Research has already shown that adults view young black girls as older and less innocent than their white peers. Now, the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law Center has affirmed the findings of its 2017 study. Through focus groups conducted with black women and girls nationwide, researchers learned that they are routinely subject
“Kathleen got so frustrated with Kelly playing with me, so intensely angry, that she grabbed my arm and ran her nails down my arm with both hands and drew blood,” Abraham recalled. “I screamed at her and was like, ‘What are you doing?’ She was like, ‘I can’t play with you because you’re Black; I’m
[A]dultification,” was first documented two years ago by researchers at Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality. Now, a followup study reveals that, not surprisingly, black girls and women sharply feel the impact of “adultification.” As one study participant put it, “[T]o society, we’re not innocent. And white girls are always innocent.” …They found a
A new study from Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality has found that black girls regularly experience something called adultification bias. In 2017, the center published its Girlhood Interrupted study, which showed that adults view black girls as more adult-like and less innocent than white girls. However, this new research has taken it a
[A]dvocates and researchers say there are ways to close that gap — and to make sure that black girls are not being pushed out of school and into confinement. Those remedies include launching restorative justice practices, creating diversion courts, remaking the educational and juvenile justice system and — as the Office of Civil Rights recommended
African American girls don’t misbehave more or commit more serious infractions, experts say, yet they often receive more severe penalties for the same behavior as white peers. They are nearly six times more likely to get out-of-school suspension than white counterparts, a report from the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School’s Center for
Then came the topic of adultification of black girls by American society, where they are perceived as being older than their actual age. “Studies show that black girls are seen as adults at age five,” said Wadler. “They’re disciplined more harshly, and they’re seen as less innocent. They’re expected to act as adults, even though
Naomi Wadler is a leader, and the Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Initiative on Gendery Justice & Opportunity is proud to work with her. Below is an excerpt from this Teen Vogue op-ed, which covers Naomi Wadler’s reflection of her year since her viral March for Our Lives speech. “Did you know that black girls
The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative found that in 1992, black girls comprised 29% of all girls with juvenile court cases; in 2002, the number was 30%; and by 2009, it was 40%. By all accounts, this increase is not due to a rise in the criminal activity of black girls. It comes down to decisions