About the Film:

My Girl Story Documentary tells the stories of two African American girls from Detroit and their fight to become the young ladies they want to be.

To commemorate Women’s History Month during the month of March, My Girl Story LLC, producer of the My Girl Story documentary, is partnering with community organizations for an event that explores the importance of mental health care among Black girls and resources available to them and their families.

My Girl Story gives context to what the two girls featured, Monay and Shokana went through. And it gives context to what girls across the country are encountering today.

Through the documentary we hope to challenge the institutional and systemic barriers that prevent black girls especially those with disabilities from achieving their potential. We want girls to find their voice. We want to create change that will improve girl lives well into womanhood.

Immediately after the film screening, there will be panel discussion with the filmmakers.

This film is dedicated to all the black girls and girls with disabilities around the world, we see you!

Access Information: Live captioning and ASL will be provided during the panel discussion.

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We are grateful to our partners

Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition (DPOCC)

Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL), Department of Art Therapy and Counseling, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Access Living, Empowered FeFe’s

We’re grateful to our financial supporters

This event is brought to you by the Arts and Culture Project at Access Living, an independent living center for people with disabilities, Bodies of Work: Network of Disability Art and Culture, Shirley Ryan Abilities Lab, and the Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL), a teaching lab housed under the department of art therapy and counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

As a platform for creative disability art and advocacy projects, DCAL uses a peer support and collective care model in which disability community members from Access Living and art therapy graduate students collaborate as disability culture makers for social change. Bodies of Work is a part of the Department of Disability and Human Development within the College of Applied Health Sciences at University of Illinois-Chicago. “The contents of this film were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTCP0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this film do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.”

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.