MESQUITE, Texas — Representation Matters.

It’s a message Dominique Hamilton wants to convey through her pop-up, Black Girl Magic Museum. The nine-room exhibit debuted in Mesquite on Nov. 28, offering more than just Instagram-worthy photoshoots but a message of hope, healing, and happiness.

“I saw living in Oak Cliff how there was little to no representation,” said Hamilton, founder of the pop-up museum. “You have your nonprofits that’s giving back and things, but when you turn on the TV [and] when you look at magazines, there’s not much representation – positive representation – that we need to see and I just knew that I needed to start something.”

When the news of Breonna Taylor’s death broke, Hamilton took it hard. Weeks later, she would encounter what could’ve been a near-death experience after walking up to burglars breaking into her vehicle. For Hamilton, those experiences kicked the plans for the pop-up museum into full swing.

“It was seeing everything in the news with Breonna Taylor and different things that just transpired where I was like I’m still alive [and] I’m still breathing,” said Hamilton. “I want to be able to show Black women, Black girls that we matter, that we can be empowered, that we can take control of who we are and our history and our story and we don’t have to wait for others to spotlight us and show the brilliance of a Black woman and Black girls.”

Hamilton planned to open a 10,000 square foot pop-up geared towards empowering women. But the pandemic sidelined her initial goals. However, with the help of family and friends, a dream deferred would become a dream fulfilled.

“My community, my tribe, and my village really believed in what I was saying,” said Hamilton. “They believed in the message and they said, ‘anything that we need to do to push it forward, we want to help’. I’m a giver and always doing for people and they said they wanted to gift me with some seed money to make this happen.”

The 2,600 square-foot location nestled in a shopping center houses paintings of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Tamika Mallory, Angela Davis, Shirley Chisholm, Alizia Garza, and Ruby Bridges dedicated as the “This is Not a Moment, It’s a Movement” wall. Other rooms dubbed “Hidden Figures,” “Overcomer,” “Royalty,” “Fierce,” “Black Girl Magic,” “Melanin,” “Dance,” “I Am Not My Hair,” “Say Her Name Wall,” and “Say My Name Wall” fill the space along with a store stocked with products from Black-owned businesses. Artwork decorates the walls of the building, with the proceeds of each sale going back to the local artists behind them.

“Kendrick Lamar says it best, ‘I got loyalty, royalty inside my DNA,” Hamilton said, describing the inspiration for the “Royalty” room. “I want every Black girl to know that we are powerful. We are royalty and we’re also loyal. Black women, we are loyal to our communities.”

Local artist Josh Bridgewater used his skill to create the backdrop for a few of the rooms in the museum, including the “Say Her Name” with bigger than life photos of Breonna Taylor, Atianna Jefferson, and Sandra Bland. Candles also fill the room, allowing patrons to take a moment of silence for the women who Hamilton believes lost their loves unjustly.

“When people come in here, they just need a moment,” she said. “I’ve had people pray. I’ve had people write. This is just a place to come and get educated.”

At first, she wondered if guests would support the venue due to the pandemic. But, since it’s opening, Hamilton insists she’s received an unwavering amount of community support.

“People have been showing up and showing out,” she said. “And even with that, people have been asking me when are we coming to their cities. It’s not just one person, it’s hundreds of people saying, ‘we need this’.”

When it comes to guest safety, only 25 people enter the museum at a time and each person gets a temperature check at the door. Patrons also have access to hand sanitizer upon entering the building, according to Hamilton. It’s also a requirement to wear a mask. The Black Girl Magic Museum will be in Dallas through March and will move on to other major cities, including Detroit and Atlanta.

“There has been a push in the past couple of years of representation through us,” she said. “…We are gearing up to add 10 new cities to our list, because we see that they need is definitely there.”

By taking the pop-up across the United States, Hamilton hopes to provide women, men, and young children with a place to be themselves and remind them of beauty – inside and out.

“Going to cities where the culture is so rich that sometimes people look over if we’re going through a certain situation,” Hamilton said. “But, the Black people are there and in other cities and they’re looking for something positive, they are looking for something that represents us and it’s also a place of healing. I want to build a city tour out of cities that need to heal.”

For a full list of dates and times and to purchase tickets, visit Black Girl Magic Museum.