February 18, 2025 • 28 mins
Danielle and Simone sit down with L’Oréal Women of Worth honoree Dr. Ni’Cola Mitchell, award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour. Dr. Mitchell shares her inspiring journey of turning personal pain into purpose, through her nonprofit organization which empowers young women — especially those from vulnerable backgrounds. From advocating for financial literacy to offering mentorship to girls who've survived traumatic experiences, Dr. Mitchell reveals how exposing young girls to new opportunities helps them discover their superpowers.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode includes mention of sexual assault and rape. Please
take care while listening.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hello Sunshine, Hey fam Today on the bright Side, we're
joined by doctor Nikola Mitchell. She's an award winning entrepreneur
and founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, a nonprofit that's
inspiring and empowering young women. They're going above and beyond
to make sure the next generation knows their voices are valued.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
It's Susey, February eighteenth.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm Simone Boyce, I'm Danielle Robe and this is the
bright Side from Hello Sunshine. This episode is brought to
you by Lareel Paris. We have a truly inspiring guest
on the show today. We're talking to doctor Nikola Mitchell.
She's the founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, which is
an incredible nonprofit making a real difference in low income
(00:49):
communities by sponsoring girls in foster care, sponsoring teen mothers
and women who have survived the sex trade. Doctor Mitchell
is also an executive producer, publisher, and writer. Her life
is a really powerful testament to perseverance, and she believes
that by exposing girls to diverse perspectives and empowering them
with different ways of thinking, they can all achieve success.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
And if that weren't impressive enough.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
She is a two time Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
She's earned the title of Forbes Change Maker, plus recognition
from several cities including Atlanta, Charleston, and Houston for the
incredible work that she's doing. We are so excited to
talk with her today, So let's bring.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Her in, doctor Mitchell. Welcome to the bright Side. Hey, hey,
with the hay girl.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Hey, I'm gonna have to.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Call you Nikola me come on, baby.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well you founded Girls Who Brunch to her nearly a
decade ago. Yeah, Simone, and I really want to hear
more about the program and the work you're doing.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Girls Who Brunch is an organization that focuses on girls
ages minned through seventeen e bringing girls rest from the
sex trade, girls in group homes, girls of foster care,
and I've put them with girls from a better circumstance.
I use the format of like sororities, that they all
become sisters as soon as they walk in no matter
what city, what country, that's now their new sister. And
(02:13):
as of date, we've service forty eight thousand girls worldwide.
We focus on stem training, human trafficking awareness. I'm adding
on Healthy Body and Hearts initiative this year come and
going forward, and I just try to like, let them
have fun. I bring in DJs, celebrities, performers, Let them
have fun. They're dancing the whole time and we're sublimely
(02:34):
teaching them.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
I love what you have on your Instagram, Nikola. You
say this is in your bio. On Igu say I
help young girls with a painful past find their purpose
and superpowers to change the world. Yes, ma'am, I know
that you come from a painful past too. How did
you turn that into purpose?
Speaker 4 (02:52):
For a long time, I was super embarrassed of everything
that happened to me, and a secret that I just
start telling people a few years ago that I used
to hate being called pretty. I was raped the first
time at church when I was fourteen. I was raped
multiple times after that by people that were supposed to
protect me, and they told me that the reason why
(03:15):
this was happening to me was because I was pretty. Right,
So for a long time I hated for anybody to
call me that. But after therapy forgiving myself or because
I felt that I was the problem, and forgiving them.
I learned that me sharing my story and me putting
it out there and letting people see that I've been bruised,
(03:37):
but I'm not broken. It has helped so many people.
Right Because I'll come in, I'll make sure I'm dressed up,
makeup done, I'm dancing with the girls. They'll read off
this long bio everything that I've done, and then after that,
I'll say that was raped the first time at church.
I've had my first daughter at fifteen, and it opens
(03:58):
up even the women in the world. There's even speakers
and whoever that was there that came up to me
and start crying or gone the mic and said what
they've been through. So I think it's healing and I
think it's a superpower. Right, once you figure out how
to turn your pain into purpose, nothing can hurt you.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
You know, the work you're doing gives young women opportunity
to build business development and financial literacy skills. I thought
it was interesting that those were two of the ones
that you highlighted. What about those skills in particular do
you think makes them so crucial for young women?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
A lot of times, girls, we're the forgotten ones. Right,
People put us in a little circle of what we're
expected to be able to do, and especially girls who
are from low income and disadvantage and situations. There are
sometimes a first generation people, girls who don't even have
parents who can tell them, you know, how to save
(04:53):
a dollar, how to start a business. Even myself, when
I first started my business, I had nobody I could
go to because I'm the actual, the first one who
started anything in this magnitude. So I felt that it
was important if I can give this to the girls
now right by the time they're my age, and I
always tell them, you're gonna be better than me because you're
getting all this great stuff. Now, by the time they're
(05:15):
my age, they'll be rock stars. And I have so
many girls who have businesses. On one of my babies
a Zobe. She has a doll line and Macy's and
Target Beautiful Curly Me. I have some girls who are actresses.
I have babies who are just cook chiefs. These are
some amazing rock star girls, and it's beautiful when some
(05:37):
of them started their business through girls who brunch. So
I think I'm just paying it forward and doing something
I think my mom wish she could have done for
me and some of their parents say it to me,
I didn't even know that they were good at this.
I think if we just expose them to these things,
they're become unstoppable.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I'm so glad that you told me about Beautiful Curly
Me because I need to get a birthday from my
friend's daughter.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
And this is so perfect. I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Yeah, she just started thirteen. She started with you as nine.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
That is wild.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I don't even want to think about the things that
I was doing at nine, because it was not creating
a business. That is so impressive. I know that being
teenager is just hard wherever you come from. When you
think about connecting with these teenagers.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
What do they need?
