Abstract
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools provides both a compelling argument for school discipline reform and a call for a different paradigm to understand the needs and challenges encountered by black girls in schools. Morris argues that black girls’ schooling experiences can best be understood by considering the intersection of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and harmful stereotypes about black femininity socially constructed during the early years of our nation’s history. These complex historical and social constructions have influenced school discipline policies and practices in such a way that render these black girls, especially those enrolled in low-performing schools, more vulnerable than white girls to abuse, exploitation, dehumanization, and the “school-to-confinement pathway.”
In this text, Morris expertly interrogates prevailing issues of racial and gender inequality and advocates for a path forward to reduce the likelihood that black girls’ schooling experiences continue to place them at increased risk for punitive discipline and criminalization. In Chapters 1–5, Morris’ thesis is skillfully supported by narratives collected from intensive interviews and focus groups with girls, young women, educators, and justice professionals and also by statistics that demonstrate the markedly disproportionate rates of black girls’ school discipline and out-of-school suspension rates. Morris’ critical analysis of what many would consider to be a complicated social issue is a “must read” for teachers, parents, school social workers, other student support professionals, school resource officers, and child welfare and juvenile justice professionals.
Not only does Pushout chronicle for the reader a nuanced understanding of the experiences and stories of black girls who have been “pushed out” of traditional schools, it also provides the reader with recommendations and strategies in Appendix A, which was co-constructed by the participants and other community stakeholders, designed to improve the schooling experiences of black girls and to promote more positive outcomes for this group of marginalized students whose needs and unique challenges are often misunderstood and overlooked.
In Appendix A, Morris offers a series of questions and answers organized into three sections: (1) for girls and young women, (2) for parents and community members, and (3) for teachers and educators who work with black girls. Some of the questions are designed to help the girls and significant others understand, from the girls’ perspective, as much as possible about the girls’ schooling experiences and to foster engaging conversations about the girls’ education and their adjustment to school. Other questions are designed to help teachers and other educators create classroom and school environments that are trauma-informed, inclusive, and respectful.
Central to the individual and structural-level changes that Morris advocates for is a critical need for teachers, educators, and school resource officers to receive trauma-informed education and training because they often unintentionally retraumatize the most vulnerable black girls. In Appendix B, Morris provides a critique of two promising alternatives to punitive discipline: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and Restorative Justice practices, which aim to address circumstances that contribute to black girls’ disproportionate discipline rates. In the final analysis, Morris challenges the reader to consider what is required in schools’ efforts to develop a new paradigm, cocreated with the input of black girls and other stakeholders, which places a high value on communication and relationship building and demands cultural competence from educators and other professionals.
Morris’ book is designed for readers who are willing to examine their own biases and consider that individuals, communities, and institutions have failed to ensure that all schools are inclusive, safe spaces where black girls feel respected, affirmed, and have access to a quality education. Moreover, this text provides the reader with rich details about the experiences of the most vulnerable black girls, including those who are victims of sex trafficking or who do not adhere to gender stereotypes, at a time when there is considerable national discourse and urgency about juvenile justice reform and the need for trauma-informed practices in schools and other agencies that serve school-aged youth.
