Community

GirlTrek is Changing the Health of Black Women Through Walking

Published

3 years ago

December 3, 2020

Kiki

I was first introduced to GirlTrek when founders Vanessa Garrison and T. Morgan Dixon hosted a live conversation with poet Nikki Giovanni and civil rights activist Angela Davis on FaceBook.

It was extraordinary to say the least.

Garrison and Dixon met in college and are now visiting professors in Harvard Kennedy School on Social Innovation at Harvard University.

Founded in 2010, the premise of the organization is simple: they are a health organization for Black women and girls in the United States. With their motto — ‘Take a Walk, Join a Movement’ – Garrison and Dixon encourage health through walking as the first step.

Per their website, GirlTrek.org: “Walking is the single most powerful thing a woman can do for her health,” according to Dr. Michael Evans. Heart disease is reduced by 50%; diabetes by 58%; dementia by 50%; anxiety by 48%; and depression by 47%.

They have reached their initial goal of having 1 million women walking and now are upping it to 2 million.

GirlTrek celebrated their millionth walker by having a block party on Facebook Live with D-Nice spinning and performances by India.Arie, Baby Rose, poet Aja Monet and Tawiah.

Girltrek participants can walk anywhere, indoors/outdoors, solo or in their neighborhoods, or in groups, socially distanced. There are GirlTrek chapters all over the U.S., including one in Oakland.

According to their web site, membership clearly has its benefits.

In 2019, 26% of GirlTrek members reported taking fewer medications; 61% had lost weight, 40% reported improvements from a previous health condition, and 98% of those diagnosed with depression reported that walking improved their symptoms.

And like almost anything involving Black women these days, GirlTrek is a movement, too, with a focus on education and voting.

They offer Black History boot camps via walking podcasts including a 21-day walking meditation that focuses on foremothers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm and Septima Clark.

(Hamer was known for speaking on nationwide television when white Democrats had excluded Blacks from representation at the 1964 Democratic Convention. Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress and Clark, an educator, who helped develop literacy programs instrumental in the enfranchisement of Black people in the South.)

Another component of GirlTrek is #Black Girl Justice League, a voter mobilization effort to get out the vote. The U.S. general election is over, the inauguration is set for Jan. 20, 2021, but there is an important election in Georgia on Jan. 5, 2021.

The Georgia senatorial run-off election has Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock vying to unseat the Republican incumbents, which would allow Democrats to gain control of the U.S. Senate.

GirlTrek offers merchandise on their site, including masks, T-shirts, hoodies, and more: For more information go to GirlTrek.org and you can sign up there, too.

Kiki

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

6 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

7 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.