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Comebody, just to listen to them. A lot of times
they're just so angry, and because it could have been
a physical abuse, it could have been mental abuse, it
could be some type of bullying that's going on. But
moms and parents in this society are so busy, right,
they're working, they're going to school, they're doing all these things.
(06:46):
And a lot of times girls, especially teenagers, are more
bussed that to help with the house right and help
with the family, help watch your sisters and brothers. A
lot of times I just sit down with them. I
picked the quietest one of them, or the meaning is
looking one in the room, and I just sit down
with them and I asked them, hey, what's going on?
How do you feel? And I'll get on their nerves
(07:07):
a little bit, and I'm like, hey, I'm the boss.
You know this is dictatorship here. Once you came through
the door and not a democracy, You're going to do
these things. And the meanest baby by the end of
the day is hanging on me. Girl. I have so
many pictures of me carrying kids, a teenmate, you just
holding on me throughout the event. And it's just because
I'm just giving them some attention, the right attention and
(07:30):
a healthy attention. And parents don't even know because I
knew that's what I was lacking. I just need somebody
to listen to me. So I just try to think
about what did I need when I was a girl
and give it to these babies.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
It feels like we overcomplicate things so often it can
be as simple as listening to someone and how do
you think, how do you think these girls are misunderstood
either by their parents, by their classmates, or by the
world at large.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
A lot of the girls at ten girls who branch
your girls of color, And the sadness of it is
that African American girls, a girl of color period are
usually over sexualized and over criminalized. So their first expectation
of people when they see them is that they're bad.
They're not gonna listen like they're going to fight. And
so if you're being told that's who you are, right,
(08:23):
You're going to start acting out as such. I just
started this movement called Protect Black Girls. I protect all girls,
but I protect Black girls first because I'm a Black
girl and I'm always kicking indoors and doing things trying
to save these girls. And I think if people seeing
what they're the girls everyday life this, then they'll have
(08:44):
some form of empathy. I wrote a book called What
Was I Supposed to Do? And it was in the
day of a life of some of the girls, the
fictional story of some of the girls who I have helped,
and people cry when book club readings, They're like, this
is this is so harsh. I'm like, this is this
is their reality?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
This is the truth.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Yeah, this is their reality. What were they supposed to do? Now?
And that's just why God brought me here is to
be the voice of the voicelive.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
We need to take a quick break, but we'll be
right back. Stay with us and we're back. You mentioned
forty eight thousand girls that you felt like the ripple
effects of that, you're changing generations and families, and I
(09:36):
know we don't have the opportunity right at this moment
to talk about all of the success stories. I'm wondering
if there's one in particular that you can share, just
to kind of exemplify what the organization truly does.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
I have one. She is eighteen now. I got her
when she was eleven, and her and her mother had
a very tumultuous relationship. I was speaking in you, Indianapolis
at a library, and her mother brought her to this event.
It was a whole bunch of girls there, and she
stated that she didn't want her. So we fussed at her,
(10:11):
was like, what's wrong? You know? She was so hard
But that's all she needed again, that attention. So the
next time I was in Indianapolis a couple of weeks
after for an adult literary event, She's in the front
row and she had by the time we came back
again a month later, for girls to run. She was
there and she had a gift for me, and she
(10:31):
just attached herself to me. She calls me mom, y'all.
She even do TikTok saying I'm a real parent. And
I gave her a fad and she has been through
hell okay and again exposure showing her the right way
of how she's supposed to care for herself, why it
is important to go to school. And when she does
(10:53):
mess up, I was like, okay, because I'm so important
to you, right, I have to use me as weapon.
Oh are you safe? You're good? Okay, did you change
your attitude? Are you still doing the same thing? Okay?
All right, bye, hang up. She'll she talks about this
to this day. She's like, oh call it. She just
hang up over me, Like, okay, we'll get it together. Man,
(11:15):
it is a privilege to talk to me. But now
at eighteen, she's modeling full time. She graduated from school early.
She is the epitome of my success story because she
has been through hell and back and that baby is
still here and I am trying to teach her how
to now same thing as myself. Turn with the devil
(11:38):
memory bad and making it good because she has survived
so many things. She is my success story. She's amazing.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
You're not afraid to show them tough love. It sounds like,
oh no, ma'am, she says with a smile.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It sounds like the more that they've been through, the
more help you want to give them. I know a
lot of organizations do the opposite because they're like, oh,
this person's just too far gone.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Yeah, that was me. I was too far gone. I
was too angry. I was everything. I had two kids
at nineteen, I first started at fifteen. I was far gone.
And my mentor didn't give up on me. So because
he never gave up on me, I never gonna give
up on any of these girls. Did you ever ask
(12:21):
him why? I always did because I know I was
a mess. I was Oh my goodness. He used to
fuss at me, cuss at me everything right, and I'm like,
why are you leave me alone? Sir? But he's seeing
something in me. He put me an oratory classes at
a young age. So now I'm being paid to speak
(12:43):
full time now right. He invested in me in so
many ways I did not know was going to still
unpack me at my big age. So I feel like
every time one of these jokers do something, I'm like, okay,
II Lord, what is the lesson I'm supposed to get
out of this? And again, they just need some attention,
(13:04):
They need somebody to hear them and then also help
them get through it. On just because this happened to
you, you can't stay in it. So we got to go
to therapy and we got to do all these things.
We're going to get it so you could be a
functional adult.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
How do you talk to these girls about anger? Because
you have every right to be angry over what happened
to you, And I believe that anger can serve a purpose,
and I believe that anger can be righteous. So how
do you talk to them about that emotion?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
So everybody calls me mother Teresa because I have like
a soothing voice, I guess, and I'm always so nice
and so quiet, and even when I'm angry, this is
my tone. And I just show them a different way
to display your anger. I show them that it is
easy for people to tune you out if you're yelling,
(13:59):
if you're aggressive, right, But they can't tune you out
if you're matching them with the same energy, right, or
even if they're if they're in a high angry situation.
Some of these parents are cussing, yelling, whatever now is
the first thing you want to fight back? Right, No,
you gonna mess them up if you stay calm. And
I show them through myself how being calm have changed situations.
(14:24):
And I think sometimes leading by example is the best teacher,
because I show them all the time I'm angry. I'm
still angry my mother. I was angry at her for
a long time, but I had to learn how to
forgive her. And when you learn how to forgive people,
then the anger goes away and you'll have a sense
(14:48):
of peace. I teach them that allowing somebody to keep
you angry allows them to have the power over you.
So showing them that you are peaceful and that you
are amazing, Like I the what's the song called He's
a fan. He's a fan. They're not like us. I
go into the jails to girls who are sentence as
adults and there's a video of me krip walking right,
(15:10):
and I'm like, Okay, the people who got you here,
they're a fan. They're a fan. They want you to
stay here. They're watching you. So what's the best way
to revenge, showing them that you are better than they
show them. When you get out of here, what you do,
You're gonna get your GD you're gonna graduate, You're gonna
go to college, You're gonna do all these things right
because they're a fan. And so I have the girls
screaming at the top of their lungs. They're a fan.
(15:31):
They're a fan. All your hairs are fans, right, But
you just have to show them a different way how
to display the anger.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
I think what you said about showing them a different
way to fight is such a good lesson. There is
a twenty twenty three Lifetime movie that is based on
your life. Yes, it is called Giving Hope, The Nikola
Mitchell Story. Tatiana Lee plays you in the film. How
surreal was it to see this film come together? Child?
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Is still surreal because I'm alive. I'm young enough to
understand it, to see it, and I'm still living it.
It came from Laurel Paris, Woman of Worth. They did
media for us, right, and one of the outlets was
Reader's Digests, And as I was telling the story, like
(16:21):
I'm telling you guys, they stuck to the story of
my mentor so they did another interview about me and
my mentor, and so like any outlet, they'll take it
down and they'll refresh it. So when they refreshed it,
the producer from Lifetime found it like it was brand new,
and she loved the article. So she found me on
(16:45):
social media and stop me with no icon, y'all. So
if somebody reaches out to you with no icon, it's okay,
just you know, check it out. And she asked me,
can she make a movie about my life? And I
didn't believe it. I was so in shock. I did
not believe it. So one of my literary mentors, because
(17:06):
I'm a writer in real life, it's so funny when
I have to say that, Zane, she verified that production
company was Rial, and she was like no. So she
walked me through everything and obtaining my entertainment lawyer everything
to get the movie go to go to production.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
What was the aspect of your story that you were like, man,
they got to get this right.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
The brunch the premises of the story is why I
started Girls Wrough Branch and so we had nine scripts
that I vetoed that I was like, no, I don't
like this version. I don't like this version. But when
we finally agreed, and I'm also the executive producer on
the film, the only time thing I cared about to
be in Canada when they were filming was the brunch scenes.
(17:49):
And that's it because I wanted when any of my
girls from any country watched the movie, I wanted them
to say, that's a girl blatch and so they flew
my signs in that's all my signage. Everything rent was
authentic girls who brunch and they recreated the feel and
(18:10):
even the girls that they had as the extras who
attended the brunch, we made them feel like it was
a real girls who brunch because they didn't know who
I was at first. So when they were in their
dressing room, I went back there and I was like, hey, y'all,
I'm like, listen, we need to have energy. Da da
da da da. I was like period baby. When I
said it came out, it felt like a real brunch.
(18:31):
Tatana was dancing, and that was one thing I cared about.
After that, I can go home, So that's one thing
I cared about.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It must have really been a wild experience to see
your life portrayed on screen. Was there a part of
the film that was particularly exciting to see.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Oh all of it was particularly exciting, but it was
sad watching it. Oh wow, I really felt bad at
some points for her. Tatiana did such a good job
for trained me. We would be on zoone talking. We
actually look alike. We saw us sound alike. We have
(19:07):
the same family background. And seeing her become Nikola was beautiful.
And even Kiera the little girl played me as a
little girl. They did such an amazing job being me.
So it was more sad saying it. Proud of her
that she overcame a lot of things. And I was
(19:30):
embarrassed at first, why because I didn't know how people
were going to receive it. You know a lot of
times they blame you for being raped, they blame you
for things happening to you. You had a baby at
a young age. I was nervous about it. There was
one scene that I wasn't there for, but it was
(19:52):
beautiful that Tatsiana called me on the phone because she
did not like the way the producer that were still
there was trying to the direction they wanted her to
deliver it, and she didn't like the words that was
that were on the paper. So she was like, if
this happened, what would you say? And we were on
the phone, I'm leaving my godfather's funeral, And she rewrote
(20:14):
it and she delivered it the way that I would
have said that well, And that was the beautiful thing
about that movie, that whole experience. Everybody from the sound
everybody took me to the side at some point and
told me how the movie made them feel. But even
meeting me in person and seeing that I'm really that
person made them feel And it just made me feel
(20:37):
comfortable to leave when it was time to go.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I'm so glad you didn't feel betrayed by the story
that was told, because that happens sometimes too.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
I think that's why you need to become an executive producer.
