Rosa Thompson holds many titles in her life: founder and executive director of Black Girl Magic Educational Services Inc., educator, mentor, wife, mother and friend. A Madison native, Thompson feels very connected to the local community.
After getting her bachelor’s degree at Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black university, Thompson returned to Madison for her master’s degree in education at UW–Madison.
Upon returning to Madison, Thompson decided her goal was to do something to make the city a little better. She wanted to do something more for the community and started off by joining a program she heard about from a friend that supported Black girls in fourth and fifth grade. Through that program, Thompson saw a need to help engage the girls and their families in school and provide a supportive presence for Black girls. That was the start of the idea for Black Girl Magic.
Now, through Black Girl Magic Educational Services Inc., an organization dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for Black girls in Madison, Thompson hosts the annual Black Girl Magic Conference, a day-long conference for fourth through eighth grade Black, African American and multiracial girls. The conference is a celebration of Black girl joy, affirming the girls’ sense of pride and confidence in their intelligence, culture and abilities.
This year’s eighth annual Black Girl Magic Conference will be held on May 29 at Madison College, Truax Campus.
In addition to her role at Black Girl Magic, Thompson currently mentors first-year teachers in the Madison Metropolitan School District.
What do you think is the biggest challenge our community faces?
I think there’s a lot of amazing people doing amazing work in our community, and I think in terms of nonprofit work, it’s funding — it’s always funding. It’s a hustle to get funding to fund programs that you know can work, you know that the community needs and aren’t top-down but community-centered.
I think for our youth, access to quality programming is a huge barrier. Black youth programs in our community fill up so fast. I really think it’s super important for our youth to be involved in the community and be involved in programs that help develop them, because we know that our youth are our future and we want to see them grow. We want to see them spread their wings and do amazing things. Then in terms of societal issues—housing, jobs, health care—they all wrap into our well being, and if our families aren’t well, then our youth aren’t well, and then our society isn’t well.
What do you wish people in our community understood better?
I think that it’s important for people in our community to understand they should talk to the people who are doing the work. I think that’s important. I think that too often we rely on people who aren’t super connected to our communities to disseminate information. Talk to the youth, talk to the people who you know might not show up at your community forums and really find out what our needs are for our community, and really be engaged and listen.
What is one change you would make if you could that would make life better for people in our community?
I would like for our Black Girl Magic girls to have more Black educators in their schools. We have plenty of Black staff, but I think that our girls could really use teachers who look like them, understand them and are really pushing them to be their best selves without forcing them to conform to societal norms or making them code switch in their academics. We need more Black teachers who can see our youth as their authentic selves and accept them and celebrate them and support them through their educational journey as they develop into young adults.
What in our community gives you hope?
Our youth, for sure. They’re just amazing. I think it’s very lucky that in my role in education and in my role with Black Girl Magic, I get to spend a lot of time with the youth. I just get to talk to them and find out what they’re interested in, what they want to do and what their goals and hopes and dreams are. Our youth want a better world and our youth want to do amazing things. I think I am lucky that I get to play a small role in helping them discover those passions and those dreams and connect them to anybody who I know that can help them further those hopes and dreams. Really, our youth are amazing. I just talked with a group of seniors at East High School, and they all have big goals—they’re going off to college—and it’s just wonderful to see. It’s wonderful for our kids in Madison to be able to go to new places, and hopefully one day bring back all that they’ve learned to help our community grow and flourish.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
