TCLP launches the Shirley Chisholm Black Femme Leader Wellness Sistership
To commemorate the 100th birthday of Shirley Chisholm, The Chisholm Legacy Project (TCLP) is excited to announce the launch of the Shirley Chisholm Black Femme Leader Wellness Sistership, a personal and professional development award program to assist Black femme frontline leaders in climate and environmental justice. The recipients of this year’s sistership and each annual award thereafter will be announced on Chisholm’s birthday, Nov. 30.
The recipients were selected through a nomination process seeking leaders deemed to need a concentrated suite of resources at this juncture of their lives and work. Recognizing the entirety of Black femme leaders, this sistership will provide a range of personal and professional benefits deemed by the leaders to be critical to their wellness and success, such as a stipend, coaching, holistic security and virtual assistance.
“Providing resources to Black femme leaders in the environmental and climate justice movement is not just an act of support; it is a transformative step toward justice,” said Jacqui Patterson, Founder and Executive Director of The Chisholm Legacy Project. “Their voices carry the wisdom of resilience and the vision for an equitable future, where the power of community and the strength of frontline voices lead the charge against environmental inequities. But, more fundamentally, Black femmes deserve to be well. While their leadership is crucial for crafting solutions that address the systemic issues faced by their communities, Black femmes hold intrinsic value and dignity as humans. And yet, after laboring and sacrificing all day at great physical, mental, emotional, and financial cost to themselves, when they come home, there is nothing left for them. We must shift society so that our current reality becomes inconceivable. This Sistership is one small piece of justice that must now be scaled to universality.”
Stay tuned to TCLP’s social media channels for an official announcement of this year’s recipients on Nov. 30, and make a plan to join us on Monday, Dec. 2 for an awards ceremony!