I didn't know the power of it until I was
put into that position, even to the point of Tatiana
wearing braids for the first time in her life on TV.
You know, the integrity of me and the integrity of
the brunch was everybody's biggest focus, and I appreciate that experience.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
You're a loreal Women of Worth alumni, YESA and Danielle
and I had the chance to attend the Women of
Worth Awards last year, and it was an incredibly inspiring evening.
We were blown away by all of the nominees and
we also got to speak to the president of Lorel
Paris USA, Ali Goldstein, about the power of this program.
We want to hear about your experience. How did it
(21:28):
becoming a Woman of Worth Honore in twenty nineteen impact
your work.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
It was a beautiful experience when we got it, They
flew us into New York, they did all these things
we want to good more to America. It was just
like so beautiful and Ali was there when I got it,
and just everybody showed us so much love and care.
And Loreel does such an amazing job sharing about our
(21:53):
nah profits and they just always showed us so much love.
And to this day they still give me products every
event for girls who brunch, both sized products for these girls.
So I just always say, look at this organization and
see that there's people out there that love black girls too, right,
and it's just allowing them to see it as a
(22:16):
different light, like this isn't my swag ban. Lrel did
the whole sponsor my movie premiere tour that they had
us on with Black Girls Rock Las Vegas and Atlanta.
They've just supported me from the beginning. And I think
that love that I've gotten in a sense of family
is more important than the grant that we obtained at
(22:38):
that time, because they're still here in my life this
many years later, and I just received the Karen Fonding
Award and the Louveni Award, and which blew my mind
when Mss Karen called my phone, and that was just
another testament to me that LREL is really my family.
I belong with so many organizations and cohorts, I've never
(23:01):
experienced what I experienced with Loreel and anything else that
I've done.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Wow, it's beautiful considering that this program has been so
beneficial for you, What would you say to someone who's
thinking about nominating themselves or someone that they love you just.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
Know when you come in because I get people all
the time they ask me to nominate them, but they're
not doing the work. Because this is the best of
the best, right the lineup of the women of this
program we're going into twenty years is the best of
the best. So just know whatever you're doing is not
(23:36):
too small, because sometimes we feel like what we're doing
is not big enough. But just know when you get
in here and you're among the best of the best,
that you're going to be challenged to amplify even more.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
How do you live out the idea of because I'm
worth it in your day to day now?
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Being an abuse survivor, you always have to remind yourself
that you're worth it. There are days I've wake and
I feel like I'm not worthy. There's days that I
wake up and I get a phone call or experience
and I feel like I'm not good enough. I still
suffer from anxiety and an aposter syndrome. So reminding myself
(24:17):
that I'm worth it is the biggest thing for me
to this day. And once I remind myself and I
start showing it in the way that I walk and
I speak, it's always therapeutic for other people because when
they hear what I've been through, but they see the
joy in me because I know that I'm worth it,
(24:40):
even when that weight is on your shoulders to try
to bring you back. It is the most beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Absolutely, that's so well said.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
What would you say resonates with you most about Lorel's
Women of Worth program?
Speaker 4 (24:55):
The sense of family is what resonates with me the
most with this program. I have sisters on every class
and just hugging off the new honorees, loving on them,
but they have a question being able to answer the
questions because somebody has done that for me. It is
a real life sorority because everybody has your back. Everybody
(25:17):
is rooting for you. If there's something that you may
need and you they don't have access to it, one
of them probably have done it and have figured it out.
They'll give you that phone number, they'll give you that contact,
they'll put you on a call, and so it's just
the best sense of community with the women of the program.
(25:38):
But then on the added bonus are the people that
work for Laurel and it's just still family. So I
think that's what resonates with me the most.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
It's so funny that it's like it's always about the
people no matter what. It's never the money that accolades
when it comes down to it, it's always.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
About the people.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
One question before you go, yes, ma'am, if some of
our bright Side besties who listen to our show want
to volunteer with Girls who Brunch, how can they get involved?
Speaker 4 (26:06):
If you go to Girls who Brunchtour dot com. You
have to add the tour. At the end you can
go to connect with us. On that page, you can
click on being a volunteer, how to become a speaker
if you want to donate items volunteering. That's the most
important role the day of people that are helping, serving
the food, helping check the girls in making sure they
(26:29):
get to class, switching them from between the different sessions.
Those roles are the most important because you have direct
contact with those girls and that I think that's most
important than any speaker thing like that, because that's their
first sense of love when they walk in the road.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Doctor Mitchell, thank you so much for joining us on
the bright side.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
You really are so bright.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Thank you, Thank you guys. You guys are beautiful. This
was an amazing conversation. I am honor to be here.
So sweet, Hi, I just love seeing women do what
they want to do.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Amazing. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Doctor Nikola Mitchell is an award winning entrepreneur, executive producer
and founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, a nonprofit that's
helping young girls with painful past change the world. And hey,
if you know someone in your life that's deserving of
Lorel Paris's Women of Work program. Nominate them at loril
Paris USA dot com slash Women of Worth nominations clothes
(27:33):
on International Women's Day, MARCHI.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Tomorrow it's well On this Wednesday, we're breaking down everything
you need to know about microplastics with scientists and leading
expert in microplastics, doctor Heather Leslie.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
You don't want to miss it.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Join the conversation using hashtag the bright Side and connect
with us on social media at Hello Sunshine on Instagram
and at the bright Side Pod on TikTok Oh, and
feel free to tag us at Simone Boyce and at
Danielle Robe.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Listen and follow The bright Side on the iHeartRadio app,
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Speaker 3 (28:10):
See you tomorrow, folks, Keep looking on the bright side.
