The Girls Are Alright: Examining Protective Factors of US Black Culture and Its Impact on the Resilience of Black Girls and Women

Abstract

An overarching narrative exists that the self-concept of Black girls is adversely impacted by the negative portrayals of Black Americans in the mainstream media. We assert that this mainstream narrative presents a deficit model account in which Black girls are perpetual victims of white racism. A more complete narrative, one that we offer in this essay, is that while the white patriarchal society has tried, through various means, to undermine the self-esteem of Black Americans, Black girls are healthy, confident, and full of belief in themselves, their beauty, and their power. We argue that much of the power exhibited by Black girls can be attributed to three crucial supports. First, the Black childhood facilitated by the Black family, Black spirituality or “Black girl magic” as it has come to be known in the mainstream, and sisterhood with peers and elders. We offer this counter narrative in order to challenge the predominate account but also to enable critical thought about the resilience Black girls possess, a magic wherein they engage in self-definition and see their worth despite society’s attempts to crush their souls.