Partnering With Families to Support Black Girls

Anti-Blackness is pervasive and has material consequences for all people—especially Black children, whose presence is often either overlooked or villainized. But there are specific actions that educators, parents, caregivers and communities can take to insist on the well-being of Black children.

When it comes to supporting Black girls in particular, partnership with families is key. The trauma of Black girls often goes unnoticed and unaddressed, and their resulting trauma-based responses—like withdrawal, isolation, depression, irritability, aggression or risky behaviors—tend to be punished or even criminalized. It’s a vicious and escalating cycle, say authors Adam Alvarez, Ph.D., and Eshe Price in this Learning for Justice article. “Many Black girls are pushed out of school, funneled into the justice system and struggle with high levels of cascading stress. This is why the combined support of educators, families and caregivers is crucial.”

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Stop Talking in Code: Call Them Black Boys

“In order to address the bias against Black boys, we must first acknowledge the bias attached to the term ‘Black males,’” writes Daryl Howard, Ph.D., in this LFJ article. The term “Black male” is nonspecific and dehumanizing. “A Black male could be a man or a preschooler. Or it could be a dog or fish or any other species. It’s not an adequate descriptor for any Black boy—or man.”

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Ending Curriculum Violence

Yes, curriculum can be violent—both intentionally and unintentionally. In this LFJ article, Stephanie P. Jones, Ph.D., details what curriculum violence looks like and how educators can work to end it, leading with problematic examples of lessons about slavery: “Reenactments and simulations do not help students to understand slavery. Instead, they distort students’ understanding of the past and the present.”

Read more here.