Long Island Think Tank for Black Progress: Addressing the future of black girls on Long Island

Introduction: There is a dearth of scholarly work on the health of middle school aged black girls. The Long Island Think Tank for Black Progress (LITTBP) evolved out of a strategic meeting of policymakers, community members, leaders of community based organizations, along with researchers/practitioners, for the purposes of developing and implementing solutions for challenges confronting black girls and their communities. LITTBP is a successful CBPR partnership focused on addressing the physical, mental, social and educational issues confronting young black girls on Long Island.

Methods: Through a three-day convening, development of working groups and a series of black girl's leadership and empowerment summits, we're working to obtain the information necessary to develop a strategy brief.

Results: The strategy brief is a programmatic and policy relevant document that outlines a set of strategies for ameliorating the identified challenges and problems within the community. LITTBP has formed a board of directors, executive committee, 7 working groups and continues to work with a cohort of 50 black girls from across Long Island

Discussion: The girls are eager to learn new ideas and models that will help them navigate through life. They are forthcoming in terms of their needs and interests and are receptive to the information that LITTBP community partners have to share. The community and academic partners have expressed a strong commitment to continue to work with these young girls, even beyond middle school, thereby helping to provide a strong foundation for them and for the communities in which they reside.