GirlTREK Founder On Empowering Black Women Facing Job Loss

A simple action to heal their bodies, inspire their daughters, and reclaim the streets of their neighborhoods has become a movement for GirlTREK founders T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison.

At a single glance, one might think this organization is just a walking group; however, it’s much more than that. It has evolved into a life-saving sisterhood, one intended to transform Black lives, heal intergenerational trauma, and fight systemic racism one foot forward at a time.

With recent data showing that more than 300,000 Black women have exited the US workforce, and unemployment rates reaching unbelievable heights, many are experiencing burnout, instability, and a loss of confidence. This jarring reality has further inspired GirlTREK to remain constant in the community, providing the affected women with a safe space. 

Today, the organization has galvanized more than one million members. It has no plans of letting up anytime soon, especially in the current climate where Black women need community and support the most.

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“For me, it has taken on such an urgency that we have out there somewhere in the world, a million women who said ‘Yes,’” Garrison told Madamenoire in an interview. “Because right now, we need you all to raise your hands. We need every Black woman who ever said ‘yes’ to GirlTREK to raise your hands to be accounted for on the pavement, to be outside, lacing up your sneakers, walking, saving your own life, fighting against the stress, walking in your community. Do not let yourself go out like that, and that is why you are a part of GirlTREK.”

She added, “We are here to remind women. We are here to be our sister’s keeper. We’re here to tell you that we’ve got you. And so right now, I don’t know where all the million are, but I am telling you, please start showing up. Make sure you’re on GirlTREK.org, and make sure you’ve taken the GirlTREK pledge. We have a podcast, Black History Bootcamp. We have eight seasons, and there are 21 episodes. Listen and walk. We have a self-care school that we just completed. [It’s] 10 weeks, 50 powerful lessons that will save your life. And then we have an app that is being built. It’s called The Underground. It is connecting Black women to walk, talk, and solve problems together. Give them some grace because we’re building it as we go, but I want women on there, and I want them walking.”

Check out our full Q&A with Garrison below.

MadameNoire: Can you break down how you have seen Black women impacted by the current economic climate?

Garrison: “The job losses have hit our community really hard, from our staff to our members all across the United States, and even abroad [for women] who were appointed in federal jobs, working in aid. We have members who’ve lost jobs in the federal government. We have women who were small business owners, where it’s trickled down to them, because once people don’t have jobs, they’re not able to support small businesses.”

“We have people whose healthcare is in jeopardy, which is, of course, where GirlTREK feels like we can really support. It’s really unprecedented. I don’t want to say unprecedented, because the ancestors say that we’ve been here before, but it’s a real moment of hurt and pain for a lot of Black women.”

MN: What role would you say that economic stress plays in the overall health and wellness of Black women?

Garrison: “Significantly, Black women are, I think, more than 70 percent of Black women are caregivers, multigenerational caregivers. So they’re not just caring for themselves; they’re caring for children, elders, and also serving as the support system and lifeline for cousins and little cousins. And so we really live in a village mentality.”

“For us, it’s really about how we understand that the economic stressors are really impacting our mental health, our physical health, or spiritual health, it’s keeping our levels high. It’s keeping us up at night. It’s keeping us away from the doctor’s office. It’s keeping us from buying our medicine, because we don’t have money. It’s keeping us eating poorly because we can’t afford the healthy foods. It’s keeping us in the cakes and the ice creams because we’re trying to comfort eat. It’s a ripple effect that really impacts every single part of our lives.”

MN: What value do Black women place on work?

Garrison: “I think that we’ve been raised to value caring for others sometimes over caring for ourselves, and we have been raised to be self-sacrificial, and we have been raised to understand that we have to try twice as hard to be better than the next. We got our lip gloss popping, our baby hairs laid, our degrees on the wall, like, we just come so correct. Black women come so correct, but the pressure of that is so immense, and it takes such a toll, and we don’t have the spaces where we can let go.”

“Then we are also connecting every part of our lives to that is the value that we bring into the world, how much money we make, what degrees we have, how other people see us, how many likes we have on social media, if we gotta, you know, a partner, and the way that we step. It’s really all connected in a way where our work has been defined so much as why we exist, and so if it’s why we exist, then of course it’s going to be that we put all our value into work.”

MN: How can something as simple and accessible as walking serve as a form of self-reclamation or resistance if you’ve lost your job or are trying to find your way?

Garrison: “Walking is a wonder drug, and it’s the single most powerful thing that a person can do for their health, across the board, in terms of its impact on your physical, mental, and, I would say, your spiritual health. Right now, my heart is going back to every single one of those 300,000 Black women, and I am thinking about the fear that’s pulsating in their bodies. I’m thinking about the anxiety that’s gripping their chest. I am praying for them that they move through it physically, that they don’t let those emotions sit there, but that they really lean into walking as a tool that will move those emotions out of your body, and bring new emotions in.”

“And from that place of new emotion, there’s so much possibility, like in the metaphysical, I really believe that walking is a tool of transformation. You only need 30 minutes a day, and for those 30 minutes, some days it might be convening with the divine. Some days it might be listening to the new Cardi B. Some days, it might be affirmations to yourself. Some days it might be listening to nature, but whatever it is, take those 30 minutes, it’s going to be a prescription that keeps you safe and keeps you nourished and keeps you strong, so that you can survive the time that you’re in right now, which I just know is hard. I share testimonies with people because I believe that what they’re telling us is true: first of all, Black women are entrepreneurs. At what level? Second of all, the world needs us; they need new ideas and solutions, at what level?”

“They didn’t even know we’re dead in and into places of power and possibility, into new businesses that they’re going to launch, that are going to yield them financial wealth in ways that they don’t even understand. It’s hard to make sense of what’s happening in the world right now, because it feels like there is so much cruelty. I’m surviving this time by transforming my perspective and really leaning into the spiritual teachings of my foremothers who told me to hold on. We gotta keep walking.”

MN: Can you leave us with a message for Black women who currently feel stuck, unseen, or downright exhausted? Where does she start?

Garrison: “I want to tell all of those Black women that you are not alone. That, quietly, over the last 10 years a Calvary of sisters who live in your neighborhoods, who walk on your block, who go to your churches, who are in your parks and schools, who wear shirts that we call superhero blue, are waiting to welcome you into this sisterhood, and that you are worthy of 30 minutes a day to take care of yourself, and that’s as easy as lacing up your sneakers and walking outside of your front door. You can join us by going to GirlTREK.org and signing up. Once you sign up, we’ll send you a weekly assignment to get you going.”

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