This episode includes mention of sexual assault and rape. Please
take care while listening.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hello Sunshine, Hey fam Today on the bright Side, we're
joined by doctor Nikola Mitchell. She's an award winning entrepreneur
and founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, a nonprofit that's
inspiring and empowering young women. They're going above and beyond
to make sure the next generation knows their voices are valued.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
It's Susey, February eighteenth.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm Simone Boyce, I'm Danielle Robe and this is the
bright Side from Hello Sunshine. This episode is brought to
you by Lareel Paris. We have a truly inspiring guest
on the show today. We're talking to doctor Nikola Mitchell.
She's the founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, which is
an incredible nonprofit making a real difference in low income
(00:49):
communities by sponsoring girls in foster care, sponsoring teen mothers
and women who have survived the sex trade. Doctor Mitchell
is also an executive producer, publisher, and writer. Her life
is a really powerful testament to perseverance, and she believes
that by exposing girls to diverse perspectives and empowering them
with different ways of thinking, they can all achieve success.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
And if that weren't impressive enough.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
She is a two time Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
She's earned the title of Forbes Change Maker, plus recognition
from several cities including Atlanta, Charleston, and Houston for the
incredible work that she's doing. We are so excited to
talk with her today, So let's bring.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Her in, doctor Mitchell. Welcome to the bright Side. Hey, hey,
with the hay girl.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Hey, I'm gonna have to.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Call you Nikola me come on, baby.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well you founded Girls Who Brunch to her nearly a
decade ago. Yeah, Simone, and I really want to hear
more about the program and the work you're doing.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Girls Who Brunch is an organization that focuses on girls
ages minned through seventeen e bringing girls rest from the
sex trade, girls in group homes, girls of foster care,
and I've put them with girls from a better circumstance.
I use the format of like sororities, that they all
become sisters as soon as they walk in no matter
what city, what country, that's now their new sister. And
(02:13):
as of date, we've service forty eight thousand girls worldwide.
We focus on stem training, human trafficking awareness. I'm adding
on Healthy Body and Hearts initiative this year come and
going forward, and I just try to like, let them
have fun. I bring in DJs, celebrities, performers, Let them
have fun. They're dancing the whole time and we're sublimely
(02:34):
teaching them.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
I love what you have on your Instagram, Nikola. You
say this is in your bio. On Igu say I
help young girls with a painful past find their purpose
and superpowers to change the world. Yes, ma'am, I know
that you come from a painful past too. How did
you turn that into purpose?
Speaker 4 (02:52):
For a long time, I was super embarrassed of everything
that happened to me, and a secret that I just
start telling people a few years ago that I used
to hate being called pretty. I was raped the first
time at church when I was fourteen. I was raped
multiple times after that by people that were supposed to
protect me, and they told me that the reason why
(03:15):
this was happening to me was because I was pretty. Right,
So for a long time I hated for anybody to
call me that. But after therapy forgiving myself or because
I felt that I was the problem, and forgiving them.
I learned that me sharing my story and me putting
it out there and letting people see that I've been bruised,
(03:37):
but I'm not broken. It has helped so many people.
Right Because I'll come in, I'll make sure I'm dressed up,
makeup done, I'm dancing with the girls. They'll read off
this long bio everything that I've done, and then after that,
I'll say that was raped the first time at church.
I've had my first daughter at fifteen, and it opens
(03:58):
up even the women in the world. There's even speakers
and whoever that was there that came up to me
and start crying or gone the mic and said what
they've been through. So I think it's healing and I
think it's a superpower. Right, once you figure out how
to turn your pain into purpose, nothing can hurt you.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
You know, the work you're doing gives young women opportunity
to build business development and financial literacy skills. I thought
it was interesting that those were two of the ones
that you highlighted. What about those skills in particular do
you think makes them so crucial for young women?
Speaker 4 (04:33):
A lot of times, girls, we're the forgotten ones. Right,
People put us in a little circle of what we're
expected to be able to do, and especially girls who
are from low income and disadvantage and situations. There are
sometimes a first generation people, girls who don't even have
parents who can tell them, you know, how to save
(04:53):
a dollar, how to start a business. Even myself, when
I first started my business, I had nobody I could
go to because I'm the actual, the first one who
started anything in this magnitude. So I felt that it
was important if I can give this to the girls
now right by the time they're my age, and I
always tell them, you're gonna be better than me because you're
getting all this great stuff. Now, by the time they're
(05:15):
my age, they'll be rock stars. And I have so
many girls who have businesses. On one of my babies
a Zobe. She has a doll line and Macy's and
Target Beautiful Curly Me. I have some girls who are actresses.
I have babies who are just cook chiefs. These are
some amazing rock star girls, and it's beautiful when some
(05:37):
of them started their business through girls who brunch. So
I think I'm just paying it forward and doing something
I think my mom wish she could have done for
me and some of their parents say it to me,
I didn't even know that they were good at this.
I think if we just expose them to these things,
they're become unstoppable.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I'm so glad that you told me about Beautiful Curly
Me because I need to get a birthday from my
friend's daughter.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
And this is so perfect. I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Yeah, she just started thirteen. She started with you as nine.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
That is wild.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I don't even want to think about the things that
I was doing at nine, because it was not creating
a business. That is so impressive. I know that being
teenager is just hard wherever you come from. When you
think about connecting with these teenagers.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
What do they need?
