About
Stephanie is a 19-year-old based in Richmond, Virginia, where her work centers the intersections Black feminism and womanism have with abolition, specifically defunding and abolishing the police. She has also worked with other Black youth to dismantle the youth prison system in Virginia, and to invest in restorative ways (resources such as conflict resolution, conflict transformation, art etc.) to address harm and violence. In 2017, she created Black Feminist Collective, and believes that Black feminism and womanism are essential to abolition.
A Conversation with Ruby Sales
By Stephanie Younger • At the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership (KGCCWL) Virtual Spring Conference, I had the unforgettable experience of interviewing Ruby […]
Read MoreThe Movement Fighting for LGBTQ+ Liberation in Ghana
By Stephanie Younger • Last week, we spoke with Fatima Derby, a Ghanaian feminist thinker, writer and organizer, who stands for freedom, justice and equality. […]
Read MoreNo One Should ‘Enjoy Things’ at the Expense of Black Lives
By Stephanie Younger • During an uprising in defense of Black life calling for the abolition of the police state and the carceral state, it […]
Read MoreWhat Alice Walker’s Definition of Womanism Taught Me in 2020
By Stephanie Younger • This article was re-published on Afroféminas on March 9, 2021 • 1. “From womanish. (Opp. of “girlish,” i.e. frivolous, irresponsible, not serious.) […]
Read MoreReview: Little Fires Everywhere
By Stephanie Younger • Little Fires Everywhere is a limited series on Hulu, based on the book the book authored and published in 2017 by […]
Read MoreBlack People Can’t Wait Every Four Years for Our Liberation
By Stephanie Younger • America is rooted in the anti-Black idea that our worthiness of being valued relies on how much labor we do for […]
Read MoreThe Fight For Black Lives will not be Palatable: On Co-Optation of Anti-Racism
By Stephanie Younger • 10 days ago, I climbed up the Robert E. Lee Statue at a protest in Richmond, Virginia – the former capital […]
Read MoreThe Movement that Cancelled R. Kelly
By Stephanie Younger • Content warning: This article has mentions of sexual violence. Could a hashtag topple the career of a popular artist? Hashtags have […]
Read More6 Ways I Have Faced Anti-Blackness By White Liberals
By Stephanie Younger • Each time white liberals have invited me to work amongst them in organizing spaces, it never took me too long to […]
Read MoreThe Backlash Against “Karen” Memes is Peak White Feminism
By Stephanie Younger • In late January, I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed during my break in between college lectures when I came […]
Read MoreHow Black Youth Have been erased From The Fight Against Gun Violence
By Stephanie Younger • Police shootings against Black people initially galvanized me into the work that I do, which eventually led into organizing for the […]
Read MoreWhy I am not “Voting Blue No Matter Who”
By Stephanie Younger • When I learned that 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden won 10 states on Super Tuesday on March 3rd, I couldn’t help […]
Read MoreHow Gender Stereotypes Intersect with Anti-Black Racism
By Stephanie Younger • This article was re-published on Afroféminas on March 9, 2020 • Do the ways we talk about gender stereotypes represent the […]
Read MoreThe Long Legacy of Anti-Blackness within the Mainstream Feminist Movement
By Stephanie Younger • This year, the Black Lives Matter chapter in Los Angeles, California was excluded by the Women’s March in LA. In an […]
Read MoreOn Texturism and Misogynoir
By Stephanie Younger • Beyonce’s 8-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter has been subjected to despicable acts of anti-Blackness, from petitions calling on her parents to […]
Read MoreAnalysis: The Impact of Policing on Black and Brown Mothers and Children
By Stephanie Younger • Are all people in America served and protected by the law? In the documentary, “Profiled – The Mothers of Murdered Black […]
Read MoreOur Liberation Must Be Centered In the Climate Justice Movement
By Stephanie Younger • I believe in womanism and the abolition of youth prisons. I also believe that climate justice is racial justice, and in this […]
Read MoreBlack Youth Have Been Combating Gun Violence for Generations
