A new organization of Black women students called My Sister’s Keeper has been established on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
My Sister’s Keeper seeks to support Black women students, with social, professional, and mentoring relationships. To meet this goal, the organization has created “sister circles,” small groups of five or six students, staff, and faculty united by common interests. The circles are encouraged to meet regularly and share experiences together.
“We wanted something unique,” says Helen Elaine Lee, director of the MIT Program in Women’s and Gender Studies and founder of the initiative. “We hope to provide emotional and psychological support, foster kinship and community, strengthen academic performance, and cultivate engagement in social, political, and cultural matters beyond the classroom.”
Professor Lee, who graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School, added that “My Sister’s Keeper grew out of my effort to embody greater outreach and diversity. Black women at MIT all need ways to make community.”
