The screams echoed via the Milwaukee evening. Neighbors known as 911, uncertain what they had been listening to — however those that knew Desiree Harris say the sound nonetheless haunts them. Desiree was 31, a mom of three, and a domestic-violence advocate who labored on the Asha Challenge, serving to Black girls escape abuse. Her pals known as her “the sunshine in darkish rooms.”
However on July 31, 2022, that gentle was extinguished. Police say her accomplice shot her of their house — the very place the place she as soon as comforted others, telling them there was a manner out. It was a bitter and tragic irony: the lady who spent her days saving survivors couldn’t survive her personal state of affairs.
Her loss of life laid naked a brutal fact. Black girls in America are 35 % extra probably than white girls to expertise home violence and greater than twice as more likely to die by the hands of an intimate accomplice. Desiree’s homicide grew to become one other information level in a rising disaster — however to her pals and kids, she was greater than a statistic. She was a mom who believed love could possibly be protected.
And in Atlanta, that very same 12 months, in a modest Atlanta residence, Tamara, who requested to not use her final identify, crouched in a nook, her physique trembling. Her accomplice’s shouting had grown worse that week — the insults sharper, the threats darker. Along with her two little ones asleep within the subsequent room, she held her breath, praying he wouldn’t are available in and harm her. When he did, she curled inward, shielding her face, as years of ache and trauma wrapped themselves round her like a cloak she couldn’t take away.
For a lot of Black girls like Tamara and Desiree, home violence is not only a personal disaster — it’s a generational, systemic one. It’s rooted in financial pressure, isolation, and too typically, the burden of silence.
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A Disaster Disproportionately Felt
Home violence in the USA has all the time been a nationwide difficulty, however for African American communities, the burden is very heavy. Analysis exhibits that greater than 40% of Black girls expertise intimate accomplice bodily violence.
Financial stress is a strong driver of violence. Research spotlight how monetary insecurity, lack of secure housing, and restricted entry to companies entice survivors in cycles of abuse. In the course of the Nice Recession, for instance, Black people noticed a greater than threefold spike in domestic-violence–associated emergency room visits, underscoring how deeply poverty and financial collapse gas intimate accomplice violence.
And when Black girls are victimized, they typically face higher boundaries to in search of assist — from mistrust of establishments to systemic racism inside social service programs.
A Visionary Philanthropist Stepping Into the Mild
Into this darkness steps Simone Gordon, higher identified to her neighborhood as The Black Fairy Godmother. Because the founding father of The Black Fairy Godmother Basis, Gordon has constructed a lifeline for households in disaster — offering emergency help, housing, meals help, and academic sources to those that want it most.
Her journey is deeply private. She’s seen the intersections of poverty, race, and trauma, and he or she has made it her mission to uplift these left behind. Underneath her management, the inspiration operates not simply as a charity, however as a beacon: a reminder that compassion may be radical, and help may be structured to vary lives.
Purple Diamonds & Highly effective Beacons: The tenth Annual Gala
On Saturday, November 8, 2025, The Black Fairy Godmother Basis will host its tenth Annual Purple Diamond Awards Gala on the Brookside Banquet in Bloomfield, New Jersey. This night is dedicated to honoring those that use their platforms to uplift, rework, and heal.
The gala — powered by OX_Agency and Xtrends.io — will highlight leaders throughout leisure, activism, social justice, and philanthropy. SiriusXM character Jazmyn Summers of “Jazmyn within the Morning” and Kathleen Smith, founding father of Morphmoms, will co-host. Movie star stylist DivaMadonna Williams is the Purple Carpet host. Musical performances will embody rising stars Tiffany Evans and Chris Weaver.
Among the many honorees are luminaries akin to:
Sean Paul, Grammy-winning artist
Wendy McLendon-Covey, actress and activist
Stephanie March, SVU star and advocate
Larry Namer, media entrepreneur and founding father of E!
Sir Gary Sze Kong, philanthropist
Debra Antney, music government, producer and star of Deb’s Home
Michael L. Browder, neighborhood growth and STEM advocate
Joi’s Angels, a human rights group
Caribbean Challenge, an LGBTQ+ activist group
Persia Oliver, neighborhood organizer
Sandy Broadus, lawyer and human rights activist
KreditVerse and Kredit Koncepts, leaders in immersive schooling
A posthumous honor for the late trend icon Shavi Lewis
Outstanding visitors will embody Sedeck Jean, singer/songwriter; Shawn McClain, President of the NAACP; Jenni Mundell, Mayor of Bloomfield; and Mama Jones from From Rag to Riches, amongst others.
Sponsors of the occasion replicate the gala’s ambition and attain: KreditVerse, Dwelling Place Holdings, Inc., OX_Agency, Xtrends, Robert Wooden Johnson Barnabas Well being, Genuine Visibility Company, Wasa Water, GlamsenseDiva, Billie Mitchell PR, Melody Shari of Seventh Avenue Magnificence, and The 1Wine, with safety by High quality Safety Companies.
Why It Issues — Proper Now
In a time of rising financial precarity, rising prices, and widening inequality, the stressors that gas home violence are stronger than ever. For Black communities — already disproportionately burdened by systemic racism, housing instability, and under-resourced social packages — the stakes are notably excessive.
By elevating the voices of survivors and visionaries at its gala, The Black Fairy Godmother Basis is doing greater than handing out awards: it’s shifting narratives. It’s reminding us that philanthropy rooted in lived expertise doesn’t simply heal — it sparks change.
Simone Gordon’s work underscores a strong fact: the battle towards home violence is not only about rescue — it’s about prevention, empowerment, and restructuring the programs that too typically maintain survivors trapped.
The Black Fairy Godmother Basis is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based by Simone Gordon, devoted to offering emergency help, housing, meals help, and academic sources for households in disaster. Via compassion, advocacy, and neighborhood partnerships, the inspiration continues to vary lives nationwide.
For tickets, sponsorships, or media inquiries, go to www.purplediamondawards.org.
Article by Jazmyn Summers. You’ll be able to hear Jazmyn each morning on “Jazmyn within the Morning “on Sirius XM Channel 362 Grown Folks Jamz . Subscribe to Jazmyn Summers’ YouTube. Comply with her on Fb and Instagram.
