GirlTrek: Empowering Black Women Unite to Tackle a Major Health Crisis.
GirlTrek motivates Black women to take a powerful step for their health with a daily 30-minute walk.
A troubling trend is emerging in the U.S.: as obesity rates climb, life expectancy is falling, with African American women facing the most significant decline. The American Heart Association reports that Black women are at a higher risk of dying younger due to related health issues. In response, Vanessa Garrison and T. Morgan Dixon founded GirlTrek, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Black women stay healthy and empowered through walking.
Dixon shared with CNN that the motivation behind starting the nonprofit wasn’t a passion for walking, but rather a crucial necessity.
It wasn’t about being walking enthusiasts or loving the act of walking. We started this initiative out of a need to save our own lives,” Dixon explained. “We wanted to avoid the same health pitfalls our mothers, aunts, and grandmothers faced. With 80% of us being overweight and that excess weight taking a disproportionate toll on our lives, we simply can’t bear it any longer.”
Founded in 2010, GirlTrek has grown to over 1,370,000 members by 2024, highlighting the increasing importance of staying active. Members across the U.S. have created their own walking teams, committing to a daily 30-minute walk—often with other women—to combat obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health issues.
Dixon and Garrison drew inspiration from the women of the civil rights movement to shape the goals and routes of GirlTrek’s walks. They also organize nationwide events that trace historic paths, such as the “100 Miles to Freedom” along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and the “Road to Selma,” retracing the historic Selma to Montgomery march.
GirlTrek’s expanding influence is especially crucial now, as recent research shows over half of Black women over 20 have heart disease, with this group also facing the highest stroke risk and 3 out of 5 being obese.
Garrison shared with the news outlet that she sees GirlTrek as more than a tool for better health—it’s also a way to challenge and change a “cultural mindset” to enhance overall quality of life.
Garrison told CNN, “We grew up in households where our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts always put themselves last, dedicating extra hours to their families. We adopted and even celebrated this behavior, making it our primary way of navigating the world and finding our identity in serving others.”
She added, “But it’s okay to prioritize yourself for these 30 minutes. By doing so, you’ll actually make your family and community stronger.”
She continued, “This is how you change a cultural dynamic—by establishing habits that get passed down through generations.”
GirlTrek supports not just physical health but mental well-being as well. Dixon has observed that many walking groups also serve as support networks.
“Women who feel isolated or are dealing with depression, anxiety, or stress can walk, talk, and unwind with friends. That simple act of slowing down together is truly transformative,” she explained.
The sense of community and empowerment rooted in Black history keeps GirlTrek members motivated.
Garrison stated, “We understand that when Black women walk, change happens, and we follow in the footsteps of that legacy.” She added, “By sharing this story, women see themselves in these historic figures—Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, Harriet Tubman—and they’re inspired by this heritage to start walking and drive change in their communities and within themselves.”
