Yes, #BlackGirlMagic officially descended on Atlanta this weekend, at Blavity’s annual Summit21 (previously EmpowerHER) conference. The two-day event provided women with the opportunity to be hands-on with cultivating experiences to live their best lives both personally and professionally.
Mission accomplished.
Catering to a crowd of over 1500 black women from across the country, attendees had the option of selecting from three different learning tracts, including beauty, impact, and money, with each one aiming to help answer relevant and crucial questions on the minds of inquisitive and driven millennial women of color who are serving as change agents in their communities.
Panelists dropped gems at every session, some of which included: Securing The Bag: Managing Your Financial Growth, Limitless Living: Overcoming Yourself To Reach Your True Potential, How To Make Money Selling Digital Courses, Do And Don’t Of Raising Venture Capital and Maintaining Your Hunger: Cultivating A Career That Feeds Your Soul And Bank Account.
Through these fireside chats, masterclasses, and one-on-one opportunities with speakers such as Myleik Teele, Angela Rye, Sarah Roberts Jake, Tiffany ‘The Budgetnista’ Aliche, Karen Civil, Robin Thede, Ashley Blaine Featherson, and more, attendees left the summit feeling inspired, empowered and energized to not just dream big, but to hustle hard as well.
Here are a few gems from the conference that left us feeling ready to take on the world, and make smarter decisions in life, love, and our careers.
On Growth:
Don’t always feel like you should be further ahead then where you are. You are right where you are supposed to be at this very moment. You’ll never find out where you are supposed to be, if you hold onto where you *think* you should be. There’s something about releasing out things to make room for growth & new ideas. That’s the only way that God is going to give you newness. – Sevyn Streeter, Singer/Entertainer
On Individuality:
I learned being different very early, and I embraced that. My mom let me know that I can be myself in world that’s not really accepting, or really ready for me. – Karen Civil, Media and Marketing Strategist/Creator Of Live Civil
On Building:
“You were given two hands: one to battle and one to build. Our responsibility is not just to tear things down but to build new good things.” – Brittany Packyetti, VP, Teach for America, Co-founder, Campaign Zero
On Resonating:
You have to believe that you are good enough as you are, to resonate with people. A lot of people are focused on getting their content seen, but not getting their content felt. – Alex Wolf, Founder BossBabe Inc.
On Failure:
“Execution and failure is a part of the process. You have to accept that.” – Morgan Debaun, Blavity CEO
On Owning Your Glow:
Women who are really in their glow power own every aspect of themselves. For you to experience light and levity, you have to be able to be in the darkness. You start there – under the soil, before you even see something at the surface, the root system is established before anything comes out of the ground. That’s where faith comes into play. You believe in the light before you even see it. – Latham Thomas, Author and Celebrity Doula
On Finding Your Purpose:
There will be a time when it will all come back around. You can’t live at your highest frequency and your highest level if you’re not doing what you were called to do. – Ashley Blaine Featherson, Actress/Dear White People
On Leadership:
If you cannot be a leader of self, you cannot lead anything else. So if people ask you if you’re a leader, you say yes. – Jacqueline N Baker, Innovation Program Manager, AARP
On Entrepreneurship:
Long gone are the days where we have to ask for a seat at the table. I don’t want a seat, I want my own table. When you make your own table, you don’t have to do anything that’s out of alignment with the people you want to serve. – Tiffany Aliche, AKA The Budgetnista
On Finding Your Tribe:
You express your dreams to them, and they express their fears to you. That’s when I say, “bye.” You need to surround yourself with people who when you tell them your dreams, they say, “how can I help you get here?”- Robin Thede, comedienne and host of The Rundown With Robin Thede