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Own Your Brilliance
where math and culture meet
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Follows Us
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Where Black girls see math as their own.
A safe space for Black girls to recognize math as part of their brilliance & learn to own it.
Own Your Brilliance (OYB) offers culturally rooted, hands-on math experiences that center Black teen girls’ identities, stories, and creativity.
Young mathematicians explore real-world math tasks grounded in their cultural heritage. Through problem posing, problem solving, and open-ended exploration, students discover math as a living, relevant practice connected to their leadership, self-expression, and power.
"We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and will go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology. And there will always, always be mathematics."
Katherine Johnson
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Why OYB
Black girls carry a brilliance, creativity, and leadership that mathematics — and our world — deeply needs.
Yet from as early as age 7, many begin to internalize the idea that math isn’t for them. Studies show that by late elementary school, Black girls' confidence in math starts to slip, even when their abilities remain high. By high school, more than 70% of Black girls in general math classes report a negative math identity, and 86% don’t see how math connects to the careers they dream about — even when those careers are in STEM.
Too often, Black girls don’t see themselves reflected in math curriculum, aren’t taught by role models who look like them, and rarely hear affirming messages that their perspectives matter. Over time, these barriers don’t just limit math achievement — they narrow the futures Black girls can imagine for themselves.
Programs + Resources
Our Mission + Vision
How we do this work and why we do this work.
Mission
EMPOWER THROUGH COMMUNITY
To create safe, affirming spaces where Black teen girls can see themselves reflected and valued in mathematics; transforming it from a gatekeeper into a gateway for self-expression.
Vision
Black Teens & Women
OWN their BRILLIANCE in all spaces
We envision a generation of Black teens who know, deeply and unapologetically, that their voices matter, their ideas are powerful, and their brilliance belongs everywhere, from classrooms to boardrooms and from their communities to the world.
Through intergenerational networks grounded in mathematics, Black girls and women will uplift and inspire one another to OWN their BRILLIANCE in all spaces and use it to heal and transform their communities.
Our Values
HOW WE DO THE WORK
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We are in tune with how we view ourselves in the world.
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We author our own narratives.
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We do math in informal and formal spaces.
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We are a sister circle, a community of support.
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We value human connection.