On Juneteenth, GirlTREK Unveils a New App and Mission to Improve Black Women’s Health
The largest national health movement rooted in the needs of Black women introduces a new app and campaign focused on increasing life expectancy of Black women by 10 years.
On Juneteenth 2025 (June 19), GirlTREK will launch The Underground, a powerful new mobile app serving as both a digital sanctuary and an organizing platform. Inspired by the needs, leadership and legacy of Black women, the app promotes longer, healthier lives through daily walking, community support, and cultural connection.
This national rollout marks the beginning of Summer of Solidarity 2025, GirlTREK’s ten-week call to action that mobilizes over one million Black women to walk for what matters most. Across the country, women will walk in honor of their families, their communities, their health, and their futures. Every walk is a commitment to healing and a declaration that no woman walks alone.
“Black women are dying too soon and too often from causes that are entirely preventable,” said Vanessa Garrison, co-founder of GirlTREK. “The Underground is not just a response, it is a declaration of power, a sacred space we built with care and intention. Rooted in the legacy of our grandmothers, our aunties, and Harriet Tubman herself, this is more than a wellness app. It is a lifeline, a place to reclaim our time, restore our health, and reconnect with the joy that has always sustained us.”
The name The Underground honors Harriet Tubman and the legacy of the Underground Railroad. Tubman moved through underground channels of care to lead people toward freedom. This app follows that lineage by offering a space rooted in connection, joy, and survival. Users can log their walks, build walking crews, track their city’s progress on leaderboards, and listen to exclusive audio content that strengthens mind, body, and spirit.
The Underground is a unique offering in the tech world. There are no ads. No surveillance. No algorithms. Just a private, mission-driven space where wellness is not commodified and GirlTrek members can engage organically in ways that lead to deeper connection.
“We built this app with the same intention our grandmothers used to build their homes, their churches, their freedom movements,” said Morgan Dixon, co-founder of GirlTREK. “The Underground is not just tech. It is a digital sacred space and a rallying point. It’s a place where Black women can be together, care for each other, and remember that we are not alone. This is what it looks like when we design for our own survival and our own joy.”
Key App Features:
Solidarity Counter showing how many women are walking in real time
Walk Streak Tracker with milestone recognitions
Foremother Badges that honor Black heroines and offer digital and physical rewards
Crew Builder for local, interest-based, or private walking groups
Black Girl Walk & Talk audio rooms for real-time connection
On-demand content library including Self-Care School, Black History Bootcamp, Prayer Trek, and more
City and crew leaderboards to track collective progress
This launch follows the start of Self-Care School, a ten-week walking classroom rooted in GirlTREK’s Joy and Justice Agenda. Women completed daily podcasts, earned badges through consistent walking, and engaged in rituals like porch meditations and family reflections. Self-Care School was not a course. It was a movement.
Summer of Solidarity 2025
For ten weeks, GirlTREK will guide members through weekly activations rooted in ten demands for justice. Each week centers a core value such as healthy bodies, economic freedom, or land and housing. Participants will receive weekly reflection prompts, movement playlists, and storytelling opportunities through the app.
For more information:
About GirlTREK
With over one million members, GirlTREK has transformed walking into a daily practice of resistance and care. GirlTrek is the only national organization solely dedicated to helping Black women confront and heal from the three deadly I’s: inactivity, isolation, and injustice using walking, sisterhood, and radical self-care.
The movement reaches one in fourteen Black households and is on track to reach one in ten by 2026. Through national campaigns, neighborhood walks, and digital storytelling, GirlTREK is building a new public health model grounded in legacy, culture, and joy.
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