Why black girls are targeted for punishment at school -- and how to change that
-
0:01 - 0:04When I was in the sixth grade,
I got into a fight at school. -
0:05 - 0:07It wasn't the first time
I'd been in a fight, -
0:07 - 0:10but it was the first time
one happened at school. -
0:10 - 0:14It was with a boy who was
about a foot taller than me, -
0:14 - 0:16who was physically stronger than me
-
0:16 - 0:18and who'd been taunting me for weeks.
-
0:19 - 0:24One day in PE, he stepped on my shoe
and refused to apologize. -
0:24 - 0:28So, filled with anger, I grabbed him
and I threw him to the ground. -
0:28 - 0:30I'd had some previous judo training.
-
0:30 - 0:33(Laughter)
-
0:35 - 0:38Our fight lasted less than two minutes,
-
0:38 - 0:40but it was a perfect
reflection of the hurricane -
0:40 - 0:42that was building inside of me.
-
0:42 - 0:44As a young survivor of sexual assault
-
0:44 - 0:47and as a girl who was grappling
with abandonment -
0:47 - 0:50and exposure to violence
in other spaces in my life, -
0:50 - 0:51I was fighting him,
-
0:51 - 0:55but I was also fighting the men
and boys that had assaulted my body -
0:55 - 0:58and the culture that told me
I had to be silent about it. -
0:59 - 1:01A teacher broke up the fight
-
1:01 - 1:03and my principle called me in her office.
-
1:03 - 1:06But she didn't say,
"Monique, what's wrong with you?" -
1:07 - 1:11She gave me a moment to collect my breath
-
1:11 - 1:13and asked, "What happened?"
-
1:14 - 1:17The educators working with me
led with empathy. -
1:17 - 1:19They knew me.
-
1:19 - 1:22They knew I loved to read,
they knew I loved to draw, -
1:22 - 1:24they knew I adored Prince.
-
1:25 - 1:28And they used that information
to help me understand -
1:28 - 1:31why my actions, and those
of my classmate, were disruptive -
1:31 - 1:33to the learning community
they were leading. -
1:34 - 1:36They didn't place me on suspension,
-
1:36 - 1:38they didn't call the police.
-
1:39 - 1:41My fight didn't keep me
from going to school the next day. -
1:43 - 1:46It didn't keep me from graduating,
it didn't keep me from teaching. -
1:48 - 1:52But unfortunately, that's not a story
that's shared by many black girls -
1:52 - 1:54in the US and around the world today.
-
1:55 - 1:57We're living through a crisis
in which black girls -
1:57 - 2:00are being disproportionately pushed
away from schools, -
2:00 - 2:03not because of an imminent threat
they pose to the safety of a school, -
2:03 - 2:06but because they're often
experiencing schools -
2:06 - 2:08as locations for punishment
and marginalization. -
2:09 - 2:14That's something that I hear
from black girls around the country. -
2:14 - 2:16But it's not insurmountable.
-
2:16 - 2:17We can shift this narrative.
-
2:19 - 2:20Let's start with some data.
-
2:21 - 2:24According to a National Black Women's
Justice Institute analysis -
2:24 - 2:26of civil rights data,
-
2:26 - 2:29collected by the US
Department of Education, -
2:29 - 2:32black girls are the only group of girls
who are overrepresented -
2:32 - 2:34along the entire continuum
of discipline in schools. -
2:35 - 2:39That doesn't mean that other girls aren't
experiencing exclusionary discipline -
2:39 - 2:43and it doesn't mean that other girls
aren't overrepresented -
2:43 - 2:45at other parts along that continuum.
-
2:45 - 2:47But black girls
are the only group of girls -
2:47 - 2:49who are overrepresented all along the way.
-
2:51 - 2:55Black girls are seven times more likely
than their white counterparts -
2:55 - 2:58to experience one or more
out of school suspensions -
2:58 - 3:02and they're nearly three times more likely
than their white and Latinx counterparts -
3:02 - 3:04to be referred to the juvenile court.
-
3:05 - 3:09A recent study by the Georgetown
Center on Poverty and Inequality -
3:09 - 3:12partially explained
why this disparity is taking place, -
3:12 - 3:14when they confirmed
that black girls experience -
3:14 - 3:17a specific type of age compression,
-
3:17 - 3:20where they're seen as more adult-like
than their white peers. -
3:21 - 3:23Among other things, the study found
-
3:23 - 3:27that people perceive black girls
to need less nurturing, -
3:27 - 3:30less protection, to know more about sex
-
3:30 - 3:33and to be more independent
than their white peers. -
3:34 - 3:36The study also found
-
3:36 - 3:42that the perception disparity begins
when girls are as young as five years old. -
3:42 - 3:46And that this perception
and the disparity increases over time -
3:46 - 3:49and peaks when girls are
between the ages of 10 and 14. -
3:50 - 3:52This is not without consequence.
-
3:53 - 3:57Believing that a girl is older than she is
can lead to harsher treatment, -
3:57 - 4:00immediate censure when she makes a mistake
-
4:00 - 4:02and victim blaming when she's harmed.
