Black girls deserve to be themselves.

They deserve to laugh loudly and be bold, to shine their Black Girl Magic on the playground. They deserve to wear their braids or locs with pride, to dream big, and to be full of joy.

Instead, our babies are seen as adults and treated as such. They’re disciplined like adults, receiving harsher punishments just for being who they are. They’re internalizing oppression before they’ve learned to read or write.

Since my time on the Boston City Council, I’ve sought to protect the wellness of Black and brown girls in schools. I’ve heard many deeply personal stories that all had an overall message: years of being stereotyped, silenced, and shamed led to feelings of unworthiness.

I carried their stories with me from the Boston City Council to Congress. One of the first bills I introduced early on was the Ending PUSHOUT ACT, to disrupt the school-to-confinement pathway by investing in safe and nurturing school environments for all students, especially girls of color.

A new report I requested from the Government Accountability Office confirmed much of what we already knew — and the need for this legislation — but the data was particularly damning. This groundbreaking report showed that despite making up only 15% of all girls in public schools, Black girls received nearly half of all suspensions and expulsions in the 2017 to 18 school year. Nationally, Black girls are disciplined more than three times the rate of white girls, and the numbers are even worse for Black girls with disabilities and Black girls who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

As Republicans in school districts nationwide promote policies that target and further marginalize our most vulnerable students, my Ending PUSHOUT Act is what we need in this moment, and Congress must act. This is a systemic crisis. It is essential, and our Black girls deserve it. Please add your name here to signal your support for this legislation.

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School should not be a place where children are criminalized or subjected to this trauma. But instead of being in the classroom, too many children are being denied an education, denied the chance to thrive. Instead of learning, they’re disciplined and pushed out of school and onto a pathway to confinement.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Ending PUSHOUT Act calls out the harmful ways in which students are criminalized and overpoliced at school and invests in safe and nurturing school environments for all students, especially girls of color.

The policies and unfair practices that disproportionately push girls of color out of schools stem from deeply entrenched biases. We need bold, community-based solutions to correct this trend. Now is the time to support relationship-building, mental health support, and restorative interventions, as opposed to unfair and exclusionary discipline.

Our girls deserve their childhood. We must take action and disrupt the cycles of trauma that keep them from reaching their full potential. Add your name today to help me fight for their right to learn and thrive.

Onward,
Ayanna