At TED’s 2017 conference, many new tech and science breakthroughs amazed the audience. Yet, the loudest applause came for a simple idea: walking. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison shared how walking has changed the health and lives of over 100,000 women, not through technology, but through steps taken together.
Dixon and Garrison are part of a growing movement recognizing the powerful effects of walking. A study published in American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association, highlights how walking with others improves our minds and relationships. Walking side by side helps people naturally sync their movements and attention. This connection creates a mindset that helps resolve conflicts and promotes cooperation.
When Dixon and Garrison started GirlTrek, the largest health nonprofit for African American women and girls in the U.S., they didn’t know about these psychological benefits. What they did know were the facts: 82% of Black women were overweight, and they were dying younger and more often than any other group of women in the country. They also knew walking could cut health risks from obesity in half.
GirlTrek is not just about fitness—it’s about healing. The mental and social benefits of walking are part of this healing. While scientists studied walking’s hidden effects on the mind, Dixon and Garrison designed GirlTrek to build physical and emotional connections among walkers. “We aim for a pace of four miles per hour,” Dixon said. “That creates a shared rhythm.”
I asked if walking helped people settle conflicts. Garrison said, “It happens every day. For example, two sisters from different states had a family fight. When they met, their first instinct as GirlTrek members was to walk and talk. By the end, they had healed their relationship.”
Dixon added, “We see this at the community level, too. Walks often end with plans to solve neighborhood problems.”
GirlTrek’s guidelines help walkers focus on healing and sisterhood. Three key rules stand out: “We hustle, not mosey,” meaning keep a good pace; “never leave a sister behind,” so the lead walker loops back to catch anyone falling behind; and “loop and scoop,” to keep everyone together.
In 2018, GirlTrek aimed for one million Black women and girls walking regularly. Through walking, they seek healing, conflict resolution, connection, and reclaiming control over their lives. This movement shows that powerful change can start with a simple step outside, and walking together.
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