OUR MISSION:
TO HELP BLACK girls uniquely and freely define, discover and become who they are.

In 2009, Shaleah Laché Sutton created UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT, INC. (UYS), the organization, and launched the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT for Girls, a one-of-a-kind annual forum in the greater Philadelphia region where hundreds of Black girls, ages 11 to 18 years old, engage in discussion and dialogue to address the complexities of being young, Black, and female in America. Since its inception more than 10 years ago, UYS has impacted thousands of Black girls through the work of its annual Summit and other programs.

In 2020, UYS became a national organization, reaching its intended demographic of Black girls in 30 states, including California, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma and Maine. In the same year, the organization, for the first-time, held its flagship program virtually for participants on November 13-15, 2020. Amid a global pandemic, the 2020 UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT celebrated, re-educated and loved on 463 Black girls while teaching them how to unpack racial oppression and patriarchy.

FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK GIRLS™

UYS was created to deepen the efforts of social change in the communities where Black girls live and go to school by aiding them in their understanding of their worth and of their specific, unique and individual purposes. Starting first with self-love and self-care. Then, with the intention of making their families, schools, communities, and the world better. 

our vision: 
EMPOWERiNG BLACK girls right where they are to go places they've never been.

THE WORK

1. INTEGRITY: We demand it for and from Black girls.

2. INDIVIDUALITY:  We cultivate, incite and celebrate individuality among Black girls in a society that tells them to conform. 

3. AGENCY: We aid (and advocate for) Black girls in their understanding of having choice - despite the many social factors of influence like class, religion, gender, race or ability. We want Black girls to have agency over their own lives and agency over their own bodies. 

4. INTERSECTIONALITY:  We introduce the ideology of intersectionality as we continue to deepen the understanding that Black girls have [of their] multiple identities. 

5. ERADICATION OF COLORISM & HAIRISM:  We address the unfortunate value assigned to skin hues and hair textures in the world, unpack the dynamics of what they mean socially, and encourage (and work toward) the eradication of colorism and texturism [through a deeper historical, cultural and social understanding of its roots in European standards of beauty] for the betterment of ALL Black girls.

6. RE-EDUCATION, HISTORY & THE TRUTH:  A re-education of who we are, what we are, and the history of where we come from, so that it positively shapes character and confidence for Black girls, as well as honors their identity and humanity.

7. SISTERHOOD: We nurture and galvanize oneness and solidarity in a culture that tells Black girls to compare and to compete with other black girls.

8. CELEBRATION: We affirm and celebrate the unique experiences of Black girls, and Black Girlhood, that are regularly left out of popular American culture.

OUR COMMITMENT TO BLACK GIRLS

• To see, love, and protect Black girls.

• To safeguard and preserve Black girlhood.

• To teach Black girls a proper knowledge of self.

• To encourage the importance of Black girls creating, having and experiencing joy.

• To create safe spaces for Black girls to heal, dream, imagine, build, and be.

• To help Black girls embrace & identify their individuality.

• To teach Black girls how to self-love and self-care.

• To teach Black girls how to care for, support, love on, and protect other Black girls.

• To help Black girls discover and use their unique and diverse voices.

• To aid Black girls in the development of life skills essential to building a powerful, healed, whole, healthy and unique self.

• To help Black girls [know they can] impact and create social & economic change, political change, and cultural shifts within their very own families, communities, schools, and the world.

• To create a clear pathway for Black girls to pursue education at the highest level.

• To build and educate articulate, brave, and outspoken young Black women leaders.

• To help Black girls understand and feel empowered enough to interrupt the singular expression of Black identity and beauty.

• To help Black girls unpack, understand and dismantle the pillars of patriarchy & oppression.

• To expose Black girls to phenomenal PEOPLE.

Shaleah [Sha-LEE-yah] Laché Sutton is a solutions-leader with a fierce commitment to the protection and advancement of Black girls. She is the proud founder of UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT, INC., an organization with a clear mission: to help Black girls uniquely define, discover and become who they are.

More than a decade ago, Shaleah launched the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT (UYS), an annual forum in the greater Philadelphia region where hundreds of Black girls, 11 to 18 years old, engage in programming and dialogue that addresses the complexities of being young, Black, and female in America. Since its inception, UYS has impacted thousands of young Black girls across the United States through the work of its annual Summit, as well as its online presence.

In 2020, UYS became a national organization reaching its intended demographic of Black girls in 30 states, including California, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Maine. In the same year, the organization, for the first-time, held its flagship program virtually for 463 participants on November 13-15, 2020. Known to invite phenomenal Black people to lead intentional and often healing dialogues, 2020’s messengers included actresses Yara Shahidi, Lyric Ross, Eris Baker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, as well as scholar-activist Dr. Yaba Blay, and internationally acclaimed Brazilian ballerina, Ingrid Silva.

