Black Girls Build Inc

06/03/2026

CALLING YOUTH!📢

06/02/2026

Before the hammer, there was the pen.

Many people know our founder as a builder, but writing has been part of J.C. Sykes' journey since childhood.

We're proud to share this week's Tuesday Book Spotlight.

📚 15% of all book sales are donated to Black Girls Build Inc.

🌻 Peace & Love 🌻

05/26/2026

What began as a vision to expose more women and youth to skilled trades has grown into workshops, cohorts, mentorship, leadership development, literacy advocacy, and hands-on learning experiences impacting communities far beyond our own.

Led by a union-trained husband-and-wife carpenter team, our mission remains the same:
teach the skills,
share the knowledge,
and build lasting impact through real work.

Officially booking workshops, cohorts, speaking engagements, panels, and podcast appearances.

Black Girls Build Inc. was never created for appearances.
It was created to open doors. 🛠️💫

Serious inquiries only.
All trolls will be blocked immediately.

05/22/2026

🥰

05/20/2026

She was my firecracker child from birth out of all 4. 💥🖤

Fearless. Strong-willed. Protective. Determined. The child most likely to speak up, stand firm, and move with boldness even when others wouldn’t. Watching those same qualities grow into a woman who now protects and serves feels deeply aligned with who she has always been at her core. 👮🏾‍♀️✨

At Black Girls Build, we talk a lot about leadership, discipline, integrity, perseverance, and purpose. Sometimes those lessons are taught through building with our hands… and sometimes life reveals those lessons through the paths our children choose for themselves.

As a mother, there is no greater feeling than witnessing your child walk confidently in their purpose knowing the foundation was poured with love, structure, honesty, sacrifice, and intention. Nothing says THANK YOU MOST HIGH louder than the feeling of being a proud parent.

I’m proud of your determination.
I’m proud of your drive.
And I’m proud of the woman you continue becoming.🥲

Keep protecting. Keep leading. Keep standing tall. 🫶🏿

~MOM💐

05/19/2026

05/19/2026

PSA. 🛠️

One of the hardest parts of my work right now is not having a solid answer when women ask me:

“Where should I go learn?”

I used to answer that question with excitement and confidence. Now? I encourage people to do deep research before attaching themselves to any organization, program, apprenticeship, fellowship, or leadership team.

Research the people.
Research the environment.
Research the intentions.
Not just the branding, popularity, titles, or certifications.

This industry can be extremely performative.🎯

A certificate does not automatically equal skill.
A platform does not automatically equal integrity.
And community visibility does not automatically equal safety or support.

What hurts most is knowing how much we truly wanted to build something intentional and lasting in STL. We never came to compete or compare ourselves to anyone. We came to build, teach, create opportunities, and assemble a strong team.
In the future, our team will be comprised of genuinely passionate, skilled, and responsible people in the field or retired from the field. This will help us tremendously!

Unfortunately, what we’ve learned is that many people want attachment to the name, image, access, or visibility… but not the real responsibility, discipline, investment, accountability, sacrifice, labor, or pressure that comes with truly building something sustainable.

That reality has been heartbreaking to witness firsthand.

Still, we continue to move intentionally, protect our peace, sharpen our skills, and build anyway. 😉

~ JC

05/17/2026

Be Inspired!💪🏿🥰