girls have ex- perienced TransfHER- mation at T. Simmons and Company in Baton Rouge where they devel- oped businesses, vision and mission statements, brand names, and tag- A lines to reflect their val- ue system. These values were explored during sessions on gratitude, respect, public behavior, and relationships. The girls created prod- ucts for their business— most opting for cosmet- ics—using raw materials and scientific principles to manufacture lipsticks, lip gloss, soap, and can- dles. During an interac- tive, real-world stimula- tion, they took on adult responsibilities and purchased homes, cars, insurance, and childcare services. As part of their trans- formation experience, the girls learned strat- egies to improve and maintain healthy diets, relationships, hygiene, and finances. “Critical to their success and quality of life will be their ability to make healthy lifestyle choices relative to man- aging stress and friend- ships,” said Ricks. “We teach young ladies to pri- oritize their greatest as- set which is their health.” TransfHERmation is Ricks’ brainchild, which she started in 2014 as an PHOTO COURTESY OF QUINTANA RICKS Baton Rouge Businesswoman Designs TransfHERmation program for Young, Black Girls tion program that Ricks is able to be most creative in reaching the girls. “When we in- vest in young peo- ple, the return on that investment is immeasurable. We build the fe- male leaders of the future,” she said. The Drum talked with Ricks to learn more. THE DRUM: How was this experience de- signed to be trans- formative? Quintina Ricks: Quintina Ricks, is the founder of Our goal is to TransfHERmation, a summer enrichment build the female program for girls. leaders of the fu- ture. There’s no exhilarating, multi-facet- denying that women are ed summer program that making huge contribu- she designed to help girls tions all across the globe improve their self-aware- in all walks of life. It’s ness, self-love, and self- also no secret that wom- worth. Ricks is owner en face unique challeng- of Ten40 Solutions. She es relative to crushing said she is an accountant stereotypes and break- by trade, event designer ing through the prover- by passion, and youth bial glass ceiling. Our de- developer by purpose. sire for these girls is that It is within the structure they embrace their femi- of her TransfHERma- ninity, understand their power, harness their creativity, identify their strengths, and visualize their future. TD: Why was this age group targeted? QR: This year’s camp experience was devel- oped specifically for teenage girls. Adoles- cence is an important time. These young ladies are making critical life decisions that will either serve a setbacks or set ups for long term suc- cess. We want to equip these young ladies with the information, tools, resources, and mentors to make solid life deci- sions. TD: What life lessons did you want this expe- rience to teach or be rev- eled to participants? QR: Our curriculum is designed to expose these young ladies to lessons that focus on leadership, introduce the concept of entrepreneurship, teach principles of saving/ investing, and also high- light STEM careers and women who are thriving in those fields. Self-es- teem, self-love, and self-care is emphasized throughout the camp ex- perience. We want these girls to walk away feel- ing powerful. TD: How did this year meet or exceed your ex- pectations? QR: This year exceeded our expectations despite some internal hurdles that we had to cross. Typ- ically when we sponsor these types of programs, we plan over 6-8 months. This year, we pulled the camp together in less than a month. Our busi- nesses were swamped with new clients, which is a good thing, but we didn’t know, if we would have the time or the ca- pacity to host the camp this year. We decided collectively that we had to make it a priority and we were able to pull it off. It was well attended. We worked with an amazing group of girls. TD: What were the memorable transforma- tive moments? QR: The responses that we get from the parents are always telling for me. When you get an email celebrating aca- demic or social growth that makes all the hard work and sacrifices well worth it. We had a di- verse group of girls in at- tendance this year. Some were from upper middle Mexico cont’d from pg 16 advantaged areas, like the rural south and the heavily indigenous high moun- tains. Since this is the case, they reason, data that appears to show race-based inequality in Mexico is actually captur- ing class, ethnic and regional inequali- ties. Although the premise of this argu- ment holds true, the conclusion is in- correct. Our study accounted for gender, age, region of residence and ethnic origin – and still skin color emerged as a pow- erful determinant of wealth and educa- tion levels. A second critique of racism in Mex- ico is that yes, it exists, but it is not as bad as in other places in the region, like Brazil or the United States. Our study runs contrary to that ar- gument. Among nations surveyed class households, attend- ing high performing schools, taking family va- cations, etc. Other camp participants came from extreme poverty. One young lady in particular had not attended school regularly since the flood. Her mother was on the verge of eviction. They had no water or utilities in their apartment. For- tunately the young lady was comfortable enough to tell us what was go- ing on. Our team was able to get her enrolled in school, purchase uni- forms, connect her fam- ily with job placement assistance, and recon- nect their utilities. Were it not for the camp this particular kid would’ve probably dropped out of school and eventually been homeless. TD: How does this pro- gram fit within your company’s work or mis- sion? QR: Our company is ob- viously very diversified in terms of its divisions and the products and ser- vices that we offer. The common theme across the entire organization is our commitment to giving back to the com- munities that have con- tributed to our success. The way we choose to give back is through building human capital. Investing in young peo- ple feels good from an individual standpoint, and it’s smart from a business standpoint. The return on investment is so significant that it’s vir- tually immeasurable. For more information about TransfHERma- tion, visit www.transf- hermation.com or follow the group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ transfhermation. in the Americas Barometer, Mexico ranks fourth in terms of the negative impact of skin-tone on an individual’s wealth, behind Bolivia, Uruguay and Ecuador. On the relationship between race and lower levels of education, Mexico moves up one spot to trail only Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago. Indeed, the sole place in the Ameri- cas where people of color seem to fare worse overall than in Mexico is Ecua- dor, where Americas Barometer data shows that having dark skin reduces educational achievement by one year more than it does in Mexico. This is in stark contrast to countries like Chile and Costa Rica, where race appears to have only a minor impact on wealth and education. Our analysis unambiguously dis- prove the notion that Mexico is some- how so mixed race — so mestizo — as to be race-blind. Quite to the contrary: Racism is a severe social challenge.
