Radical Daily Action with GirlTrek
What if lacing up your sneakers weren’t just an exercise habit, but a radical political act? That’s the premise of GirlTrek — the movement to help Black women and girls reclaim their health and their communities through a daily habit of walking.
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We sit down with Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison, the co-founders of GirlTrek — the largest public health nonprofit for Black women and girls — to talk about reclaiming space for rest and health, what it means to take daily walks in the steps of a Civil Rights legacy, and why Black women making s’mores in the mountains of Colorado is actually a tiny act of rebellion.
The most radical thing any woman can do, and particularly a black woman, is to slow her ass down. Slow down, stop running for other people’s praise. Stop running for other people’s approval. Slow down.
— Morgan Dixon, cofounder, GirlTrek
On the agenda:
- Why GirlTrek’s annual Stress Protest is a life-changing experience. “We are having a genuine spiritual experience on the top of a mountain that is fueled by the truth-telling of Black women who come there and vocalize that they are hurting, and then commit to claim space for themselves and their family.”
- How GirlTrek is creating a workplace that’s not built on hustle. “We have an offseason every year. That’s an annual sabbatical, essentially, that our entire team takes.”
- Why Black women particularly need self-care. “Two-thirds of black women engage in little to no leisure time physical activity…because we don’t have any leisure time. That’s why we don’t exercise on our leisure time, because we don’t have any leisure time.”
- How Harriet Tubman’s legacy inspires GirlTrek today. “She literally walked herself to freedom and saved her own life… And then she went back over and over again to get friends and family, which is what GirlTrek does.”
Plus: We’re in love with the idea of a company offseason. Fellesferie, 2020 y’all.
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