Photo from:
http://www.harrycutting.com/graphics/photos/children/young-black-girl-child-J246-26-595.jpg
Growing up as a Black girl in a predominately White school
district, I noticed subtle differences in my experiences compared to most of my
peers but since I was one of the few students of color in most of my classes in
primary school, I was often not able to validate my experiences with girls who
looked like me. Although, not apparent when I was a little girl, I am to
starting to see a clearer yet disturbing picture of Black girl’s academic
experiences through news stories ranging from school policies banning ethic
hair styles (e.g. Afro puffs) for little girls to Black girls facing
disciplinary action at higher rates than other students. These stories have
received greater attention in the media but in many cases, the well-being, experiences,
and issues concerning Black girls are often invisible due to the focus on either
race or gender for girls of color. The unique experiences of Black girls
include a potential gendered school to prison pipeline including harsh
punishment for minor offenses in school leading to harsh criminal punishment in
the judicial system.
According
to a recent report from the African
American Policy Forum (AAFP),
Black girls are being disciplined at higher rates than their peers. In the AAFP
report, Black girls were six times more likely to be disciplined than White
girls when Black boys were only three times more likely than White boys to be
disciplined. Previous reports suggest that when children face academic punishment
such as suspension and detention, they return less engaged with their teachers
and peers in the classroom. This disengagement could lead to decreased academic
motivation and further behaviors that could lead to more disciplinary action.
Disparities
in behavioral punishment in school towards Black girls could be linked to
disengagement in school, which could then push them to engage in minor crimes
and ultimately, the juvenile justice system. A recent study by the Human
Rights Project for Girls by Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, reported that young girls are showing an increased
presence in the juvenile justice system due to a sexual assault to prison
pipeline. The report suggested that this pipeline is created because these
young girls are being punitively punished for “non-serious” crimes in reaction
to their elevated sexual trauma history. In this report, Black girls and other
girls of color are overrepresented in the sexual assault to prison pipeline.
Although this report highlights that Black girls are being impacted at higher
rates than White girls in this pipeline, the report does not go into details about
factors contributing to this gap. Perhaps Black girls being over punished in
schools is leading some to the sexual assault to prison pipeline. The
disparities in both the school and juvenile justice system suggest that Black
girls are having unique experiences that are being shaped by the intersection
of their race AND gender. Within the Human Rights Project for Girls report,
Black girls’ experiences are only briefly mentioned and are not explored from
an intersectional framework. As suggested by the lead author of the AAFP
report, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, this lack of recognition and further
exploration of this crisis is leaving our Black girls neglected, invisible, over
disciplined, and not supported.
One
of the greatest impacts of girls in the sexual assault to prison pipelines is
psychological distress. In the Human Rights for Girls report, 80% of girls in
the juvenile justice system met conditions for a mental health diagnosis. Most
of these mental health concerns for girls in the justice system are connected
to past trauma. In addition, mental health intervention programs that addressed
treating their trauma significantly lowered the likelihood of these girls reoffending.
Within the school system, Black girls are facing academic stereotypes, higher
expectations, and higher incidences of their behavior being criminalized. These
experiences in school could also impact the mental health and well-being of
Black girls. The struggle of girls of color are being silenced by not
addressing and recognizing that Black girls face both racial and gendered
discrimination.
In
recognition of this crisis of young Black girls, it is important to use this
information to provide targeted community and school interventions. These
interventions should be grounded in the goals of understanding the challenges
of Black girls and making them feel safe, supported, and included. This crisis
is a call for feminist psychologists to support research, advocacy, and
interventions designed to attend to the well-being of our Black girls. The
unique experiences of Black girls are becoming more apparent and now more than
ever, we cannot continue to ignore this crisis.
#Blackgirlsmatter
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