According to her family, 12-year-old Stormiyah Denson-Jackson loved to smile. Full of life, she enjoyed dancing, modeling, and was excited by math and science. Sadly, Stormiyah was also the victim of bullying by her classmates—often referred to as a “nerd” and routinely teased because of her academic interests. In January, Stormiyah was found dead in her dorm room at the SEED School in Washington, DC. It was ruled a suicide. Her family claims she chose to end her life because the bullying had become out of control.
Stormiyah is the inspiration behind the “A Wrinkle in Time Challenge” organized by the Sisters in the Storm collective. They are a group of black women across the United States, who are focused on community engagement work, specifically targeting black girls and non-boys. They use the term “non-boys” intentionally in order to be inclusive and affirm nonbinary gender identities. The purpose of their challenge is to raise funds to buy out theaters in eight U.S. cities so that black girls and non-boys can see the film A Wrinkle in Time for free and feel represented and affirmed—not just in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields but also in their blackness.
In their own words about this challenge, the collective states:
There is a narrow image of Blackness in the social imagination, mired with stereotypes and white ascendant ideals about Black intellect, capability, and mobility. For Black women and girls, beliefs, about our Blackness — how it is allowed to look, what it is allowed to achieve — can never be divorced from beliefs about our gender. There is a social stigma about challenging these expectations and permissions, and it constantly impacts our experiences in the world, but never more significantly than when we are growing up, learning who we are, and deciding who we want to become.
We can actively combat this stigma and the systems that keep it alive, and we can do so by being intentional with uplifting every #RealMeg [referrring to Meg Murry, a black girl who is the main character in the movie], both in and out of the classroom. Not simply by normalizing the image of Black women and girls in STEM, but also and especially in helping to cultivate pride in their Blackness. Encouraging a strong racial identity significantly and positively impacts not only the academic performance, but also the self-esteem of Black girls. With this encouragement, they are “more likely to be academically engaged, curious and persistent.”
One of the members of the collective, Dr. Roni Dean-Burren, talked with Daily Kos by phone about why this campaign is important and how it came about.
The women met online some time ago and sealed their friendship through an in-person visit to Houston in the fall of 2017 to celebrate Dean-Burren’s birthday. Though they had each been doing their own service individually, centered on black women and girls, it occurred to them that they could really be a force if they combined their efforts to do something bigger.
According to Dean-Burren:
“We were all excited about the movie A Wrinkle in Time , especially because we know how underrepresented black girls and non-boys are in STEM and how actively discouraged they are from pursuing these fields. We also heard about and were heartbroken by Stormiyah’s story. It was really the perfect storms of passion and our love for each other, combined with wanting to make sure black girls and non-boys have a sense of sisterhood, that this came about. We talked about how if we were 10 or 12-years-old how awesome this kind of thing would have been for us.”
One of the members of the collective, Leslie Mac, a longtime organizer and activist, had created a similar campaign in St. Louis, raising funds so that community organizers could see the movie Hidden Figures for free. And after seeing the success of campaigns which bought out theaters so that black children could see Black Panther, they came up with the idea to buy out theaters in the cities where each of them lives so that black girls and non-boys could see A Wrinkle in Time. The cities are: Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Greensboro, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Plainfield, New Jersey; and Washington, DC.
There is no formal application process in order to get tickets. Instead a form will be available online on March 1, and adults or a chaperone can sign up for a showing. One chaperone can bring up to five children. Each city’s list is being maintained separately by the sister (or member of the collective) in that city.
In just under two weeks, they have come very close to their goal of $25,000. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Ava Duvernay, the director of the film, took notice of their work.
When asked what’s next for the collective, Dean-Burren says they aren’t sure but they plan to continue their work. They have talked about buying out multiple shows if they surpass their goal. They have also talked about how they will meaningfully and thoughtfully engage with Stormiyah’s family, since her story is how this all began. She said:
“One of the women in the collective is an artist and is making some beautiful art based on her story. When its finished, we will reach out to them and ask how they would like us to use it. We have also been in contact with a friend of her family and are waiting to hear back. We would like to share with them what we are doing and what we have done but in the right way.”
Dean-Burren wants folks to know this one important thing about the collective, their work, and how this all came together.
“This all happened because we found our people. When you find your people there is so much power, safety and freedom in that.
Finding your sister circle cannot be underestimated. It is important to cultivate that. We really want to help more women, girls and non-boys to get to that place.
Together, we can literally conquer the world.
Foundational to this challenge, of course is the Go Fund Me campaign. But when you find your people and harness a collective sisterhood, what you can do is limitless.”
To contribute to the Sisters in the Storm “A Wrinkle in Time Challenge,” click here.