On February 25, I had the privilege of attending a presentation/discussion by Dr. Monique Morris about her best-selling book PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. This is a topic that is overlooked and one that Dr. Morris has dedicated a lot of effort in sharing her research and knowledge about. She started the presentation by stating that this issue should be approached with a sense of urgency. Dr. Morris shared facts and statistics about how children of color, especially black girls, are becoming more vulnerable to punishment in their educational environments than other children, as well as strategies that need to be taken to turn schools into “locations for healing.”
Dr. Morris argued that there are policies in place that leads young people to exposure to juvenile courts and the criminal legal system, such as zero tolerance policies, which essentially punishes kids for being kids She explained what is known as the ‘school-to-confinement pathway: the things that happen to youth in their educational environments puts them at risk for contact with the criminal legal system in the forms of probation, detention centers, and group homes. And of the youth that is most at risk, Dr. Morris focuses her research in telling the stories of black girls who fall victim to a system that pushes them out rather than cares for them.
Like other facets of African American and Black history, the stories of black girls being criminalized in schools are erased. We have created a culture that makes it difficult for these girls to share their stories, so Dr. Morris focused her efforts in giving them a voice. This issue of criminalization of black girls in schools has become especially relevant in today’s society. There has been an increase in black and Latina girls being physically restrained on their campuses, and black girls are seven times more likely to be suspended than their white counterparts. The common rationale is that “black girls get in trouble more,” when in reality, the education system has fostered an environment where instead of developing ways to work with youth for who they are, it reprimands them.
A lot of these acts of violence and punishment against girls of color, according to Dr. Morris, is a result of a lack of recognition of triggers in a learning space. Black youth who don’t feel safe or comfortable, or who have had traumatic experiences or an absence of the kinds of social experiences that make them feel safe, will react quickly and fiercely to these triggers, and will most likely be punished for it. Dr. Morris shared stories of girls who had been reprimanded in one way or another. One story that stood out to me was one of a young girl who was successful in school and a pleasure to her teachers. She transferred and with a new teacher, she was constantly punished and reprimanded. One instance of this resulted in this young girl leaving school and walking miles alone, and almost committing suicide as a result of the humiliation she faced when she was kicked out of the classroom by her teacher in front of her classmates. Luckily, she was spotted by local business owners who were concerned that a young girl was walking by herself. Unfortunately, it took a while for passersby to notice her, because of what Dr. Morris explained as “adultification.” This phenomenon is the perception of children, usually black girls, as more adult-like and gives them adult qualities. It prevents us from recognizing the childhood and innocence of black girls, and we see them as hypersexual and less needing of protection and comforting. It is harmful to girls in schools because they are more likely to be punished for things such as dress code violations than their white counterparts who commit the same violations. In addition, they are more likely to be reprimanded as adults rather than children in their educational environments. This is a concept seen throughout African American history: during the years of slavery, the hypersexuality of black women that led to sexual assault, as well as their dehumanization and the perception that black people do not need protection.
These factors and phenomenons, such as the school-to-confinement pathway, reprimanding rather than understanding, and adultification affect the positive experience young children should be receiving at school. Dr. Morris suggests strategies for how to make schools “locations for healing.” First, there should be counselors on campuses instead of police officers. And police officers on campuses should be trained on how to interact with children, especially girls of color, and how to form relationships with them rather than “teaching them a lesson” with violence. Second, schools should emphasize a “safe place” environment and encourage the building of connections between students and an adult they feel safe confiding in. Third, the educational system and curriculum needs to change to include stories of people of color: when young people don’t feel represented and their stories are erased, they don’t feel safe. The erasure of stories of people of color is significant to the need of Black history and African American history studies, which combats a eurocentric curriculum. Dr. Morris says that young people need to feel acknowledged and seen in order to be successful in school, and that “what we learn is important, and how we learn is important.” Before this presentation, I was unfamiliar to the issue of criminalization of black girls in their educational environments. Dr. Morris’ presentation and her focus on black girls helped me understand the importance of changing schools from places that punish for children to places that offer them the proper resources to succeed. Dr. Morris said, “People think girls are fine because they are graduating, but no one recognizes the sexual violence, wage disparities, and emotional trauma they carry with them; and they are graduating despite those conditions, and not because they were fully invested in.” Dr. Morris challenges the education system to fully invest in black girls, because there is still a way to go in terms of girls’ education.