-
4:03 - 4:06It can also lead a girl to think
that something is wrong with her, -
4:07 - 4:09rather than the conditions
in which she finds herself. -
4:11 - 4:15Black girls are routinely seen
as too loud, too aggressive, -
4:15 - 4:17too angry, too visible.
-
4:18 - 4:21Qualities that are often measured
in relation to nonblack girls -
4:21 - 4:25and which don't take into consideration
what's going on in this girl's life, -
4:25 - 4:27or her cultural norms.
-
4:27 - 4:29And it's not just in the US.
-
4:29 - 4:31In South Africa,
-
4:31 - 4:33black girls at the Pretoria
Girls High School -
4:33 - 4:36were discouraged from attending school
with their hair in its natural state, -
4:36 - 4:38without chemical processing.
-
4:38 - 4:40What did those girls do?
-
4:40 - 4:41They protested.
-
4:42 - 4:46And it was a beautiful thing to see
the global community for the most part -
4:46 - 4:49wrap its arms around girls
as they stood in their truths. -
4:49 - 4:52But there were those
who saw them as disruptive, -
4:52 - 4:54largely because they dared
to ask the question, -
4:54 - 4:57"Where can we be black,
if we can't be black in Africa?" -
4:57 - 4:59(Laughter)
-
4:59 - 5:02(Applause)
-
5:02 - 5:03It's a good question.
-
5:04 - 5:07Around the world,
-
5:07 - 5:09black girls are grappling
with this question. -
5:10 - 5:11And around the world,
-
5:11 - 5:15black girls are struggling to be seen,
working to be free -
5:15 - 5:16and fighting to be included
-
5:17 - 5:20in the landscape of promise
that a safe space to learn provides. -
5:21 - 5:24In the US, little girls,
just past their toddler years, -
5:24 - 5:27are being arrested in classrooms
for having a tantrum. -
5:28 - 5:30Middle school girls are being
turned away from school -
5:31 - 5:33because of the way
they wear their hair naturally, -
5:33 - 5:36or because of the way
the clothes fir their bodies. -
5:37 - 5:39High school girls
are experiencing violence -
5:39 - 5:41at the hands of police
officers in schools. -
5:42 - 5:46Where can black girls be black
without reprimand or punishment? -
5:48 - 5:51And it's not just these incidents.
-
5:51 - 5:53In my work as a researcher and educator,
-
5:53 - 5:56I've had an opportunity
to work with girls like Stacy, -
5:56 - 5:59a girl who I profile in my book "Pushout,"
-
5:59 - 6:02who struggles with
her participation in violence. -
6:03 - 6:08She bypasses the neuroscientific
and structural analyses -
6:08 - 6:10that science has to offer
-
6:10 - 6:13about how her adverse
childhood experiences inform -
6:13 - 6:15why she's participating in violence
-
6:15 - 6:18and goes straight to describing herself
as a "problem child," -
6:18 - 6:21largely because that's the language
that educators were using -
6:21 - 6:23as they routinely suspended her.
-
6:25 - 6:27But here's the thing.
-
6:27 - 6:32Disconnection and the internalization
of harm grow stronger in isolation. -
6:32 - 6:35So when girls get in trouble,
we shouldn't be pushing them away, -
6:35 - 6:37we should be bringing them in closer.
-
6:39 - 6:41Education is a critical protective factor
-
6:41 - 6:43against contact
with the criminal legal system. -
6:44 - 6:47So we should be building
our policies and practices -
6:47 - 6:49that keep girls connected
to their learning, -
6:49 - 6:51rather than pushing them away from it.
-
6:51 - 6:55It's one of the reasons I like to say
that education is freedom work. -
6:57 - 6:59When girls feel safe, they can learn.
-
7:00 - 7:03When they don't feel safe, they fight,
-
7:03 - 7:08they protest, they argue,
they flee, they freeze. -
7:09 - 7:12The human brain is wired
to protect us when we feel a threat. -
7:12 - 7:14And so long as school feels like a threat,
-
7:14 - 7:17or part of the tapestry of harm
in a girl's life, -
7:17 - 7:19she'll be inclined to resist.
-
7:20 - 7:23But when schools become
locations for healing, -
7:23 - 7:25they can also become
locations for learning. -
7:27 - 7:30So what does this mean for a school
to become a location for healing? -
7:30 - 7:34Well, for one thing, it means
that we have to immediately discontinue -
7:34 - 7:38the policies and practices that target
black girls for their hairstyles or dress. -
7:38 - 7:44(Applause)
-
7:44 - 7:48Let's focus on how
and what a girls learns, -
7:48 - 7:52rather than policing her body
in ways that facilitate rape culture -
7:52 - 7:55or punish children for the conditions
in which they were born. -
7:57 - 8:01This is where parents and the community
of concerned adults can enter this work. -
8:02 - 8:03Start a conversation with the school
-
8:04 - 8:06and encourage them
to address their dress code -
8:06 - 8:09and other conduct-related policies
as a collaborative project -
8:09 - 8:11with parents and students,
-
8:11 - 8:15so as to intentionally avoid
bias and discrimination. -
8:15 - 8:17Keep in mind, though,
-
8:17 - 8:20that some of the practices
that harm black girls most are unwritten. -
8:20 - 8:24So we have to continue to do the deep,
internal work to address the biases -
8:24 - 8:29that inform how, when and whether we see
black girls for who they actually are, -
8:29 - 8:31or what we've been told they are.
