Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls

Posted on: Tuesday September 23rd, 2014

In the past year, President Obama's My Brother's Keeper Initiative has brought much needed attention to the issues facing young men of color in our nation's schools and communities and the need for systemic reforms to ensure these young men have equally opportunities to learn and succeed. 

But the initiative has also garnered significant criticism for its failure to include young women of color and to address the particular challenges they must contend with. An important newreport from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund details the harmful impact of racial and gender barriers that girls face in school and how our nation can (and must) do better by our girls. 

Across the board, young women of color in this country must contend with fewer quality educational opportunities; pervasive racial and gender stereotypes that impact how they're treated in school; discriminatory discipline policies; high rates of expose to sexual harassment, violence and the juvenile justice system; and a lack of supports for girls who are pregnant or parenting while still in school. 

As NWLC points out, our failure to support these young women is particularly egregious given the role that women of color have played in some of the most prominent civil rights battles in our history: 

"Behind many of the most important battles for racial and gender equality in the United States — from school desegregation to sex discrimination — are African American girls. From the pioneers in school desegregation, such as Linda Brown and Barbara Johns, to the 

Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity: