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Black Girls Detail Consequences of Being Seen as Older

Choosing to focus specifically on black girls, the 2017 study found that adults saw black girls ages 5-19 as in need of less protection and support than white girls the same age, and that black girls were more independent and knew more about adult topics, including about sex. The women in the focus groups recounted

What It’s Like to Be Labeled a Rude Black Girl

“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

Study: Black Girls Feel the Impact of ‘Adultification,’ Especially in School

[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

Adults Are Failing Black Girls by Believing This Harmful Bias

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

Naomi Wadler’s Reflections on Working with the Center

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

What “Surviving R. Kelly” Tells Us About Race and Sexual Abuse

For many who watched the six-part documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” hearing directly from several women who described sexual abuse at the hands of the R&B star prompted a troubling question: Has Kelly remained popular and largely not faced criminal consequences because his accusers are black? Rebecca Epstein, a researcher at Georgetown University, thinks so. She

The Atlantic on the Center’s Adultification Bias Work

Researchers built in part on a 2014 report that concluded black boys are wrongly perceived as older than their actual age and are more likely to be viewed as guilty when they are suspected of a crime. The Georgetown study sought to determine whether there’s a similar effect for black girls—whether adults identify them as

Study: Black girls viewed as ‘less innocent’ than white girls

Adults view young black girls as less innocent than white girls of the same age, a new study has found, indicating that children’s race may affect how their actions are perceived. The report from Georgetown University law school’s Center on Poverty and Inequality, released Tuesday, found that black girls, particularly those age 5 to 14,

Yoga Can Help Heal Girls Who Suffer Trauma

A new report by the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law School shows that yoga programs can be particularly effective at helping girls who are incarcerated cope with the effects of trauma that many have experienced. Research shows yoga and mindfulness can promote healthier relationships, increase concentration, and improve self esteem and physical