What can be done to stop the criminalization of black girls? Rebuild the system
Black girls are being criminalized at alarming rates. Experts say there are ways to make sure that doesn't happen.
Itivere Enaohwo is a college sophomore, majoring in criminal justice at Texas Southern University, with designs on law school. Her middle and high school days are long in the rear-view window.
But she still remembers the humiliation of being singled out -- time after time -- for dress code violations at a suburban Houston high school.
For wearing an oversized T-shirt and leggings in middle school. For wearing a dress a high school administrator deemed too short -- even though Enaohwo had measured it carefully at home, making sure the hemline met the rule of not being more than three inches above the knee.
For wearing a hat on a rainy day -- even though it was before school hours. As Enaohwo headed to the bathroom to fix her hair, a teacher ordered her to remove the hat, then grabbed her arm and snatched off the head gear.
Every time, Enaohwo noticed that white classmates seemed to get away with similar outfits with no penalty. Every time, she wondered if the disciplinary actions had more to do with her race -- she is black -- and her naturally curvy frame than with actual infractions.
Her concern was not unfounded.
Black girls don’t misbehave more than white girls yet in every state across the country they are more likely to be disciplined in school and often receive harsher penalties for the same infractions, experts and researchers have CONTINUE READING: Black girls are criminalized at alarming rates. Here's how to fix that