ESSENCE Girls United Summit is Returning to Empower the Next Generation of Black Leaders

ESSENCE Girls United, the premier destination for young Black women, will host its third annual summit on Nov. 5 at the Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center in Atlanta, Ga.

ESSENCE Girls United (GU) is a multimedia platform that provides access, resources, and opportunities to a global audience of Gen-Z and Millennial women, empowering them to pursue and achieve their wildest dreams. The theme of this year’s summit is “Forever the Blueprint” — a celebration of Black girls and gender-expansive youth that continues to be the blueprint for progression, tenacity, and resilience. The Girls United Summit is brought to you by major sponsor The Coca-Cola Company®, along with supporting sponsors, SheaMoisture, Ford and American Airlines.

This year’s GU Summit will be hosted by Reginae Carter and feature panelists Aoki Lee Simmons, Jayda Cheaves, Kaleah Slay, Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd, Jessie Woo, Jamesa Bailey and more. Panelists will lead workshops and discussions throughout the day covering the crucial topics on most Gen-Z and Millennials’ minds, such as career paths, personal relationships, mental health, social activism, gender identity and more. For the third year in a row, GU Summit serves as a safe space for young Black women, girls, and gender-expansive youth to come together and fellowship about topics and issues that are impacting them the most, from cultural identity to education and reproductive rights.

“Our purpose is to always encourage and support the incoming generations of Black creatives and forward thinkers who both define culture and whose impact is significant to global culture,” Rechelle Dennis, co-creator of ESSENCE Girls United.

“The GU Summit allows us to connect and guide young Black women towards their goals with confidence, while creating a safe space for community building, empowerment and growth.”

This year’s GU Summit is making its return to Atlanta for a full day of panels, workshops and amazing activations including:

Slay Your Life: Tips and Tricks
The Reel You: Embracing Authentic Content Creation
I Am The Bar: Cultural Identity, Confidence & Hollywood
DND: Protecting Your Peace Through Black Girl Friendships
The Quickie: Speed Mentoring Sessions with corporate executives
Musical performance
Gaming station & tournament
Mocktail bar and food trucks
and much more!

Participants will have the opportunity to create and expand their network with other like-minded young Black women to support and empower each other as they pursue the pinnacle of their dreams and create an impact in their communities.

In the evening, ESSENCE Girls United will host an invite-only dinner sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company® and supporting sponsor Ford. Hosted by Coco Jones, the dinner will honor women who have continued to be the blueprint in the culture during unprecedented times and have excelled in their fields of education, activism, entertainment, content creation and entrepreneurship. Honorees include Trinitee Stokes (Education), Chelsea Miller (Activism), Olamide Olowe (Entrepreneurship) and Jayda Cheaves (Content Creation).

ESSENCE Girls United Summit can be attended in-person at the Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center in Atlanta, Ga. or virtually. To register to attend, visit GirlsUnited.ESSENCE.com/GUSummit2022 or join the conversation via social media on @ESSENCEGU and #GUSummit.