The Women’s Leadership Project (WLP) is a Black feminist mentoring, civic engagement, service learning and advocacy program designed to educate and train young middle and high school age girls of color, LGBTQIA+ and gender expansive youth in South Los Angeles to take ownership of their school-communities.

Since 2006 WLP has been based at South L.A. high schools such as Gardena High School, Washington Prep High School, King-Drew Medical Magnet, Dorsey High, Diego Rivera and Duke Ellington Continuation School.

Using a Black feminist humanist curriculum with a social justice lens, the WLP program is designed to empower youth to develop their own voices, self-identity, political agency, and healthy relationships, while promoting critical consciousness about and activism around sexual and domestic violence prevention, racial justice, gender justice and LGBTQIA+ empowerment to prepare for college, careers and community leadership. The WLP also sponsors the #Standing4BlackGirls coalition, which advocates for mental health, education, safe spaces and jobs for BIPOC girls and queer youth.

Creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Youth and Communities
Over the past decade, the number of individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ has increased dramatically in the U.S. Utilizing culturally responsive, intersectional best practices, literature and community engagement strategies, this course will examine local and national climate issues for LGBTQIA+ communities of color; center LGBTQIA+ perspectives; and provide practitioners with data, strategies, and resources to affirm positive mental health and social agency for LGBTQIA+ and gender expansive youth and adults.

Participants will:

• Learn about the sociopolitical climate that informs LGBTQIA+ lived experience.
• Become educated about key terms and language that amplify the diversity of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender performance, and gender expression.
• Participate in verbal and written reflection exercises that connect their lived experiences and cultural knowledge with social and gender justice advocacy and community engagement.
• Develop critical consciousness about the ways in which intersectionality informs their professional practice and stakeholder relationships.

Sessions will be offered multiple times throughout the year.