Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Uncategorized

    Black Girls Disproportionately Punished by the Educational System 

    Article submittedBy Article submittedMay 5, 2022No Comments5 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    Advertisement

    By M’Niyah Lynn

    Black students are disproportionately reprimanded in the education system. This is primarily seen in elementary, middle school and high school students (K-12), according to a 2018 report by the United States Government Accountability Office. Although Black boys are included in the overrepresented group of students being punished, research reflects that Black girls are punished and criminalized at an alarming rate that is higher than non-Black girls for school, including suspensions and expulsions.

    In 2017-2018, “Black girls were the only group across all races/ethnicities for girls where a disparity was observed. Black girls received in-school suspensions (11.2%) and out-of-school suspensions (13.3%) at rates almost two times their share of total student enrollment (7.4%),” the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights said in a report from 2021.

    Racial and gender stereotypes contribute to the mistreatment that Black girls receive. Some of this is rooted in the idea that adults, such as teachers, view Black girls as being “less innocent” and “more adult-like” than their white counterparts. This may lead to adults thinking that Black girls don’t need as much protection or nurturing, Erin Killeen said in “The Increased Criminalization of African American Girls.”

    “Such comments demonstrate that stereotypes of Black girls, interpreted as ‘loud,’ are imbued with adult-like aspirations, and perceived, in turn, as a threat,” Rebecca Epstein, Jamila J. Blake and Thalia González said in a report published by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.

    Jamelia Harris, a Robert Curvin Postdoctoral Fellow at the Joseph C. Cornwall Center at Rutgers University-Newark, works with The Concrete Rose Project. This is a high school after-school research inquiry group. In this group, Harris gets the girls to discern the potential root causes behind the patterns of disproportionality facing them and Black girls in high school generally.

    Harris explores the role of intersectional violence and education in the lives of Black girls in urban communities. For instance, she had done and analyzed a lot of research concentrated on the treatment of Black girls in the education system and on ways in which racial and gender stereotyping have contributed to the punishment of Black girls.

    Harris said that Black girls get written up for things such as talking back, having an attitude, inappropriate dress and emotional expression. These are some of the reasons that girls from The Concrete Rose Project have said they experienced discipline.

    Another reason why Black girls may be targeted is due to a cultural mismatch between educators and Black girl students. The high school that the girls from The Concrete Rose Project attended had a majority Black and Latinx population, but most of the teachers were white. A lack of understanding or familiarity of Black girls by the white teachers caused these girls to feel they were being perceived as ghetto or inferior.

    “Black girls were being punished for behaviors that in many ways if a white girl demonstrated them, would be celebrated as qualities of leadership like defending their points of view,” Harris said.

    She added that the high school the girls from the research group went to had one of the highest rates of suspension for Black girls in the state of California at about 19%. However, Black girls in New York City are experiencing something similar.

    “Outside of NYC, schools were 6.1 times more likely to suspend Black female students than their white peers, and in NYC the school district was 8.6 times more likely to suspend Black female students than their white female peers,” an article by Tiffany Lankes from the Education Trust-New York, a research and advocacy group, said.

    More awareness of what Black girls are experiencing in schools is growing. Harris said that Black girls are the growing population in the juvenile justice system. “There is a pattern of criminalization which doesn’t receive as much visibility as it does when it’s happening to Black boys and men,” Harris said.

    Not only does the treatment of Black girls affect the likelihood that they could end up in jail, but it has other serious consequences. Black girls may end up having economic instability, mental health issues, compromised academic success and become afraid to speak their minds. The silence is to prevent contradicting those in positions of power.

    “We see that many of the ways that Black girls are culturally socialized to navigate the realities of white supremacist heteropatriarchy society are condemned in schools through discipline policies,” Harris said.

    To help minimize or eliminate the punishment that Black girls receive, educators can work on building better relationships to improve the learning environment. Harris said that she has a consulting agency where she partners with educators and school districts across the country to address their biases. She engages them in self-reflection about positionally and suggests opportunities they can take advantage of to uplift and spotlight Black girls.

    “I encourage educators to prioritize relationships and compassion over punishment,” she said.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Article submitted

    Related Posts

    From Opportunity To Abandonment: The Cruelty Of Ending Job Corps

    June 12, 2025

    Germany: Land of Legends and Lore

    June 12, 2025

    Sports club honors Durham’s best and brightest students

    June 5, 2025

    STATE OF THE BLACK PRESS 2025 Howard University March 13, 2025

    March 20, 2025

    Twins 90th Birthday Celebration

    February 1, 2025

    Sixth Circuit Allows Protect Tennessee Minors Act To Go Into Effect

    January 14, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Business

    Charlotte Knight Griffin Takes Office as TBA President-Elect

    June 30, 2025

    EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth

    June 19, 2025

    FUNdraising Good Times Report from Neighborhoods USA Conference in Jacksonville

    June 4, 2025
    1 2 3 … 384 Next
    Education
    Education

    Austin Peay’s MPH program receives $27K for childhood literacy initiative. Community LIFT Project to be implemented at Head Start centers this fall

    By Ethan SteinquestJune 30, 2025

    CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s Master of Public Health program is on a…

    TSU, State, reach agreement to reallocate $96M to school

    June 26, 2025

    TSU student lands prestigious internship at Harvard Medical School

    June 25, 2025

    FAMU stakeholders file lawsuit to prevent Marva Johnson’s confirmation as the university’s 13th President

    June 21, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/