-
8:32 - 8:34Volunteer at a school
-
8:34 - 8:39and establish culturally competent
and gender responsive discussion groups -
8:39 - 8:42with black girls,
Latinas, indigenous girls -
8:42 - 8:46and other students who experience
marginalization in schools, -
8:46 - 8:47to give them a safe space
-
8:47 - 8:50to process their identities
and experiences in schools. -
8:51 - 8:54And if schools are to become
locations for healing, -
8:54 - 8:56we have to remove police officers
-
8:56 - 8:59and increase the number
of counselors in schools. -
8:59 - 9:05(Applause)
-
9:07 - 9:09Education is freedom work.
-
9:10 - 9:14And whatever our point of entry is,
we all have to be freedom fighters. -
9:15 - 9:17The good news is that there are schools
-
9:17 - 9:20that are actively working
to establish themselves -
9:20 - 9:23as locations for girls
to see themselves as sacred and loved. -
9:24 - 9:29The Columbus City Prep School for Girls
in Columbus, Ohio, is an example of this. -
9:30 - 9:32They became an example
the moment their principal declared -
9:32 - 9:36that they were no longer going to punish
girls for having "a bad attitude." -
9:37 - 9:40In addition to building --
-
9:40 - 9:43Essentially, what they did
is they built out a robust continuum -
9:43 - 9:46of alternatives to suspension,
expulsion and arrest. -
9:46 - 9:50In addition to establishing
a restorative justice program, -
9:50 - 9:53they improved their
student and teacher relationships -
9:53 - 9:56by ensuring that every girl
has at least one adult on campus -
9:56 - 9:59that she can go to
when she's in a moment of crisis. -
9:59 - 10:02They built out spaces along the corridors
of the school and in classrooms -
10:02 - 10:05for girls to regroup,
if they need a minute to do so. -
10:05 - 10:09And they established an advisory program
that provides girls with an opportunity -
10:09 - 10:13to start every single day
with the promotion of self-worth, -
10:13 - 10:16communication skills and goal setting.
-
10:16 - 10:18At this school,
-
10:18 - 10:21they're trying to respond
to a girl's adverse childhood experiences -
10:21 - 10:23rather than ignore them.
-
10:23 - 10:26They bring them in closer,
they don't push them away. -
10:27 - 10:30And as a result, their truancy
and suspension rates have improved -
10:30 - 10:33and girls are arriving at school
increasingly ready to learn, -
10:33 - 10:36because they know the teachers
there care about them. -
10:36 - 10:37That matters.
-
10:38 - 10:41Schools that integrate the arts
and sports into their curriculum -
10:41 - 10:44or that are building out
tranformative programming, -
10:44 - 10:48such as restorative justice,
mindfulness and meditation, -
10:48 - 10:53are providing an opportunity for girls
to repair their relationships with others, -
10:53 - 10:55but also with themselves.
-
10:55 - 10:59Responding to the lived,
complex and historical trauma -
10:59 - 11:00that our students face
-
11:00 - 11:05requires all of us who believe
in the promise of children and adolescents -
11:05 - 11:08to build relationships,
learning materials, -
11:08 - 11:12human and financial resources
and other tools -
11:12 - 11:16that provide children with an opportunity
to heal, so that they can learn. -
11:18 - 11:23Our schools should be places where
we respond to our most vulnerable girls -
11:23 - 11:27as essential to the creation
of a positive school culture. -
11:28 - 11:32Our ability to see her promise
should be at its sharpest -
11:32 - 11:35when she's in the throws
of poverty and addiction, -
11:35 - 11:37when she's reeling
from having been sex-trafficked -
11:37 - 11:40or survived other forms of violence,
-
11:40 - 11:42when she's at her loudest,
-
11:42 - 11:43or her quietest.
-
11:45 - 11:48We should be able
to support her intellectual -
11:48 - 11:50and social emotional well-being,
-
11:50 - 11:54whether her shorts reach her knees,
or stop mid-thigh or higher. -
11:57 - 11:59It might seem like a tall order in a world
-
11:59 - 12:02so deeply entrenched
in the politics of fear -
12:02 - 12:06to radically imagine schools as locations
where girls can heal and thrive, -
12:06 - 12:09but we have to be bold enough
to set this as our intention. -
12:10 - 12:14If we commit to this notion
of education as freedom work, -
12:14 - 12:17we can shift educational conditions
-
12:17 - 12:20so that no girl, even the most
vulnerable among us, -
12:20 - 12:22will get pushed out of school.
-
12:22 - 12:25And that's a win for all of us.
-
12:25 - 12:26Thank you.
-
12:26 - 12:32(Applause)
- Title:
- Why black girls are targeted for punishment at school -- and how to change that
- Speaker:
- Monique W. Morris
- Description:
-
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 12:45
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