A “Black Girl Revolution” Ignites on Tumblr

Print magazines are a declining medium, and women of color are often underrepresented or excluded from publications other than Essence, Ebony and Sister 2 Sister. Millennial women are especially stricken by this erasure after the discontinuing of Honey, Suede and other magazines targeting women raised by and through the hip-hop era.

The Black Girl Revolution Project (BGR) is highlighting the void of millennial black women in mainstream magazines by advocating for the return of publications that address the complexities of girls and women of color.

BGR uses “digital scholarship” as a platform to honor the publications of the past and emphasize the progressive magazines of the future.

The manifesto reads in part:

“Because print media isn’t dead.

Because Ida B. Wells taught us that there was power in our pens.

Because the magazine is an art form, and art is a radical act of self-expression.

Because Alice Allison Dunnigan was a rebel.

Because, in its golden age, Honey Magazine was the “voice of the resistance.”

Ultimately BGR aims to answer the question: How can we create a sustainable monthly national consumer magazine for young African-American women ages 18-34?

The answer is complex, but millennial women need representation in the print magazine business. BGR is rising to meet the challenge.

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