Instagram story viewer> @arciastokes> Posts

Arcia M. Stokes, Ed.D

@arciastokes

5.7K

followers

1608

following

📍Jersey
Dr. Stokes | 1908
Assistant Principal
Somewhere making ish pop! ✨
Founder @bgwc__ 🏃🏾‍♀️✨🤎
Owner @bgwc_studio 🌿
Matthew 5:16

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Today was the grand opening of my studio, and I’ll find the words to talk about that another day. But today, I want to talk about my heart. My best friend. My Yaya. 🥹❤️

As we walked from The Pillars to BGWC Studio, I looked up and saw Yaya standing there, and I immediately broke down in tears.

Yaya has raised me since I was a baby. She took me in when she didn’t have to. She loved me, protected me, sacrificed for me, and gave me a life I could have never imagined.

For years, I struggled with feeling unlovable. There is a particular kind of pain that comes with knowing the people who brought you into this world weren’t the ones who raised you. I spent so much of my life wondering why I wasn’t enough to be chosen.

But God gave me Yaya.

A woman who chose me every single day. Who never made me feel like a burden. Who taught me that love isn’t always about who gives you life, but who shows up to help you live it.

And today, at 93 years old, she stood there and watched the little girl she raised walk toward a business she built with her own two hands.

MY GOD. 😭

She lived long enough to see the fruits of her labor. To see her prayers become my reality. To see the little girl she protected become a woman who now creates spaces where other women can feel loved, safe, and held.

The very love she poured into me is the love I’m now pouring into the world.

I’ve earned degrees, received recognition, and accomplished things I once only dreamed of, but NOTHING compares to knowing that the woman who raised me is still here to witness it all.

Because before anyone saw anything special in me, SHE DID.

I don’t know how much more time God will give us together, but I thank Him that she got to see this day.

Today, people celebrated me for opening a studio. But I was celebrating the woman who gave me the foundation to build a life.

She took in a little girl who needed a home, and all these years later, that little girl grew up and built a home for other women who need somewhere to feel held.

This one was for you, Yaya. It has always been for you. ❤️ taken in Newark, NJ by @arciastokes

4k

251

8 days ago

Actually, it’s Dr. Stokes! 🎓🥹 taken in CURE Insurance Arena by @arciastokes

1k

128

2 years ago

Cause the days are short! 🪂 #skydive #fearless #14000feet taken in New Jersey by @arciastokes

443

61

a year ago

Hey, y’all! 🖤🥹

I JUST OPENED MY VERY OWN WELLNESS STUDIO IN DOWNTOWN NEWARK, NJ!

As a proud Newark native and founder of Black Girl Walking Club (BGWC), I cannot begin to explain what it means to open the doors to a space created intentionally for Black women, right here in the city that raised me.

Introducing BGWC Studio! 🖤

A beautiful, intimate wellness space where Black women can come to exhale, heal, move their bodies, build community, and simply BE.

We offer Pilates, yoga, Zumba, Afrobeats, meditation, sound baths, and massages, all led by Black women!

We even have a cozy lounge and library filled with literature by Black authors, because I believe healing doesn’t always have to involve movement. Sometimes it’s sitting on a couch, reading a good book, and having a moment where nobody needs anything from you.

Intimate by design. Intentional in every detail. Rooted in sisterhood.

I wanted to create the kind of space I wish more Black women had access to. A place where we don’t have to perform strength, explain our exhaustion, or apologize for choosing ourselves.

And now, that space exists. Right here in Newark. 🥹

I’m sharing a few pictures of our new home, and I would absolutely LOVE your support!

📍 81 Halsey Street, Downtown Newark, NJ

🖤 Follow our studio page: @bgwc_studio

📲 Download the BGWC Studio app to explore our classes and book your first visit.

🌐 www.blackgirlwalkingclub.com

Whether you book a class, share this post, tell a friend, or simply follow our page, every bit of support means so much as we grow this new Black woman-owned business.

We spend so much of our lives holding everybody else. I wanted to build a place where Black women could finally be held, too.

Welcome to BGWC Studio.

A space to be held. 🖤

📸: @amirballard & @janaexraquel taken in Newark, New Jersey by @arciastokes

135

8

a day ago

Year 3. Always us. ❤️ by @arciastokes

327

29

4 days ago

Sisters, we’ve walked a lot of miles together, but this may have been one of the most important walks we’ve ever taken. 🖤

We’ve walked for our health. We’ve walked through grief. We’ve walked in celebration, in solidarity, and in sisterhood. We’ve walked to remind one another that no woman should have to navigate life alone.

But on 10/10 at 10, we walked HOME.

Beautiful Black women dressed in black filled the streets of Newark, walking toward something we have spent years building together: BGWC Studio — A Space to Be Held.

And while the destination was 81 Halsey Street, the meaning of this walk was so much greater.

We were walking toward a future where Black women have more spaces to rest, heal, move, laugh, grow, and simply BE. Spaces where we don’t have to prove our worth or carry the weight of the world. Spaces created by us, with us, and for us.

Because BGWC Studio isn’t just another wellness studio. It’s an invitation to come home to yourself while finding community with women who are committed to doing the same.

