Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

Chapter 2 explores the disciplinary disparities in the American education system that target Black girls. The chapter begins by recalling the 2007 story of six-year-old Desre’e Watson being handcuffed for having a “bad tantrum” by Florida’s Avon Park Police Department. Morris argues that while the Watson incident received national attention, it was largely dismissed as an isolated event. After describing other, very similar events that happened in the years after, Morris insists that the violent perpetration against Black girls with “attitudes” is a systemic problem.

The chapter then interrogates schools’ disciplinary practices that target Black girls. Morris describes a disciplinary disparity in American schools that results from three factors: educators’ perceptions of Black girls having “bad attitudes,” zero-tolerance policies, and the criminalization of Black girls’ appearances.

First explored are the stereotyped perceptions, within the American consciousness, of the “Black girl attitude” (58). Pop culture has historically mocked Black women through television, movies, and memes to create a stereotype of the “angry Black woman” (59). This stereotype—a fundamental misunderstanding of the Black female experience—invades even educational spaces in the United States. Educators and administrators often view their Black female students through this stereotyping lens: Black girls who state their opinions or stand up for themselves are perceived as fulfilling the