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Comebody, just to listen to them. A lot of times
they're just so angry, and because it could have been
a physical abuse, it could have been mental abuse, it
could be some type of bullying that's going on. But
moms and parents in this society are so busy, right,
they're working, they're going to school, they're doing all these things.
(06:46):
And a lot of times girls, especially teenagers, are more
bussed that to help with the house right and help
with the family, help watch your sisters and brothers. A
lot of times I just sit down with them. I
picked the quietest one of them, or the meaning is
looking one in the room, and I just sit down
with them and I asked them, hey, what's going on?
How do you feel? And I'll get on their nerves
(07:07):
a little bit, and I'm like, hey, I'm the boss.
You know this is dictatorship here. Once you came through
the door and not a democracy, You're going to do
these things. And the meanest baby by the end of
the day is hanging on me. Girl. I have so
many pictures of me carrying kids, a teenmate, you just
holding on me throughout the event. And it's just because
I'm just giving them some attention, the right attention and
(07:30):
a healthy attention. And parents don't even know because I
knew that's what I was lacking. I just need somebody
to listen to me. So I just try to think
about what did I need when I was a girl
and give it to these babies.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
It feels like we overcomplicate things so often it can
be as simple as listening to someone and how do
you think, how do you think these girls are misunderstood
either by their parents, by their classmates, or by the
world at large.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
A lot of the girls at ten girls who branch
your girls of color, And the sadness of it is
that African American girls, a girl of color period are
usually over sexualized and over criminalized. So their first expectation
of people when they see them is that they're bad.
They're not gonna listen like they're going to fight. And
so if you're being told that's who you are, right,
(08:23):
You're going to start acting out as such. I just
started this movement called Protect Black Girls. I protect all girls,
but I protect Black girls first because I'm a Black
girl and I'm always kicking indoors and doing things trying
to save these girls. And I think if people seeing
what they're the girls everyday life this, then they'll have
(08:44):
some form of empathy. I wrote a book called What
Was I Supposed to Do? And it was in the
day of a life of some of the girls, the
fictional story of some of the girls who I have helped,
and people cry when book club readings, They're like, this
is this is so harsh. I'm like, this is this
is their reality?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
This is the truth.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Yeah, this is their reality. What were they supposed to do? Now?
And that's just why God brought me here is to
be the voice of the voicelive.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
We need to take a quick break, but we'll be
right back. Stay with us and we're back. You mentioned
forty eight thousand girls that you felt like the ripple
effects of that, you're changing generations and families, and I
(09:36):
know we don't have the opportunity right at this moment
to talk about all of the success stories. I'm wondering
if there's one in particular that you can share, just
to kind of exemplify what the organization truly does.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
I have one. She is eighteen now. I got her
when she was eleven, and her and her mother had
a very tumultuous relationship. I was speaking in you, Indianapolis
at a library, and her mother brought her to this event.
It was a whole bunch of girls there, and she
stated that she didn't want her. So we fussed at her,
(10:11):
was like, what's wrong? You know? She was so hard
But that's all she needed again, that attention. So the
next time I was in Indianapolis a couple of weeks
after for an adult literary event, She's in the front
row and she had by the time we came back
again a month later, for girls to run. She was
there and she had a gift for me, and she
(10:31):
just attached herself to me. She calls me mom, y'all.
She even do TikTok saying I'm a real parent. And
I gave her a fad and she has been through
hell okay and again exposure showing her the right way
of how she's supposed to care for herself, why it
is important to go to school. And when she does
(10:53):
mess up, I was like, okay, because I'm so important
to you, right, I have to use me as weapon.
Oh are you safe? You're good? Okay, did you change
your attitude? Are you still doing the same thing? Okay?
All right, bye, hang up. She'll she talks about this
to this day. She's like, oh call it. She just
hang up over me, Like, okay, we'll get it together. Man,
(11:15):
it is a privilege to talk to me. But now
at eighteen, she's modeling full time. She graduated from school early.
She is the epitome of my success story because she
has been through hell and back and that baby is
still here and I am trying to teach her how
to now same thing as myself. Turn with the devil
(11:38):
memory bad and making it good because she has survived
so many things. She is my success story. She's amazing.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
You're not afraid to show them tough love. It sounds like,
oh no, ma'am, she says with a smile.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
It sounds like the more that they've been through, the
more help you want to give them. I know a
lot of organizations do the opposite because they're like, oh,
this person's just too far gone.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Yeah, that was me. I was too far gone. I
was too angry. I was everything. I had two kids
at nineteen, I first started at fifteen. I was far gone.
And my mentor didn't give up on me. So because
he never gave up on me, I never gonna give
up on any of these girls. Did you ever ask
(12:21):
him why? I always did because I know I was
a mess. I was Oh my goodness. He used to
fuss at me, cuss at me everything right, and I'm like,
why are you leave me alone? Sir? But he's seeing
something in me. He put me an oratory classes at
a young age. So now I'm being paid to speak
(12:43):
full time now right. He invested in me in so
many ways I did not know was going to still
unpack me at my big age. So I feel like
every time one of these jokers do something, I'm like, okay,
II Lord, what is the lesson I'm supposed to get
out of this? And again, they just need some attention,
(13:04):
They need somebody to hear them and then also help
them get through it. On just because this happened to
you, you can't stay in it. So we got to go
to therapy and we got to do all these things.
We're going to get it so you could be a
functional adult.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
How do you talk to these girls about anger? Because
you have every right to be angry over what happened
to you, And I believe that anger can serve a purpose,
and I believe that anger can be righteous. So how
do you talk to them about that emotion?
