Official Black Girls RUN! running group of Baltimore, MD Ambassadors: Valencia Hike Buffy Hinnant Holmes Erica Hidgon Denise Cuffie Black girls run? Of course we do. In 2009, Black Girls RUN! was created in an effort to tackle the growing obesity epidemic in the African-American community and provide encouragement and resources to both new and veteran runners. The mission of Black Girls RUN! is to encourage African-American women to make fitness and healthy living a priority. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 80% of African-American women are overweight. BGR! wants to create a movement to lower that percentage and subsequently, lower the number of women with chronic diseases associated with an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle.