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= African American Girls and School Discipline: State Sanctioned Violence By: Rae Bernard and Wallace Suku =

Background
School disciplinary measures that are entrenched in policies and practices have resulted in minority students being disproportionately put on suspensions and expulsions. Racial stereotype and gender bias of African Americans have been the most affected in comparison to their non-minority counterparts. In their work “School Discipline Disparity: Converging Efforts for Better Student Outcomes,” Nathern S. Okilwa and Catherine Robert write that black boys and girls are overly represented at schools’ discipline referrals, which largely result in suspensions. So much attention has been given to the plight of African American males, due in large part to such programs as my Brother’s Keeper Initiative, and the Black Male Initiative, and due to social movements like Black Lives Matter. As a result African American females are overwhelmingly overlooked and are underrepresented in the scholarly narrative.

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/my-brothers-keeper

Introduction
What exactly do we mean by State Sanctioned Violence? How truly does this sanction affect our young black girls? Currently there is an epidemic going on with respect to young African American school girls and state sanctioned violence with respect to the way they are disciplined in schools, which is causing great alarm. But what truly is the cause of it? And why African American girls? Although we have come a long way from the days of Ruby Bridges, many Americans believe that history is just repeating itself and that state sanctioned violence against black females has always been part of the legal system. Ruby Bridges was the first black child to attend a segregated elementary school, William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the 1960s New Orleans desegregation crisis. The way that the system has been designed has negatively impacted black girls with the use of the zero-tolerance policy, the dropout crisis, and the school-to-prison pipeline. State sanctioned violence is violence enacted against citizens that are not related to war, but rather used as a control mechanism for specific groups in said country. With this definition, one would ask themselves, what is the purpose of these acts towards young and underaged black girls?

The Urban Review, June 2017, Vol. 49, Issue 2, pp. 239-262

Zero-Tolerance Policy
This policy was introduced in the late 1980s and was driven by the increase in juvenile crimes and arrests. During this period, “young people were increasingly seen as dangerous. Under increased pressure to take action, Congress applied the rhetoric and intention of tough-on-crime laws to the school environment and passed the “Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994” (Kang-Brown et al. 1). To qualify for federal education funds, states were compelled to pass a law requiring that all local school districts are to expel any student who brings a weapon to school for a minimum of one year. Although the juvenile crime rate in 1994 was at its peak, it gradually declined during the decade. However, the idea that young people are still feared ruminates in the minds of Americans. The massacre in 1999 at Columbine High School also contributed to the fear of adolescents and propelled the use and terms of the zero-tolerance policy. As a result of this, many students have been suspended or expelled because of the zero-tolerance policies that are put in place. The zero-tolerance policies were initially a response to major infractions, such as possession of a weapon on school grounds or assault against a student or faculty member. However, over the years, zero-tolerance policies began including less severe infractions, and as a result, the number of mandatory suspensions and expulsions have skyrocketed. This policy is regularly used to discipline black female students for any number of behaviors ranging from rolling of eyes to fights. These drastic actions are based on faculty’s personal judgement of not having standard guidelines defining the punishments and the actions, which raised concerns of substitution of corporal punishment. Critics of zero-tolerance policies point out that not only do these policies unjustifiably target girls of color, but they also don’t teach corrective behaviors.

Drop Out Crisis
Children who are suspended or expelled are much more likely to fall behind in their academics, are exposed to repeated suspension, often repeat grade level under duress, or drop out of school altogether. Furthermore, girls “who are not in school may also use their abundance of “down time” to engage in further anti-social behaviors and acts of delinquency” (Chen). Considering this, the opportunity for explicit and implicit bias to manifest itself into such environment is great. Also, taking school discipline into account, race and gender stereotype purposely incriminate African American youth placing emphasis on the perceived innate behavioral deficiencies for correction in social spaces. School discipline shows just how stereotypes can take a toll on the educational environment because broad discretion is generally given to authority leaving little room for justification. “The exercise of broad discretion infused with race and gender bias results in discipline that disproportionately impacts African American students,” particularly girls (George). Statistics also reveal that the relegation of black girls from school includes more than just suspensions. (Crenshaw-Nanda et al. 19-24).

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/blackgirlsmatterreport.pdf

School to Prison Pipeline
In her article [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/02/state-sexual-violence-against-women-refuges-legal-aid “The State is an Enabler of Sexual Violence. So What Hope for the Victims”,] Eve Livingston wrote that when a state does nothing to curb the circumstances surrounding violence committed against its citizens, such state is a facilitator of violence. Such is the case involving African American girls. They have been kept out of schools and sent to prisons for minor offenses. This is happening because the state is in favor of such violence, which is protected by policies. For example, instead formulating policies to curb or prevent the school-to-prison-pipeline, the state supports policies like Zero-Tolerance and the Dropout Crisis which further perpetuates the cycle.

Evidence of State Sanctioned Violence
Suspension and expulsion are tied to short and long-term consequences. According to Office for Civil Rights (OCR) data 31 percent of black girls nationwide are referred to law enforcement and about 43percent of girls have experienced a school-related arrest. This study finds that black students are more likely to be disciplined for nonviolent transgressions. Findings showed that black girls are disciplined for behaviors like disruption, defiance, profanity and fighting. “Many of these infractions are subjective, and violation is determined by the opinions of schoolteachers and administrators” (Wun).

1 The Urban Review, June 2017, Vol. 49, Issue 2, pp. 239-262

2 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/02/state-sexual-violence-against-women-refuges-legal-aid

3 http://www.ebony.com/news-views/black-girls-and-school-discipline-whats-going-on-034#axzz4p0VLif30

Conclusion
America was built on structural injustice and inequality and we can no longer afford to leave girls of color at the margins of our concerns when it comes to school discipline, the school-to-prison pipeline, the achievement gap, the dropout crisis and many other issues as a result of disregarding black females. We must develop programs, policies and do research to find means of interventions. As a nation, we can develop “existing opportunities to ensure the inclusion and safety of girls of color. Finally, we need to develop protocols to ensure that school personnel enforce all students’ rights to learn in an environment free of harassment and bullying” (Crenshaw-Nanda et al. 4).

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/blackgirlsmatterreport.pdf