Nine-city tour begins Juneteenth weekend in Jackson, MS; Black Girls Defense Fund applications due May 14

/PRNewswire/ -- Black women and girls in the South are enduring overlapping crises. In April alone, at least ten Black women were killed and eight Black children were killed in acts of gender-based violence. Black women face more than double the murder risk from men compared to white women, and they succumb to pregnancy-related causes at over three times the rate of white women - a gap widened by over 40 maternity care closures nationwide amid deepening federal health care reductions.

The Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium (Southern Black Girls) is countering these challenges with the 2026 Joy and Justice Tour, a nine-city effort delivering resources, healing, and joy to Black girls, women, and femme-identifying youth throughout the South. The tour kicks off in Jackson, Mississippi, during the city's Juneteenth Celebration.

"Joy has always been our strategy. But right now, joy is also our intervention," stated LaTosha Brown, Visionary Founder of Southern Black Girls. "With Black women dying at alarming rates, hospitals shutting down, and our girls facing adultification from childhood, delivering resources, connection, and love is essential - not optional."

Applications for the Black Girls Defense Fund are due May 14, 2026. This expanded grant program, offering $5,000 to $20,000, aids organizations focused on health and safety, justice, carceral reform, and restorative justice for Black girls, women, and femme-identifying youth in 13 Southern states. The fund tackles a lifelong pattern of harm: studies show Black girls endure adultification bias, viewed as less innocent and less worthy of protection, impacting them in schools, juvenile justice, and health care - cycles that persist into adulthood.

"We face a state of emergency," said Chanceé Lundy, Executive Director. "Whether from partners, hospitals, or shuttered labor wards, Black women in the South are dying at rates deemed acceptable. The Defense Fund empowers frontline workers driving change, while the Joy and Justice Tour integrates that work into communities."

The 2026 Joy and Justice Tour visits nine cities with free, open programming including interactive workshops, wellness sessions, community resources, live entertainment, and safety and advocacy tools.

June 18 - Jackson, MS
June 20 - New Orleans, LA
July 10 - Fort Lauderdale, FL
July 11 - Eatonville, FL
August 8 - Louisville, KY
August 21 - Richmond, VA
August 22 - Charleston, WV
September 26 - Columbia, SC
September 27 - Charlotte, NC

Anchored in the South, where under one percent of the region's $4.8 billion in philanthropic funding supports Black women and girls, the tour highlights critical gaps.

"Joy is not a luxury - it is strategy," Lundy emphasized. "Today, joy is our protection."

About Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium
Launched in 2017 by LaTosha Brown, Felecia Lucky, Alice Eason Jenkins, and Margo Miller, Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium directs philanthropic resources to groups prioritizing Black girls and women in 13 Southern states. Since inception, it has granted over $11.4 million to more than 250 organizations and distributed over $600,000 in micro-grants to over 1,000 girls via programs like the #BlackGirlJoyChallenge.

Contact: For Media Inquiries Only
Candice M. Dixon
Communications Manager
Candice.M.Dixon@southernblackgirls.org
(334) 394-3236

SOURCE Southern Black Girls & Women's Consortium