By Ayanna Pressley, Monique W. Morris
Published on Saturday, December 07, 2019 by Boston Globe
Photo Credit: First-grader Khatona Miller, right, investigates a circled location on a world globe with other classmates August 22, 2000 at Chicago's Stewart Elementary School. (Photo: Tim Boyle/Newsmakers)
The policies and unfair practices that disproportionately push girls of color from institutions of learning stem from deeply entrenched biases that require bold, community-based solutions to correct.
Too frequently, educational justice is denied for girls – especially for girls of color. Schools should be the safest place for our children and yet, for many girls of color, the school environment adds painful weight to their already heavy emotional backpacks.
Across our country, black and brown girls are pushed out of school not because they pose any sort of threat, but for simply being who they are. Society too often deems our hair too distracting and our bodies too provocative, our voices too loud, and our attitudes too mean — demeaning our very existence before we even reach adulthood. According to the National Women’s Law Center, black girls in preschool are 54 percent of the girls receiving out-of-school suspensions despite making up only 20 percent of girls enrolled in preschool. Preschool.
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U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley represents Massachusetts’ Seventh Congressional District.
Monique W. Morris, Ed.D. is the creator of the documentary “PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools” and the Founder and President of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute.
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