Programs




Black & Female (B&F): What is the Reality?
Weekend Retreat is a training weekend for Black women and girls that provides them with historical analysis of oppressions, an opportunity to define and work through personal issues that are the result of these oppressions, and an invitation to join with other Black women and girls in a local support group to continue their movement to personal and collective wellness and political activism. Regional Black & Female trainings have been used as organizing tools since 1983 in developing the Bay Area, New York, and Atlanta.


Sisters & Allies (S&A) Leadership Project is a regional development group of Be Present. Black women, other women of color and white women come together on a regular basis in groups to explore the barriers that have existed between them. The women work together to increase their knowledge and understanding of the oppressions which have marginalized them and set them against each other in this society, and to forge new partnerships which support their personal and community empowerment. Using the BPEM, Regional S&A core groups organize trainings, workshops and retreats. Regional core groups are located in the Bay Area, New York and Atlanta, which also houses the Be Present national office.



Girls Leadership & Organizing Project. Be Present has a special commitment to girls and young women. Emphasis has been placed on organizing girls, ages 10-19, in peer-led support groups that provide them with the opportunity to know and appreciate themselves and each other, to improve their knowledge about other girls, to develop or enhance their leadership skills and to value their own thinking and voices.

The Project assists girls in organizing support groups that embrace their desire to know themselves better, to build stronger relationships among themselves, and with adult women, in order to create solutions that will allow them to overcome the negative effects of racism, sexism, and other oppressions, on their lives. Girls from all social, economic, and racial groups are brought together in communities.

National Train-The-Trainers brings leaders within the Be Present, Inc. network together on an annual basis to receive the next level of leadership training, to share knowledge and best practices, and to develop strategies for next steps.

National Institute on the Issues is an intensive 18-month training series that teaches how to merge the theories with the experiences and feelings that fuel difficult issues so that more comprehensive visions and strategies for social change may develop. The first Institute, in 2000 to 2001, brought together women from diverse racial, socio-economic, educational, and cultural backgrounds to explore Power & Class issues. The second Institute, which began in February 2003 and completed in September 2004, brought together diverse women and girls, men and boys to explore how Gender, Power & Class issues have an impact on our individual and collective effectiveness. A third Institute began in January 2005.

Mothers, Daughters & Sisters Banquet and Workshop is a special celebration centered around Mother’s Day. It is a weekend to honor and celebrate the powerful bonds between mothers and their daughters. The event begins with an evening banquet, followed by a day of open discussion where women and girls of all ages and backgrounds share their experiences as mothers, sisters, and daughters. This event is held annually in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by the Atlanta Sisters & Allies Leadership Project.

Mothers & Sons, Fathers & Daughters Weekend Retreat is an opportunity for the men and boys in our lives to join us as we work to understand and strengthen our relationships. At this weekend retreat, we ask the men who matter so much to join us in dialogues and activities that are designed to improve our understanding and communication. The weekend provides an opportunity to explore working together to nurture and sustain healthier families, communities and organizations.

 

 

 

Please check out the “What’s New” page for upcoming leadership development programs.