Whether it’s Pilates, yoga, dance fitness, massage, meditation, or simply being surrounded by sisterhood, we want you to find something here that reminds you that you deserve to be poured into, too.

To every sister who has walked a mile with us, whether you’ve been here since our very first walk or joined us for the first time on October 10th, thank you. You are part of this story.

We started by creating a space for Black women to walk together. Now, we’ve created a space for Black women to stay awhile.

So, sisters, make BGWC Studio your home. Come as you are. Bring your whole self. There’s room for you here.

We’ve walked so many miles together. Now, we finally have a place to call home. 🖤

Special thank you to @rev_maria @newarkalliance60 @melvinsykes @_victoriatwalker rasjbaraka and our amazing contractor Damon. We would also like to thank @vernesa329_08 ✨🖤 Each of you played a major role in making this happen!

Another S/O to our board of fierce leaders @arciastokes @itsdrmeesh @dr.dejaljones @_loveandlysh @balasiamc @kaybooker @misstanaboo @luvbrittr 🫂✨

📍 81 Halsey Street, Newark, NJ taken in Newark, New Jersey by @arciastokes

118

7

5 days ago

For those who are new here, hi! I’m Dr. Arcia M. Stokes. ❤️

A proud daughter of Newark. A Black woman. An educator. A lover of music and the performing arts. A dreamer, and a woman who believes that a life well lived is one poured into others.

I hold a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, a Master of Arts in Voice Performance and Vocal Pedagogy, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music. I’m an Assistant Principal, the Founder of Black Girl Walking Club, and the proud owner of BGWC Studio.

But beyond the degrees, titles, and accomplishments, I’m simply a girl who loves deeply, dreams unapologetically, laughs loudly, and believes there is something sacred about bringing people together.

And if you know anything about me, you know Yaya is my heart. ❤️ The woman who raised me, loved me, and showed me what unconditional love looks like. So much of who I am and what I pour into this world began with her. She is my greatest blessing, my forever home, and the heartbeat behind so much of what I do.

I have a deep affection and admiration for Black women. For our brilliance, our beauty, our tenderness, our creativity, and the extraordinary ways we continue to show up for ourselves and one another. I love us in all our fullness. Not just for what we accomplish or how much we carry, but simply for who we are. I believe Black women deserve spaces where we don’t always have to be strong, where joy is abundant, rest is sacred, and being ourselves is more than enough. So much of my life’s work is a love letter to us.

Everything I build is an extension of that love. My love for my community. My love for the arts. My love for creating spaces where people feel seen, celebrated, and held.

I believe in God, the beauty of becoming, the power of sisterhood, and the responsibility we have to leave this world a little better than we found it.

I don’t want my legacy to simply be a list of things I’ve accomplished. I want it to live in the people I’ve loved, the doors I’ve opened, and the lives I’ve touched.

So, welcome to my little corner of the world. 🖤 by @arciastokes

182

4

6 days ago

All my love to @bgwc__ & @bgwc_studio & the incredible community we’ve built in my hometown… Nork! 🖤✨

📸: My God Dad @amirballard taken in Newark, New Jersey by @arciastokes

364

22

7 days ago

This wrecked me. Thank you @findingmelissa 💚🙏🏾 taken in New York, New York by @arciastokes

50

2

19 days ago

One thing Yaya taught me how to do was pray with fervor.

Today, I needed that lesson.

I was feeling discouraged because there is still SO much to do before the grand opening of BGWC Studio. Then someone asked me what my “strategy” was behind a business decision.

So I went to the studio and prayed.

I prayed for every woman who will walk through those doors searching for healing, community, rest, or simply a place where she doesn’t have to be strong.

I prayed for instructors who have more than credentials..I prayed for women with hearts for people.

And I prayed for me.

For wisdom to make the right decisions. For discernment. For provision. For protection. For doors to open that no man can shut. And for the strength to steward this vision without losing myself in it.

Then it hit me…

I was standing inside something I once prayed for, worried about what wasn’t finished yet.

I’ll tend the seed, trust God with the growth, and keep praying with the fervor Yaya taught me. 🖤

BGWC Studio @bgwc_studio
A space to be held. taken in Newark, New Jersey by @arciastokes

167

12

21 days ago

Excited and honored to share that I’ve been appointed by Madam Regional Director, Dr. Tonja L. Ringgold, to serve on the North Atlantic Region Cultural Arts – Vocal Arts Committee as part of the Champions RISE Administration of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated! 🩷💚🎶

As someone whose journey began in music and vocal performance, this appointment feels especially meaningful. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring my experience, passion, and love for the arts into service alongside my Sorors throughout the Notable North Atlantic Region.

I’ve been intentional about stepping forward, answering the call, and using every gift God has given me and I’m excited for this next opportunity to serve.

Here’s to Championing Service, Empowering Sisterhood, and Transforming the World!

Ready to RISE! 🩷💚✨🎶 by @arciastokes

250

47

a month ago

Cause Tuh!

S/o to @ericadbeauty for this fire Bob & color! by @arciastokes

84

6

a month ago