A key experience from my time in high school was planning a #BlackGirlMagic panel for the student body. 

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As Vice President of my school's Afro Club during my junior year, I assisted in the planning the inaugural school-wide assembly to celebrate Black History Month. Fast forward to my senior year, as President of the club, I led the planning of our second-annual Black History Month assembly. 

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Our overarching theme for that year was highlighting and celebrating the beauty, strength, resilience, and successes of Black women, so myself and the other three club officers wanted our assembly to reflect this message. This led to our decision to present a panel of prominent Black women from our community to communicate what Black Girl Magic means to them and its overall importance. 

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The three women we chose for our panel was Clara Connor Petty, the executive director of a local neighborhood center; Diana Patton, founder of a women's empowerment initiative titled Rise Advocates® Academy; and Dawn Burkes, President to the Board of Education for one of the neighboring school districts. 

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The layout of the assembly included a short video that introduced the concept of Black Girl Magic. Then, myself and fellow officers sat with the panelists and delivered questions in front of the entire student body. Some of these questions included:

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"How has finding your Black Girl Magic contributed to you remaining authentic regardless of the space you are in?"

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"For anyone not familiar with code-switching, the Harvard Business Review defines it as adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, behavior, and expression in ways that will optimize the comfort of others in exchange for fair treatment, quality service, and employment opportunities. Code-switching has continued to be a strategy for people of color to navigate interracial interactions. Mrs. Patton -- how have you confronted this throughout your career as a speaker and author?"

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"What barriers to success have you had to overcome with respect to race or gender?"

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For the remaining 10 minutes, we opened up questioning to the student body. The students delved deeper into how the panelists walk in their Black Girl Magic through their career and personal lives. Following the assembly, we received instantaneous positive feedback from students, faculty, and staff. The common remarks was that the assembly was well-organized, insightful, and inspiring. 

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I truly loved being able to not only plan this event, but be on stage with these amazing woman, learn about their stories, and have a front row seat to their confidence and excellence. 

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With attending a predominately White high school, it was so important for me to always create and foster a space for the Black students to feel safe and celebrated, as well as educate my fellow classmates.  I like to think that this panel was an important stepping stone to making my school more inclusive by not only continuing the tradition of a Black History Month assembly, but presenting an interactive and personal way for my school to gain insight on the perspective and experience of its Black students. 

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However, the most important lesson that was solidified for me from delivering this assembly was that Black Girl Magic is subjective. It is an empowering sentiment to Black women around the world, but we each claim it as our own in different ways. 

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I continue to learn from the Black Girl Magic of other women and stand in my own, hoping that it will inspire more Black women to unapologetically do so.