Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium Award $350,000 To Over 20 Organizations Across the South Through Black Girls Defense Fund

Resistance and Resilience grants support groups advancing safety, justice, and wellbeing for Black girls, women, and femme identifying youth in all 13 Southern states

SELMA, AL — The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium today announced the 2026 grantees of its Black Girls Defense Fund, awarding $350,000 in Resistance and Resilience grants to 24 community organizations working across the South. Individual awards range from $9,000 to $25,000 and reach organizations in all 13 states the Consortium serves: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The announcement comes just days after Juneteenth, a season of freedom and celebration, and arrives alongside the launch of the Consortium’s Joy and Justice Tour 2026 in New Orleans on June 26. The free, festival-style tour will travel to nine Southern cities through September, including a major event at the Virginia Capitol on Friday, August 21 with special guests Candi Mundon King, Secretary of the Commonwealth; Traci J. DeShazor, Secretary of Administration; and Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Both efforts reflect a single belief at the heart of Southern Black Girls: that joy is not a luxury but a strategy, and that protecting and celebrating Black girls go hand in hand.

The Black Girls Defense Fund supports grassroots and community-based organizations addressing justice, gender based violence, carceral systems, and restorative justice practices for Black girls, women, and femme identifying youth. The Resistance and Resilience grants provide flexible operating and project support at a moment when funding for this work has grown increasingly scarce. This year, Southern Black Girls received more than 225 applications representing over $4 million in requested support, a measure of both the depth of need across the region and the breadth of organizations doing this work.

“This investment is about more than dollars. It is about backing the people who show up every day for Black girls in their own communities,” said Chanceé Lundy, Executive Director of Southern Black Girls. “Less than one percent of the South’s $4.8 billion in philanthropic investment reaches Black women and girls. The Black Girls Defense Fund exists to close that gap and to make clear that this work, and these girls, are worth protecting.”

Among this year’s Defense Fund grantees is EveryBlackGirl, Inc., a Columbia, South Carolina organization founded in response to the assault of a Black girl by a school resource officer at Spring Valley High School. The organization advances the safety, leadership, and liberation of Black girls through community programming, leadership development, and restorative justice work.

“Receiving a Black Girls Defense Fund grant from Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium affirms our work to create safe spaces, expand opportunities, and advocate for the wellbeing, leadership, and empowerment of Black girls,” said Vivian Anderson, Executive Director of EveryBlackGirl, Inc. “It strengthens our ability to fight against the overpolicing of Black girls while providing culturally responsive and restorative justice training that helps raise awareness of bias experienced by Black girls within the school system. We are grateful to Southern Black Girls for recognizing the transformative impact of this work, especially as resources become increasingly limited. As we celebrate our 10 year anniversary, this award gives us hope for another 10 years.”

In addition, Southern Black Girls’ Joy and Justice Tour brings that same commitment to communities across the region with nine activation zones spanning arts and culture, health and wellness, STEM, advocacy and justice, education, and more.

The Joy and Justice tour carries the message that gives the season its spirit: you belong here.

The 2026 Black Girls Defense Fund grantees are:

  • EveryBlackGirl, Inc. (Columbia, SC)
  • Walk In It Inc. (Suffolk, VA)
  • Lustitia Aequalis Inc. (Raleigh, NC)
  • Deeds Not Words (Austin, TX)
  • Trans Women of Color Healing Project (Tyrone, GA)
  • Mama Toto Institute (Atlanta, GA)
  • The Hive Community Circle (Columbia, SC)
  • Justice for Black Girls (Arlington, VA)
  • KY Foundation for Black Women and Families (Lexington, KY)
  • Elaine Community Opportunity Seekers (Elaine, AR)
  • Khairi and Little Angels’ Memorial (Birmingham, AL)
  • Operation Taking Back 901 (Memphis, TN)
  • Reaching & Educating for Community Hope (RECH) Foundation (Jackson, MS)
  • Black By God (Princeton, WV)
  • New Purpose House (Houston, TX)
  • One Happy Mama (Gretna, LA)
  • The Beauty Initiative (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
  • For Lady’s Sake (Louisville, KY)
  • Greater Than Expectations (Dallas, TX)
  • Radical Registrars (San Antonio, TX)
  • Greenwood Community Center (Greenwood, MS)
  • New Beginnings Educational Center (Montgomery, AL)
  • SISTORIES (Charlotte, NC)
  • MH Boxes (Chester, VA)

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About Southern Black Girls

Founded in 2017, Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium invests in the joy, leadership, and wellbeing of Black girls, women, and femme identifying youth across 13 Southern states. The organization has directed more than $11.4 million to over 250 organizations advancing this movement throughout the region. To learn more about the Joy and Justice Tour, visit www.southernblackgirls.org/joytour.

Contact: For Media Inquires Only
Candice M. Dixon
Communications Manager
candice@southernblackgirls.org
(334) 394-3236