Idea went from text messages to supporting each other in real life
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Name
Eden Belle O’Neill
Hometown
Vancouver, British Columbia.
Age
17
Claim to fame
How many of you can relate to this?
You have this awesome idea in one of your group chats with friends.
Everyone is on board, but getting that plan into action seems like an impossible task.
Well, you can take inspiration from 17-year-old Eden Belle O’Neill.
After meeting young, Black teens like herself at a conference in British Columbia in 2023, a group chat was started.
The chat was titled Black Queens.
It was a place where the girls could talk about their successes or their struggles, such as dealing with their mental health.
The group didn’t want the conversation to end or to just stay in the texting thread.
So Eden, seeing the need for a safe place for sisterhood, took the plans from texting to reality.
In 2023, she started the Black Queen Collective.
The collective has hosted in-person, bimonthly meetups for Black teen girls to gather and discuss issues that affect them, such as mental health and positive affirmation.
“By empowering others, it kind of empowers myself and pushes me to do more,” Eden told CBC Kids News.
What is the collective all about?
Eden describes the Black Queen Collective as a sisterhood with focus.
During regular hangouts and events, the collective shines a light on issues facing Black teen girls.
Some members of the Black Queen Collective together at the launch event in 2023. (Image credit: black_queen_collective/Instagram)
Eden and her group of friends and volunteers have hosted workshops on mental health with Black therapists.
They learn about things like setting boundaries as young women.
The group has also gathered to have skating events or take trips to local art galleries to see Black artists.
It’s intended as a shared, free experience for all who attend.
Thanks to a grant Eden received in 2023, she’s able to pay guests like professional therapists for their time.
Eden’s impact
Both Alex Anokwuru, 17, and Raniya Reebye, 18, have attended the collective’s events.
After being inspired by Eden, they have even volunteered to help out.
When interviewed by CBC Kids News, Alex and Raniya spoke of how welcoming the events have been so far.
“During [Eden’s] panel discussions, the girls there seem to just open up and talk about personal problems or personal feelings,” said Raniya.
“It shows that the community she’s fostered is super, super understanding and comfortable,” said Raniya.
The Black Queen Collective has a deck filled with affirmation cards for members. Some of the cards read: ‘I am proud of my heritage’ and ‘I am filled with confidence’ and ‘I radiate Black joy.’ (Image submitted by Eden-Belle O’Neill)
Alex said the fact that Eden is a teen girl running these events makes them feel more relatable to everyone.
The Black Queen Collective “made me feel seen,” said Alex.
Raniya said that by attending Eden’s events, she has become more in touch with her emotions.
Highlighting an event where five Black therapists came to talk to the teen girls in the collective, Raniya said hearing her peers talk about emotions so openly was something she’d never experienced.
“You realize that a lot of things you feel like are your problems are actually everyone’s problems,” she said.
“When you hear these girls like talking so authentically … you get to sit in a circle with these random people you’ve never met and all of a sudden you’re talking about your emotions.”
Raniya said it’s helped her feel more confident in talking about how she feels.
From conferences to awards
Eden was invited to attend the National Black Canadians Summit in Montreal, Quebec, in early February.
There, in a speech to attendees, she highlighted her work for mental health support for Black teen girls.
In particular, Eden spoke about her experience in planning workshops centred around supportive spaces for girls to learn from Black female therapists.
Eden Belle O’Neill, second from right, speaks at the National Black Canadians Summit in Montreal, Quebec, in February about her work at the Black Queen Collective. (Image submitted by Eden Belle O’Neill)
Through her hard work, Eden was also the recipient of the Michaëlle Jean Foundation’s Power of Youth microgrant in October 2023.
With her successful application, the Black Queen Collective was awarded $5,000 to continue its work for Black teen girls in Canada.
Former governor general of Canada, Michaëlle Jean, right, stands with Eden Belle O’Neill at the National Black Canadians Summit in Montreal earlier this month. (Image submitted by Eden Bell O’Neill)
In an interview with CBC Kids News, Benazir Tom Erdimi, special projects officer with the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, said Eden’s drive and passion for helping others are amazing to see.
“The Black Queen Collective is so important because [Eden] saw a problem and immediately went into solution mode and she decided to launch that nonprofit to facilitate events,” Tom Erdimi said.
Eden’s advice for kids like her
As Eden prepares for university and hopefully law school, she plans to keep the Black Queen Collective going, regardless of where she goes next.
“I will take Black Queen Collective with me. It is a sisterhood and support system that can be transported anywhere.”
As for her advice for other youth wanting to make an impact?
She says to feel the fear of maybe not being good enough and to do it anyway.
“If you have even one thought that it’ll impact even one person, just go ahead and do it.”
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TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Image submitted by Eden-Belle O’Neill, graphic design by Philip Street/CBC