Speaker 4 (13:35):
So everybody calls me mother Teresa because I have like
a soothing voice, I guess, and I'm always so nice
and so quiet, and even when I'm angry, this is
my tone. And I just show them a different way
to display your anger. I show them that it is
easy for people to tune you out if you're yelling,
(13:59):
if you're aggressive, right, But they can't tune you out
if you're matching them with the same energy, right, or
even if they're if they're in a high angry situation.
Some of these parents are cussing, yelling, whatever now is
the first thing you want to fight back? Right, No,
you gonna mess them up if you stay calm. And
I show them through myself how being calm have changed situations.
(14:24):
And I think sometimes leading by example is the best teacher,
because I show them all the time I'm angry. I'm
still angry my mother. I was angry at her for
a long time, but I had to learn how to
forgive her. And when you learn how to forgive people,
then the anger goes away and you'll have a sense
(14:48):
of peace. I teach them that allowing somebody to keep
you angry allows them to have the power over you.
So showing them that you are peaceful and that you
are amazing, Like I the what's the song called He's
a fan. He's a fan. They're not like us. I
go into the jails to girls who are sentence as
adults and there's a video of me krip walking right,
(15:10):
and I'm like, Okay, the people who got you here,
they're a fan. They're a fan. They want you to
stay here. They're watching you. So what's the best way
to revenge, showing them that you are better than they
show them. When you get out of here, what you do,
You're gonna get your GD you're gonna graduate, You're gonna
go to college, You're gonna do all these things right
because they're a fan. And so I have the girls
screaming at the top of their lungs. They're a fan.
(15:31):
They're a fan. All your hairs are fans, right, But
you just have to show them a different way how
to display the anger.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
I think what you said about showing them a different
way to fight is such a good lesson. There is
a twenty twenty three Lifetime movie that is based on
your life. Yes, it is called Giving Hope, The Nikola
Mitchell Story. Tatiana Lee plays you in the film. How
surreal was it to see this film come together? Child?
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Is still surreal because I'm alive. I'm young enough to
understand it, to see it, and I'm still living it.
It came from Laurel Paris, Woman of Worth. They did
media for us, right, and one of the outlets was
Reader's Digests, And as I was telling the story, like
(16:21):
I'm telling you guys, they stuck to the story of
my mentor so they did another interview about me and
my mentor, and so like any outlet, they'll take it
down and they'll refresh it. So when they refreshed it,
the producer from Lifetime found it like it was brand new,
and she loved the article. So she found me on
(16:45):
social media and stop me with no icon, y'all. So
if somebody reaches out to you with no icon, it's okay,
just you know, check it out. And she asked me,
can she make a movie about my life? And I
didn't believe it. I was so in shock. I did
not believe it. So one of my literary mentors, because
(17:06):
I'm a writer in real life, it's so funny when
I have to say that, Zane, she verified that production
company was Rial, and she was like no. So she
walked me through everything and obtaining my entertainment lawyer everything
to get the movie go to go to production.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
What was the aspect of your story that you were like, man,
they got to get this right.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
The brunch the premises of the story is why I
started Girls Wrough Branch and so we had nine scripts
that I vetoed that I was like, no, I don't
like this version. I don't like this version. But when
we finally agreed, and I'm also the executive producer on
the film, the only time thing I cared about to
be in Canada when they were filming was the brunch scenes.
(17:49):
And that's it because I wanted when any of my
girls from any country watched the movie, I wanted them
to say, that's a girl blatch and so they flew
my signs in that's all my signage. Everything rent was
authentic girls who brunch and they recreated the feel and
(18:10):
even the girls that they had as the extras who
attended the brunch, we made them feel like it was
a real girls who brunch because they didn't know who
I was at first. So when they were in their
dressing room, I went back there and I was like, hey, y'all,
I'm like, listen, we need to have energy. Da da
da da da. I was like period baby. When I
said it came out, it felt like a real brunch.
(18:31):
Tatana was dancing, and that was one thing I cared about.
After that, I can go home, So that's one thing
I cared about.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
It must have really been a wild experience to see
your life portrayed on screen. Was there a part of
the film that was particularly exciting to see.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Oh all of it was particularly exciting, but it was
sad watching it. Oh wow, I really felt bad at
some points for her. Tatiana did such a good job
for trained me. We would be on zoone talking. We
actually look alike. We saw us sound alike. We have
(19:07):
the same family background. And seeing her become Nikola was beautiful.
And even Kiera the little girl played me as a
little girl. They did such an amazing job being me.
So it was more sad saying it. Proud of her
that she overcame a lot of things. And I was
(19:30):
embarrassed at first, why because I didn't know how people
were going to receive it. You know a lot of
times they blame you for being raped, they blame you
for things happening to you. You had a baby at
a young age. I was nervous about it. There was
one scene that I wasn't there for, but it was
(19:52):
beautiful that Tatsiana called me on the phone because she
did not like the way the producer that were still
there was trying to the direction they wanted her to
deliver it, and she didn't like the words that was
that were on the paper. So she was like, if
this happened, what would you say? And we were on
the phone, I'm leaving my godfather's funeral, And she rewrote
(20:14):
it and she delivered it the way that I would
have said that well, And that was the beautiful thing
about that movie, that whole experience. Everybody from the sound
everybody took me to the side at some point and
told me how the movie made them feel. But even
meeting me in person and seeing that I'm really that
person made them feel And it just made me feel
(20:37):
comfortable to leave when it was time to go.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I'm so glad you didn't feel betrayed by the story
that was told, because that happens sometimes too.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
I think that's why you need to become an executive producer.
I didn't know the power of it until I was
put into that position, even to the point of Tatiana
wearing braids for the first time in her life on TV.
