By Amara N. Beaty, Voice and Viewpoint Staff Writer
A sunny Saturday, April 22nd, at Valencia Park Elementary is what set the scene for yet another successful year for the DETOUR Empowers F.A.N.C.Y. Teen Girls Expo. Over 200 girls from kindergarten to the twelfth grade were seen laughing and dancing, and the Southeast community definitely showed out to celebrate and uplift our incredible, beautiful and joyous young girls.
Girls adorned in afros and afro puffs, colorful box braids, beads and barrettes were seen all over Valencia Park’s blacktop. Music was played all day, setting the stage for tons of dancing, including the family-get-together classics the Cupid Shuffle and the Wobble.
“Events like these are needed in our community,” says a community member in attendance at the Expo. “They provide a safe place for our girls and our children to be themselves and, beyond that, resources for our kids and even ourselves.”
Workshops were set up throughout the day to encourage, inform, and support all of the girls from elementary to high school. There was also a parent-geared workshop that helped the adults to learn how to best support our LGBTQ+ youth.
The expo was jam-packed with over 40 vendors in attendance including the community favorite Write Juice Truck, the San Diego Fire Department and the ABC Youth Foundation.
DETOUR Empowers, spearheaded by Founder & Executive Director Tinesia Conwright, is a program that has continued to mentor our young girls of color, aiming for “equity and inclusion” for teens in higher education and priority sector employment. The Focused And Naturally Confident Youth (F.A.N.C.Y.) Leadership programs include Saturday’s annual Expo, their Leadership Academy, and Ambassador Internships.
The 2023 Teen Girls Expo was definitely a year for the books!
