"I wish I could give
 All I'm longin' to give
 I wish I could live
 Like I'm longin' to live' - Nina Simone

The season finale of The Girlfriend Kit: Ask A Colored Girl delves into the notions of grief and its impact on black girls and black women.  Vashti and DaSaint are joined by Reverend Dr. Leslie D. Callahan and get personal as only girlfriends can do to dive into this powerful subject.

Reverend Dr. Leslie D. Callahan serves as the first female pastor of St. Paul’s Baptist Church, a 119-year-old church located in the heart of Philadelphia.  Callahan, who was once faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, leads her congregation with a focus on advocacy and community activism and a womanist slant.  Born in the coal fields of West Virginia, Pastor Callahan studied at Harvard and attended Union Seminary soon after. From there she earned from Ph.D. in American Religions from Princeton University.  Pastor Callahan advocates for lives at the margins in her role as head of the historic church.  

We are your official “girlfriends”, in a kit, “because every colored girl should have a girlfriend.”

"Your light fills the darkest room
And I can see the miracle that keeps us from falling" - Sade

Are you a leader in your family?  Can you lead while maintaining a family?  Vashti and DaSaint investigate the push and the pull of it all with girlfriend guest Elizabeth Wellington.  Elizabeth Wellington is an Emmy award winning journalist and 20-year veteran in the news business. She writes features and columns on the intersection of gender, race, fashion, culture, politics, and wellness. She’s a sought-after expert on the impact of pop-culture on women’s health and well-being.  

We are your official “girlfriends”, in a kit, “because every colored girl should have a girlfriend.”

"Please don't call me on my bluff
Pay me what you owe me" - Rihanna

How do black women in leadership find love, self care and  purpose in the midst of doing the work?  How can we receive our orchard?  Vashti and DaSaint dive deep in with girlfriend guest Jeannine Cook founder of Harriett's Bookshop and Ida's Bookshop.   Harriett’s Bookshop, which opened in Fishtown in 2020, and Ida’s Bookshop, which burst on the scene in Collingswood, New Jersey, the next year, have garnered national attention.  The shops and their online counterpart offer a trove of literature written by women. Both stores serve as venues where authors give readings, musicians perform, and a choir sings the songs that Tubman used to convey urgent messages to slaves escaping along the Underground Railroad.

We are your official “girlfriends”, in a kit, “because every colored girl should have a girlfriend.”

“Comfortable in my skin
Cozy with who I am” - Beyonce

This episode digs into girlhood and colored girl bodies. Co hosts DaSaint and Vashti Dubois welcome Gordita Libre and they investigate their relationship to their body on life’s journey.  Gordita Libre is  a writer, specifically in love with poetry and poetic prose, a Spanish teacher, a lover of art and music and a woman committed to local and household activism. 

We are your official “girlfriends”, in a kit, “because every colored girl should have a girlfriend.”

“This will be an everlasting love This will be the one I've waited for” - Natalie Cole

How do we “reparent” the little girls that are carried inside?  Vashti Dubois and DaSaint dive in with Cassandra Bolding founder of Black Lotus Holistic Health Collective to chat about healing, boundary setting and “The Woman King”.  Cassandra is a global thought leader on implementing community-based approaches to destigmatizing mental health, enhancing gender equality programming, and promoting trauma-informed care.  Tune in!

The Woman King is a 2022 American historical action drama film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. Set in the 1820s, the film stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies. It is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.

We are your official “girlfriends”, in a kit, “because every colored girl should have a girlfriend.”

“We are family, I got all my sisters with me” - Sister Sledge

Can your sister be your best girlfriend?  DaSaint and Vashti Dubois kick off the season by exploring what makes a good girlfriend. They are joined by Page Turner, who drops many mics and jewels.  See what gets put into the kit this week.  Tune in!

We are your official “girlfriends”, in a kit, “because every colored girl should have a girlfriend.”