You know, the integrity of me and the integrity of
the brunch was everybody's biggest focus, and I appreciate that experience.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
You're a loreal Women of Worth alumni, YESA and Danielle
and I had the chance to attend the Women of
Worth Awards last year, and it was an incredibly inspiring evening.
We were blown away by all of the nominees and
we also got to speak to the president of Lorel
Paris USA, Ali Goldstein, about the power of this program.
We want to hear about your experience. How did it
(21:28):
becoming a Woman of Worth Honore in twenty nineteen impact
your work.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
It was a beautiful experience when we got it, They
flew us into New York, they did all these things
we want to good more to America. It was just
like so beautiful and Ali was there when I got it,
and just everybody showed us so much love and care.
And Loreel does such an amazing job sharing about our
(21:53):
nah profits and they just always showed us so much love.
And to this day they still give me products every
event for girls who brunch, both sized products for these girls.
So I just always say, look at this organization and
see that there's people out there that love black girls too, right,
and it's just allowing them to see it as a
(22:16):
different light, like this isn't my swag ban. Lrel did
the whole sponsor my movie premiere tour that they had
us on with Black Girls Rock Las Vegas and Atlanta.
They've just supported me from the beginning. And I think
that love that I've gotten in a sense of family
is more important than the grant that we obtained at
(22:38):
that time, because they're still here in my life this
many years later, and I just received the Karen Fonding
Award and the Louveni Award, and which blew my mind
when Mss Karen called my phone, and that was just
another testament to me that LREL is really my family.
I belong with so many organizations and cohorts, I've never
(23:01):
experienced what I experienced with Loreel and anything else that
I've done.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Wow, it's beautiful considering that this program has been so
beneficial for you, What would you say to someone who's
thinking about nominating themselves or someone that they love you just.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
Know when you come in because I get people all
the time they ask me to nominate them, but they're
not doing the work. Because this is the best of
the best, right the lineup of the women of this
program we're going into twenty years is the best of
the best. So just know whatever you're doing is not
(23:36):
too small, because sometimes we feel like what we're doing
is not big enough. But just know when you get
in here and you're among the best of the best,
that you're going to be challenged to amplify even more.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
How do you live out the idea of because I'm
worth it in your day to day now?
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Being an abuse survivor, you always have to remind yourself
that you're worth it. There are days I've wake and
I feel like I'm not worthy. There's days that I
wake up and I get a phone call or experience
and I feel like I'm not good enough. I still
suffer from anxiety and an aposter syndrome. So reminding myself
(24:17):
that I'm worth it is the biggest thing for me
to this day. And once I remind myself and I
start showing it in the way that I walk and
I speak, it's always therapeutic for other people because when
they hear what I've been through, but they see the
joy in me because I know that I'm worth it,
(24:40):
even when that weight is on your shoulders to try
to bring you back. It is the most beautiful thing.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Absolutely, that's so well said.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
What would you say resonates with you most about Lorel's
Women of Worth program?
Speaker 4 (24:55):
The sense of family is what resonates with me the
most with this program. I have sisters on every class
and just hugging off the new honorees, loving on them,
but they have a question being able to answer the
questions because somebody has done that for me. It is
a real life sorority because everybody has your back. Everybody
(25:17):
is rooting for you. If there's something that you may
need and you they don't have access to it, one
of them probably have done it and have figured it out.
They'll give you that phone number, they'll give you that contact,
they'll put you on a call, and so it's just
the best sense of community with the women of the program.
(25:38):
But then on the added bonus are the people that
work for Laurel and it's just still family. So I
think that's what resonates with me the most.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
It's so funny that it's like it's always about the
people no matter what. It's never the money that accolades
when it comes down to it, it's always.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
About the people.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
One question before you go, yes, ma'am, if some of
our bright Side besties who listen to our show want
to volunteer with Girls who Brunch, how can they get involved?
Speaker 4 (26:06):
If you go to Girls who Brunchtour dot com. You
have to add the tour. At the end you can
go to connect with us. On that page, you can
click on being a volunteer, how to become a speaker
if you want to donate items volunteering. That's the most
important role the day of people that are helping, serving
the food, helping check the girls in making sure they
(26:29):
get to class, switching them from between the different sessions.
Those roles are the most important because you have direct
contact with those girls and that I think that's most
important than any speaker thing like that, because that's their
first sense of love when they walk in the road.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Doctor Mitchell, thank you so much for joining us on
the bright side.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
You really are so bright.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Thank you, Thank you guys. You guys are beautiful. This
was an amazing conversation. I am honor to be here.
So sweet, Hi, I just love seeing women do what
they want to do.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Amazing. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Doctor Nikola Mitchell is an award winning entrepreneur, executive producer
and founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, a nonprofit that's
helping young girls with painful past change the world. And hey,
if you know someone in your life that's deserving of
Lorel Paris's Women of Work program. Nominate them at loril
Paris USA dot com slash Women of Worth nominations clothes
(27:33):
on International Women's Day, MARCHI.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Tomorrow it's well On this Wednesday, we're breaking down everything
you need to know about microplastics with scientists and leading
expert in microplastics, doctor Heather Leslie.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
You don't want to miss it.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Join the conversation using hashtag the bright Side and connect
with us on social media at Hello Sunshine on Instagram
and at the bright Side Pod on TikTok Oh, and
feel free to tag us at Simone Boyce and at
Danielle Robe.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Listen and follow The bright Side on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
See you tomorrow, folks, Keep looking on the bright side.
Hosts And Creators
Simone Boyce
Danielle Robay
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