The Black Girl Magic Museum, located in Dallas, has reopened its doors to continue giving Black women a safe space where they feel seen through an immersive experience.
Representation matters because when someone sees a person that looks like them being a trailblazer or in a position they aspire to be in, it breeds hope. And inspiring Black women is exactly what the founder, Dominique Hamilton, is striving to do with the BGMM. After noticing there wasn’t a museum that catered to women of color, she created the museum so Black women can have a permanent space that’s relatable, celebrates them, and leaves them feeling empowered.
“I remember my first internship was at Walt Disney World and just being able to see a space where people could come and celebrate then going to other pop-up museums and feeling like, ‘Wow, one thing missing in the market is black women,'” Hamilton told Blavity. “There was not a space at the time that existed where there was a celebration of black women and then to take it a step further, in the southern region you can’t really find, outside of Atlanta, a space that’s celebrating us in this compacity.”
BGMM originally launched as a pop-up in Nov. 2020 in Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex and eventually went to Shreveport, Louisiana in March 2021. They closed the door to both locations in Sept. 2021 with plans to reopen in June 2022 but were unfortunately scammed which caused a few obstacles, but that didn’t stop Hamilton’s mission. The BGMM’s new home for the next three years is a spacious suite within Red Bird Mall, which was intentionally picked.
“When I chose the space [Red Bird Mall], it was because Oak Cliff is 80% African American,” she shared. “My mom’s a single parent and there were times we didn’t have access to finer things so what I wanted to do was give our girls and our community something nice to come to and not put it so far away where it’s a burden or a barrier for them to be able to see. Our motto is if you can see it, you can believe it and you will achieve it, but if we have it so far out who are we really pouring into.”
Each exhibit in the museum highlights power players who impacted the culture along with honoring local Dallas celebrities who’ve made waves like Erykah Badu and hidden figures in the community to bring awareness to various topics. Visitors can expect to see more than 15 installations painted by local Black artists as a way to support talent in the area.
“I always pick things that are uncomfortable. Just like with Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson, we always say we have the advocacy part for Black women,” she said.” When they were unfortunately killed, we highlighted that. And with Arlana Miller, that was one of the things that were close to me.”
Hamilton continued, “I have always dealt with depression and anxiety my whole life. And last year, unfortunately, I had suicidal ideations in March. And then when May came around and I heard about Arlina, I knew that was something I had to push forward because if I’m suffering in silence, I’m the friend that’s always smiling and encouraging and no one knew that I was going back and forth with not being here anymore so I knew no other life could be taken without me moving forward and telling us we got to take off those masks and letting people know we’re not OK.”
The museum is open Friday through Saturday and during the week BGMM partners with organizations to provide essential programs for the community. Local businesses can rent the space to host private events as well.
“We’re able to see what our community needs so we curate programming based on whatever community we’re in to be able to give back. One of the things we saw in [the Dallas] community was our girls need spaces to be able to talk about mental wellness,” said Hamilton. So, we have a program launching in May that we will have workshops and after-school programming and through the arts be able to work on their mental wellness.”
The BGMM is set to expand to New Orleans, Houston and Atlanta to reach more women. The Louisiana location will open the last week of June, just in time for Essence Fest. Hamilton disclosed how she chooses what cities she wants the museum to travel to.
“We pick cities where we know there’s a huge presence of Black women with post-secondary education because that’s been our biggest support,” she added. “Our goal is to be able to become an anchor in certain cities. We don’t want to be everywhere.”
“Honestly, when I first started I wanted to be but I realize with impact, you can’t impact if you’re everywhere and that’s why we shifted from being a pop-up because you come and you leave and you just feel residue,” Hamilton said. “Our Black girls need safe spaces that are not just temporary. That’s my mission is creating space where it’s needed, being an anchor in the community and being able to offer programming outside of the space of taking pictures.”
For anyone wanting to visit, you can purchase tickets online. Each ticket includes a sweet treat and popcorn so as you’re taking your pics and learning your history you’ll be able to have sweet treats and snacks to take along with you.