Originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, Toria A. Council was a Girl Scout for fourteen years, beginning as a Daisy at age four and completing her journey as an Ambassador by the time she finished high school. Today, she is a first-year honors English student and Cheatham-White Scholar at North Carolina A&T State University. But one of her proudest accomplishments started long before college: earning the Girl Scout Gold Award and publishing her own book.

Her Gold Award project, Breaking the Cycle of Colorism, Texturism, and Featurism, grew out of both research and personal experience.

“I remember riding in the car with my mom during the summer of 2022, brainstorming ideas for my Gold Award project. I blurted, ‘What if I wrote a children’s book?’ I wanted to address colorism and texturism in the Black community, and the effect it has on girls’ self-confidence,” Toria said.

“I grew up insecure about my thick natural hair, and my sister, Thalya, a 2022 Gold Award recipient, grew up insecure about her darker skin complexion. The features we lacked were the ones praised in media, so this naturally affected our confidence. Experiencing these issues as little Black girls really affected how we saw ourselves when we looked in the mirror, and I knew other girls could relate.”

Toria later added featurism—discrimination based on facial features—after learning more about the topic from her mother. She quickly realized how deeply rooted these issues were, tracing back to the practices of slavery.

“Originally, I named my project Changing The Black Girl’s Perspective. But it’s not Black girls who need to change; the world needs to break the cycle,” she explained.

Her project unfolded in meaningful phases. She hosted a community panel, Black HERstory: A Panel Discussion About Colorism, Texturism, & Featurism, featuring five Black women sharing their personal experiences. The event drew over seventy attendees, sparked community conversations, and even led to media coverage and additional speaking opportunities.

“These experiences gave me a deeper perspective on how these issues continue to affect Black women and girls,” Toria said. “Hearing their stories resonated with me, the audience, and even opened doors for me to impact people beyond my immediate community.”

Next, Toria hosted five workshops called Love Me As I Am for girls from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

“For my younger girls, we did activities like coloring diverse skin tones, writing things we love about ourselves, and roleplaying to show how to recognize colorism, texturism, and featurism.

For older girls, we reviewed articles and videos and shared experiences anonymously. I couldn’t have done any of this without my Gold Award liaison, troop leaders, and my mother. Their support helped me keep going and make a real difference.”

These experiences inspired Toria to bring her message to life through storytelling.

“I used to share oral short stories with my mom, and she always told me to write them down. I never did until my Gold Award project. A children’s book was the perfect way to help build self-confidence in young Black girls while showing them how to face these challenges.”

Her book, Mirror, Mirror, tells the story of Zara, a young girl navigating self-esteem issues and bullying.

“I hope readers learn that others’ opinions aren’t a reflection of their worth and that they don’t need to change a thing to be beautiful,” Toria explained.

The journey from idea to published book came with challenges. Balancing writing with her senior year of high school was difficult. Toria faced setbacks, including the tragic loss of her first illustrator.

“I wanted to give up, but I knew there was purpose in my story. I was fortunate to have a fellow Girl Scout and friend in my troop, Amber, step in to illustrate. This was truly an example of being ‘a sister to every Girl Scout.’”

After printing and donating copies to her community, Toria officially published Mirror, Mirror as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

“The first time I saw it published online, it brought tears to my eyes. It meant everything to me to see an idea become a reality,” she said.

Through her Gold Award journey, Toria developed resilience, adaptability, and confidence in her own voice. More importantly, she created something that will continue to empower girls long after her own Girl Scout journey ends.

“To my Girl Scout sisters: focus on what you’re passionate about, use your voice to lift others, and don’t let setbacks stop you. Confidence takes work, but your uniqueness is your superpower. The world needs your light—don’t be afraid to shine,” she shared.

At Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines, we are proud to see Gold Award Girl Scouts like Toria create meaningful, lasting change in their communities and beyond. Girl Scouts provides a space where girls can explore who they are, find the courage to speak up, and gain the confidence to lead. Interested in reading Mirror, Mirror or supporting Toria’s book on Amazon? You can find it here.

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