My Black is Beautiful (MBIB) announces the sponsorship of the 2013 United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Empower Me Tour (EMT), as part of MBIB’s “Imagine a Future” initiative to touch the lives of one million black girls. MBIB will host “Girl Talk: Strength in Sisterhood” workshops at eight of the tour stops to spur insightful discussions that will empower and educate the participants (8th grade – college freshman) to be their true best self by uplifting other young girls. In conjunction with UNCF, MBIB will also be awarding monetary scholarships to students amounting to a sum of $17,000.

“When we launched the ‘Imagine a Future’ initiative this summer, one of our goals was to provide resources to foster a greater sense of self and confidence within the next generation of young black girls,” said Verna Coleman-Hagler, Procter & Gamble, Brand Manager. “Our partnership with UNCF and the sponsorship of the Empower Me Tour, allows us to speak with these young girls about the challenges and realities of their lives, and provides solutions that will inspire them to connect with others. We want these girls to express their best and most beautiful selves and to build an even stronger community – for their future!”

The “Girl Talk: Strength in Sisterhood” workshops will be led by a panel of African-American media influencers. These women will engage the participants in a provocative discussion focusing on the epidemic of girl-on-girl bullying and black beauty insecurities, as well as examine images of black women in the media throughout time. With the use of personal stories, thought-provoking questions and vivid imagery, the panel will stress the importance of building strong sisterly bonds and empower participants to bring these lessons to their communities.

MBIB will be traveling with UNCF to a total of eight cities which include: Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Detroit, Hampton, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles. At each of the tour stops, MBIB will select a local not-for profit/charity organization focused on empowering the lives of young girls and invite their young members to attend the discussions. Each of these carefully selected organizations will receive a MBIB sponsored UNCF scholarship in the amount of 1,000 dollars for one of their members. Book award scholarships will also be awarded to workshop participants and the extended online community via www.facebook.com/mbib.

“The Empower Me Tour was created to empower young people to take an active role in their future and we are so thrilled to have a partner like My Black is Beautiful,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, executive director, United Negro College Foundation. “We care about the future of our students and want to make sure they are prepared with not just academic tools, but with personal development resources as well. Coming together with My Black is Beautiful to create the ‘Girl Talk: Strength in Sisterhood’ workshop is a perfect addition to the Empower Me Tour.”

Caption 1: Dr. Michael Lomax