By Southern Black Girls\Women’s Consortium
Photos: Southern Black Girls\Women’s Consortium
Selma, AL (March 20, 2025) — The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium (SBGWC) announces the opening of its Black Girls Defense Fund: Resistance and Resilience Grant Application, providing financial support to organizations fighting against dehumanization and protecting the fundamental rights of Black girls and women in the South.
With grants of up to $2,000, this funding opportunity is designed to strengthen community-led efforts addressing the unique challenges Black girls face that include adultification, dehumanization, and violence. Black girls are in need of legal support, protection, and advocacy in a world that robs them of their innocence as children.
A recent incident in Winter Haven, FL vividly illustrates the systemic dehumanization facing Black children today: police body camera footage captured a 3-year-old Black girl lying face down with her hands behind her back while officers approached her and her mother with drawn weapons. Despite her obvious innocence, officers treated this toddler like a suspect rather than securing her safety.The image of a terrified toddler saying “Please don’t kill us” is a stark example of adultification bias. Research consistently confirms that even those sworn to protect perceive Black children as older, less innocent, and more threatening than white children of identical age—a bias that criminalizes childhood itself and requires intervention.
“The persistent dehumanization of Black girls in our society has created a security crisis that demands immediate action,” said Chanceé Lundy, Executive Director of Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium. “When Black girls are viewed as less innocent, less deserving of protection, and more adult-like than their peers, they face heightened vulnerability across all systems—from education to juvenile justice to healthcare. The Black Girls Defense Fund supports those working to dismantle these harmful perceptions through advocacy, policy change, and legal support.”
“I’ve always maintained that if you change the life of a Black girl, you change the world,” said LaTosha Brown, Visionary Founder of Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium. “In the South, where Black women and girls have historically led movements for justice while receiving the least support, these mini-grants represent both recognition and revolution. The defense fund is our way of protecting, advocating, and continuing to fight for the innocence and freedom of our Black girls at a time when their basic rights are increasingly under attack.”
These mini-grants serve as catalysts for change, infusing resources into advocacy efforts where they’re needed most. They honor the powerful work Black women-led organizations are already doing while providing support that helps sustain their essential work during a time of increasing challenges. In an environment where funding for issues impacting Black girls and women is becoming increasingly restricted, even modest investments can make a significant difference. These mini-grants fill important gaps in resources, helping community leaders maintain momentum and address immediate needs while they pursue longer-term support. When we strategically deploy funds to grassroots organizations already deeply embedded in their communities, we help ensure that vital advocacy efforts for Black girls’ safety and wellbeing can continue uninterrupted.
The application period runs from March 20th through April 10, 2025. Eligible organizations must be working to support Black girls, women or femme identifying youth and operate in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, or Texas. Applicants must either hold 501(c)(3) status or be fiscally sponsored by another nonprofit organization. For more information and to apply visit www.southernblackgirls.org/bgdefensefund.
Since its founding in 2017, SBGWC’s work has been driven by the urgent need to counter narratives and systems that dehumanize Black girls and deny them protection, care, and opportunity. The Consortium is committed to addressing the significant philanthropic gap affecting Black-led organizations while building protective frameworks for Black girls’ wellbeing and advancement.
About Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium:
Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium (SBGWC) has been committed to fundraising and channeling greater resources to underfunded Black women-led organizations across the South. Founded in 2017 to address the fact that less than 1% of the South’s $4.8 billion in philanthropic investments reaches Black women and girls, SBGWC has already awarded $10.2 million to 220 Black women-led organizations and provided nearly $500k in grants to over 800 girls through initiatives like the #BlackGirlJoyChallenge. Operating in 13 southern states, the Consortium employs a participatory grantmaking approach that centers Black girls’ voices and experiences while supporting racial justice, education, health and wellness, economic mobility, and leadership development.
