In recent years, school districts, community activists, and police forces, have made efforts to reconsider the ways in which students, particularly students of color, are disciplined. Most of these efforts have focused on male students, and the disproportionate rates of punishment male students of color receive as compared to their white counterparts. A new study produced by Columbia University law professor Kimberle Williams Crenshaw and her associates Priscilla Ocen and Jyoti Nanda, shifts the lens to focus on female students of color. The study, "Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Unprotected", found that black girls are punished at more severe rates than white girls and that the disparity in punishment between black and white girls is higher than that of black and white boys.
Professor Crenshaw notes that the first step in reducing these disparities is recognizing that they exist. What else can be done? Who should be involved in conversations about school punishment? Teachers? Students? Community partners?
The subject of race in the juvenile justice system will be the focus of The Color of Justice, the Stowe Center's next Salon on February 19th. Presented with the Mark Twain House & Museum, the program will begin at 5:30 pm at the Mark Twain House & Museum auditorium. Doors will open at 5:00 pm for refreshments.
Join the conversation on juvenile justice and learn about ways you can take action!
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