About The Project
Let Black Girls Be Girls is a first-of-its-kind independent social impact campaign, created to honour the many expressions of Black girlhood in Britain. Moving between awareness and joy, the platform holds space for both the tenderness and complexity of the Black experience.
The campaign centres adultification bias and representation in the media — a racialised belief that often denies Black girls care, protection, and innocence. A 2017 Georgetown University study found that Black girls aged 5–16 are frequently perceived as more mature and less in need of nurturing than their peers.
Brought to life in 2024 by Martha Omasoro, as a means of authentically exploring a gathering of shared perspectives and lived experiences, the project is not intended to serve as an official or comprehensive resource on adultification, but rather as a cultural and creative exploration.
Through intimate letters from Black women and curated resources, Let Black Girls Be Girls exists as both archive and conversation to preserve stories, challenging narratives, and making room for Black girlhood in its fullness.
Resources
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Toolkit 2024 | Read more here.
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Let Black Girls Be Girls is a campaign by UK creatives Martha Omasoro and Eboni Lamine to raise awareness around adultification bias, a pervasive issue that affects how society perceives and treats Black girls in Britain.
Article by Getty Images, 2024.
Read more here.
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‘Let Black Girls Be Girls’ raises awareness of the adultification bias of Black British girls
2024 | Read more here.
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From Monday 26th August to Sunday 22nd September, a billboard campaign will be on display across London, Birmingham, Manchester & Bristol, in partnership with Build Hollywood. The campaign raises awareness of Adultification Bias by pulling out language, prejudices and behaviours of parents, teachers and general society from the perspective of young Black girls.
2024 | Read more here.
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The adultification of Black girls in the UK is a pervasive issue that systematically denies young Black girls their right to be seen, valued, and protected as children. Adultification bias describes a form of racial prejudice in which Black children, particularly Black girls, are viewed as more mature, self-sufficient, and less innocent than their white peers.
2024 | Read more here.