Shaleah has fused her life and work experience to develop and build this needed platform. A platform she believes influences social change in the communities where Black girls live and go to school, through its aiding them in their understanding of their worth and of their specific, unique and individual purposes. According to Shaleah, “The Black girl’s journey and her experiences are unique to that of any other adolescent girl's journey and experiences. What we’ve created is not only safe space for Black girls, but it’s sacred space.” In January 2021 she created the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT Academy (UYSA), purposefully assembled virtual “Love & Learning Labs” to resemble the sessions of the annual Summit, and provide the regular engagement (and education) that the annual participants have desired over the last decade. She deems UYSA “a [weekly] place for Black girls to be at peace with themselves.” During the same year she also established the FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK GIRLS™ Summer Camp, a two-week virtual experience rooted in the joys of Black Girlhood specifically for middle school girls.

Over the years, she has expanded her commitment to Black girls by creating new platforms, like: Conversations #ForTheLoveOfBlackGirls, these discussions are peer-led and for high school aged girls. Here, they use their diverse experiences and voices to discuss the social and political disparities impacting their homes, communities, and schools. For Seniors Only!, a three-day special edition of the UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT, specifically designed to strengthen, support, and empower 25 graduating high school seniors as they enter college, and prepare to become women who are agents of change. The UYS Cover Girl Cohort— where ten to twelve girls serve annually as peer-mentors and peer-leaders, representing the organization as the official faces and voices of its yearly programming and initiatives. The cohort maintains the goal of helping them to become active, engaged, and influential global citizens, who believe they can transform not only their community, but the world. The #WhatIKnowNow fundraising event series, featuring notable leaders like Deesha Dyer and Sheryl Lee Ralph, that examines matters related to the Black woman’s experience. And, the FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK GIRLS™ Scholarship Fund, a need and academic based scholarship that lifts the economic burden for Black girls as they embark on their journey to pursue higher education. In 2020, the Scholarship raised more than $45,000, and close to $26,000 in 2021.

Shaleah has received numerous honors over the last decade for her efforts to enrich the lives of Black young women and girls.

In January 2018 she was featured on Forbes.com in an article entitled, “These Four Women Are Helping the Next Generation of Leaders Find Their Calling”. In 2017, she was honored with the YWCA Tri-County Tribute to Exceptional Women Mission Impact Award, and in 2016, the PECO Power to the Community Award. She is also the recipient of the 2014 Community Impact Award from Philadelphia mentoring organization, Developing in Excellence, and the recipient of the 2012 Community Service Award from the Pennsylvania State Senate’s 7th Senatorial District. In 2012, she was invited to be a workshop presenter at the 100th National Anniversary of the Girls Scouts [of Eastern PA]. In 2011, the Council of the City of Philadelphia awarded Resolution No. 110325 to her organization for its efforts to focus on “character education” as the best method to instill leadership values among young women. In the same year, she also received the Outstanding Young Leader Award from Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, and the Role Model Group’s 2011 Lady Leadership Honor for her commitment to leadership and excellence as a “real role model.” Shaleah is also the creator of two popular social media hashtags: #ForTheLoveofBlackGirls™ and #BlackGirlInspiration.

In 2018, Shaleah joined the Delaware Office of Women’s Advancement & Advocacy where she established for the new office its digital face and social presence. The Office was created to oversee the State's women's rights work, including leading the ongoing implementation of women's rights legislation, evaluating current women's rights legislation, building support for new legislation, and advising the Governor's Office, the Legislature, and the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources. During her short time with the Office, Shaleah was instrumental in reviving the State’s Hall of Fame of Delaware Women (2018 & 2019), an almost forty-year-old celebration and induction of remarkable Delaware women.

Eleven years later, Shaleah remains committed to the work, firmly believing that Black girls deserve more than what the world offers them. “UYS specializes in centering the Black girl. The UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT gives voice and validity to the Black girlhood experience. It is one of the safest spaces in the world for Black girls, even beyond our weekend convention. Bringing 500 Black girls together from around the nation is deliberate. We understand the influence that our program has on Black girls, how it heals and emboldens them simultaneously even while being left out of the national protest to humanize Blackness. We’ve seen it at work. We’ve seen it at work for a decade.” 

Shaleah is the proud mother of twins, Brandon & Island, both of whom are now college students. Shaleah holds a B.A. in Political Science from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA (2002) and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (“Sweet” Mu Pi 2000).