Paper Title
Imprisoning Our Bodies, Enslaving Our Minds: Black Girls & The School-To-Prison Pipeline
Location
Room 217, West Center
Keywords
misogynoir, school to prison pipeline, prison industrial complex, instutional racism, black feminism, black girlhood, black girls, education
Start Date
April 2016
End Date
April 2016
Abstract
The deleterious effects of the school-to-prison pipeline have emerged as a hot topic of debate for Black activists and the liberal American public alike. While our government has taken initiative to curb the impact of this insidious form of institutionalized racism on Black boys (e.g. Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper), Black girls have been largely left out of the conversation. How do we address the growing problem of misogynior and criminalization as they relate to young black girls and forge safer spaces for them within the K-12 school system? My research takes a black feminist approach to understanding the unique challenges faced by young black girls in schools and engages with their specific needs as students. Calling upon the scholarship of Michelle Alexander, Sonia Sanchez, and June Jordan — in addition to research done by the African American Policy Forum — my paper identifies the ways in which biased educational policy, socialized prejudices, and the prison-industrial complex contribute to these young women becoming victims of racist, classist, misogynistic violence within the school system. My paper concludes with a call for a radical approach to teaching, mentoring, and supporting young black girls as they pursue their educations.
Imprisoning Our Bodies, Enslaving Our Minds: Black Girls & The School-To-Prison Pipeline
Room 217, West Center
The deleterious effects of the school-to-prison pipeline have emerged as a hot topic of debate for Black activists and the liberal American public alike. While our government has taken initiative to curb the impact of this insidious form of institutionalized racism on Black boys (e.g. Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper), Black girls have been largely left out of the conversation. How do we address the growing problem of misogynior and criminalization as they relate to young black girls and forge safer spaces for them within the K-12 school system? My research takes a black feminist approach to understanding the unique challenges faced by young black girls in schools and engages with their specific needs as students. Calling upon the scholarship of Michelle Alexander, Sonia Sanchez, and June Jordan — in addition to research done by the African American Policy Forum — my paper identifies the ways in which biased educational policy, socialized prejudices, and the prison-industrial complex contribute to these young women becoming victims of racist, classist, misogynistic violence within the school system. My paper concludes with a call for a radical approach to teaching, mentoring, and supporting young black girls as they pursue their educations.