By Stephanie Younger • This article was edited and republished on Reforming America on April 2, 2019 • Nearly a year ago, I was given […]
Read MoreAn Open Essay About My Experiences with the White Moderate
By Stephanie Younger • In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote in his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion […]
Read MoreCreating our Own Tables: Why I am More Included in the Womanist Movement
By Stephanie Younger • Speech at Women’s March RVA + Expo 2019 • At an age where I was extremely self-conscious about the way I […]
Read MoreBlack Girls Must Matter at School
By Stephanie Younger • This article was re-published on The Melanin Diary on November 22, 2018 • My advocacy for the abolition of youth prisons […]
Read MoreHavana Chapman-Edwards on Student Activism and Black Girl Magic
By Stephanie Younger • This article was republished on The Melanin Diary • 7-year-old student activist Havana Chapman-Edwards (@TheTinyDiplomat) was the only student at her […]
Read MoreBlack Youth Standing for the Closure of Youth Prisons in Virginia
By Stephanie Younger • On Saturday, November 3, the Richmond community joined RISE For Youth, Art 180, and Performing Statistics, to “honor the voices, dreams […]
Read MoreFilm Review: The Hate U Give
By Stephanie Younger • The Hate U Give is a film based on the acclaimed YA novel authored by Angie Thomas. Directed by George Tillman […]
Read More“Lift Us Up, Don’t Push Us Out:” Art 180 Opens Exhibition About School Push-Out
By Stephanie Younger • Art 180 is an RVA-based organization that gives marginalized young people the opportunity to create change by expressing themselves through music, […]
Read MoreThe Movement Demanding Justice For Marcus-David Peters
By Stephanie Younger • Last week, I met Princess Blanding at an art build for the upcoming National March For Justice and Reformation for Marcus-David […]
Read MorePatrisse Cullors on Art, Intersectionality, and Her Memoir
By Stephanie Younger • On June 11, 2018, I had the unforgettable experience of meeting Patrisse Cullors, briefly after she accepted the “Next Generation Award” […]
Read MoreWhen Black Girls are Robbed of their Innocence
By Stephanie Younger • My painting in Art 180‘s gallery called “Everything is Connected” shares the online harassment I faced for acknowledging the Black youth […]
Read MoreNupol Kiazolu on Womanism and Empowering Black Youth in the Fight for Black Lives
By Stephanie Younger • The murder of Trayvon Martin ignited a fire within a then 12-year-old Nupol Kiazolu “that [she’s] never felt before.” “I couldn’t […]
Read MoreRichmond Protestors Demand Justice for Marcus-David Peters
By Stephanie Younger • This article was edited and re-published on the ACLU of Virginia on July 24, 2018 • Virginia, we have a problem. […]
Read MoreWhy I Walked Out on My Own
By Stephanie Younger • I am writing this as a Black student who was excluded from speaking at the Virginia National School Walkout Protest at […]
Read More20 Things Black Girls Should Never Have to Hear or Experience
By Stephanie Younger • The following list is based on my real experiences with misogyny, ableism and anti-Black racism, that I’ve written on a mixed-media […]
Read MoreIt’s Important to Listen to Black Girls in the Fight Against Gun Violence
By Stephanie Younger • This article was edited and re-published on the ACLU of Virginia on April 5, 2018 • Today, I spoke at a […]
Read MoreMarching For Juvenile Justice with Art 180, Rise For Youth and Performing Statistics
By Stephanie Younger • On the evening of Friday, November 3, 2017, hundreds in Richmond, Virginia participated in the Juvenile Justice Parade, calling for the […]
Read MoreRichmond Marches for Racial Justice
By Stephanie Younger • On August 11-12, Klansmen, and Neo-Nazis attended the Unite the Right Rally, a demonstration against the removal of the Confederate monument. […]
Read MoreBook Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
By Stephanie Younger • Originally published on HCPL TeenScene’s Read & Review • A 16-year-old Black teen who has witnessed the two fatal shootings of […]
Read More14 Black Girls, Women & Non-binary People Every Intersectional Feminist Should Know About
By Stephanie Younger • Many institutions fail to educate people about Black liberation and the feminist movement from the narratives Black women, Black girls and […]
Read More