Making Sure Black Girls Matter

WE HAVE SEEN some of their stories on the news and social media: Black girls, some as young as 5 and 6 years old, criminalized and harshly punished in school settings.

For example, Desre’e Watson, a Florida child, and Salecia Johnson in Georgia, both 6-year-old kindergarten students, both handcuffed and arrested by police for having emotional meltdowns—temper tantrums—at school. Or last year, the South Carolina teen flipped over in her desk and thrown across the room by a sheriff’s deputy for refusing to put away her cell phone or leave her algebra class, and, incredibly, Niya Kenny, the distraught classmate who recorded the incident on her phone and was arrested as well (though charges were later dropped).

When these and other outrageous examples of harsh punishment of school children come to public attention, they are seen as part of the school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately pushes youth of color—especially African-American youth—out of school and toward the justice system. These problems often are seen as primarily affecting males, and initiatives to address them focus on improving outcomes for black boys. In her book Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, Monique Morris makes the case that the specific experiences and treatment of black girls in schools and society are different from those of black boys and merit systematic attention and remedies tailored to create opportunities for black girls to thrive.

Pushout examines the intersection of black girls’ experiences as both girls and black youth. The book spotlights the persistent “one-dimensional stereotypes, images, and debilitating narratives” that threaten black girls’ survival and lead them to what Morris terms “school-to-confinement pathways.” Morris, president and cofounder of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, stresses that she is not attempting to pit oppressed identities—black males and black females—against each other. Instead, she systematically unpacks the particulars of black girls’ experiences to explain why “individuals, communities, and all sorts of institutions have an obligation to understand why the pushout of black girls ... goes unchallenged.”

What is “pushout?” Morris defines it as “the collection of policies, practices, and consciousness that fosters [black girls’] invisibility, marginalizes their pain and opportunities, and facilitates their criminalization.” To analyze pushout’s impact on black girls’ ability to get a good education, Morris quotes from extensive interviews with black girls in a variety of settings, including alternative schools and juvenile justice facilities. Through this deep listening, she brings us face to face with girls who are too often unheard and discarded. In addition to the interviews, Morris provides statistics and historical and cultural context to create a more complete picture of the problems black girls face.

Stereotypes and assumptions about black femininity disadvantage black girls and hold them back in school settings. Pushout scrutinizes the polarizing “good” vs. “ghetto” dichotomy that stigmatizes and punishes black girls as defiant and insubordinate when they stray outside society’s narrow confines of acceptable, “ladylike” behavior. Here, Morris quotes heartbreaking stories from girls who were punished for asking questions in class, wearing clothing deemed “inappropriate,” or defending themselves against harassment and bullying.

Morris also examines trauma and experiences such as sex trafficking, which disproportionately impact black girls in under-resourced communities. She urges school and justice officials to take their victimization seriously and provide healing and trauma-informed responses. She also sheds light on the woefully inadequate education available to girls in many juvenile justice facilities.

The book is not merely a depressing recitation of what’s wrong. Pushout includes extensive recommendations and resources for girls, their families and communities, and educators. These solutions, rooted in black girls’ experiences and sound practices, could foster culturally competent and affirming schools and relationships that support black girls in their quest for education and wellbeing.

Pushout is a valuable, compelling, and necessary addition to our understanding of the obstacles black girls face in school and society. As Morris notes, “This book is written with love. We’re in this struggle against racial oppression and patriarchy together, and unless we examine everyone’s experiences, we lose the ability to support our girls and young women” as they seek to survive and thrive.