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Mid-Semester Assignment

Ashlee Ferency

Syracuse University

EDU 310: The American School

Professor Mario Rios Perez; TA Caitlin Cafiero

March 10, 2024

​ Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools is a documentary film based on

the book Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris. The

film addresses the issues of unjust disciplinary measures that Black girls face in the American

education system. The disciplinary exclusion has led to higher rates of expulsion, suspension,

and involvement with the juvenile justice system for Black girls in schools. The film sheds light

on disciplinary inequalities, stereotyping, the school-to-prison pipeline, and systematic

challenges faced by Black girls in schools. Monique W. Morris discusses the push-out of Black

girls from schools into the criminal justice system. Throughout the film, students, parents,

teachers, and educators probe solutions for creating a more inclusive and equitable school

environment.

​ Schools serve as a place where education occurs. Education manages knowledge

production and establishes the role of “A formal space where the transfer of knowledge, ideas,

and values occur” (Perez, 2024, slide 9). In week 2, we learned that schools exist “to serve

individual hopes and ambitions, society’s hopes and ambitions, models of those hopes and

ambitions, and as a mechanism for re/making our society in the image of those hopes and

ambitions” (Perez, 2024, slide 10). However, throughout history and still today, it is clear there is

a divide between white and Black education. The film depicts how the roles of education are not

met for Black girls in school because, instead of schools being places where learning is protected

and flourishes, Black girls face violence and criminalization that disrupts their desires to learn.

​ The film depicts the struggles Black girls face in schools and how the roles of education

are not being met in the American education system. Between 1890 and 1910, the number of

Black teachers rose from 15,000 to over 60,000, and this growth continued until further

segregation was imposed and Black teachers were dislocated. As a result, Black schools were
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shut down and denied equal opportunities. There are 4 million teachers in our nation, but only

7% of them are African American. Even today, African American teachers who advocate for

curriculum change go unrecognized and their voices are silenced, hindering education inequality

(Morris, 2019). The role of education and schools is to serve the hopes and ambitions of

individuals and society, as well as foster unique knowledge, ideas, and values. However, the role

of education cannot be fully realized until Black teachers are heard. By silencing voices that

express the need for change in the education curriculum, the struggle to create schools that

prepare students for college and the workplace persists. Silencing voices that go against

oppression creates schools that pose a place of danger for Black girls.

​ Black girls are the only group of girls to be over-represented across the entire continuum

of school discipline between expulsions, suspensions, arrests, corporal punishment, referrals to

law enforcement, and restraints. “In high schools, Black female students are 3x as likely to be

physically restrained than white female students,” “In high schools, Black female students are

over 2x more likely to receive corporal punishment than white female students,” “In high

schools, Black female students are 4x more likely to be arrested than white female students,”

(Morris, 2019, 2:04; 3:11; 6:43). There is an overly represented amount of Black girls facing

exclusion, punishment, and violence in schools. These disciplinary disparities hinder their ability

to learn and make schools a dangerous place for them, whether it is through physical violence or

leading them down a path of recurrent incarceration.

​ Carla, a fifteen-year-old Black girl, was suspended and arrested by authorities on campus

for an infraction she did not commit. She says, “She tried most of her time in school to stay out

of trouble, to escape surveillance from school authorities by being “under the radar” (Wun, 2021,

p. 229). Carla was quiet and reserved because she believed that if she could avoid her teachers
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and administration, she would not get in trouble. However, by doing so, she was unable to seek

resources or ask for help. Her educational experience was obstructed due to the fear of being

suspended and arrested again. Carla was arrested and suspended for theft, despite her efforts to

avoid “bad crowds” and keep to herself (Wun, 2021), a situation she did not initiate. It is

disciplinary measures like the ones done to Carla that hinder educational equality and create fear

for Black girls in schools.

​ Another young Black girl, Charmaine, is in the ninth grade. She has been getting in

trouble for things that happen outside of school and has received two referrals for disobedience

and defiance. She gives reasons for her behaviors in school, saying that sometimes she has to

skip meals and walk for hours to school due to situations at home. She expresses her frustration,

noting that her teacher does not see the things happening in her life outside of school, and says

that “if her teachers understood her difficult experiences, they would be less punitive and more

supportive” (Wun, 2021, p. 236). Black girls face a lack of support in the education system, and

due to perpetuated stereotypes and a lack of resources, Black girls are discriminated against and

punished for situations out of their control.

The disciplinary disparities represented in these personal accounts reflect the negative

stereotypes and biases surrounding Black girls that continue to be the cause of and perpetuate

these normalized arrests and suspensions. Monique W. Morris says, “The history of biased

education codes and violent restrictions to learning in the Black community is unfortunately

embedded in the structural and policy design of schools that educate Black girls and their peers”

(Morris, 2022, p. 3). Morris indicates that school-to-confinement pathways are structured within

these schools and subject Black girls to unnecessary and exclusionary discipline with the risk of

involvement in the juvenile justice system.

​ Although Black girls are unjustly punished through violence, suspensions, referrals, and

arrests, one Black girl, Terriana, shares her story and how she used her desires and strengths in

the face of inequality and oppression. Terriana got involved with a pimp and started skipping

school and stealing money; she thought it was an easy way to provide for herself and her family.

After she was caught, she felt her world crashing around her, and graduating felt impossible. She

got connected with a program called E.M.E.R.G.E., which stands for educating, mentoring,

empowering, and reaffirming girls for excellence. Their mission is to repair the relationship

between girls and their education after incarceration, chronic suspensions, truancy, or periods of

confinement,” (Morris, 2019, 58:00; 59:00).

Terriana was able to get a job through this program. She says, “They care more than I feel

like anybody else cared, they turned into my family, I feel like that was my home,” (Morris,

2019, 58:00; 59:00). Terriana is now helping other young Black girls in the community, helping

them escape systematic racism and teaching them to use their collectivity and hopes to find their

paths. Resources like E.M.E.R.G.E. provide Black girls with the resources they need to get on

the right foot after incarceration; they give them a sense of belonging, agency to pursue their

desires, and resistance against a system that wants them to fail.

Samaya, another Black girl, was seven years old when an argument with another student

enraged her teacher. Her teacher dragged her out of her chair and across the room. Samaya was

left outside to sit alone, being singled out for punishment. She knew her teacher did not like her,

but she could not understand why. Morris explains that many times this is due to fear that has

been constructed into the teachers when dealing with Black girls. Samaya’s parents believed the

teacher, and Samaya felt like no one loved or cared about her. She even considered suicide. She

asked herself, “Why not just go to heaven now?” Samaya faced punishment by her teacher when
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all she needed was help, someone to talk to, a way to cool off, and resources! School caused her

pain, so much so that she was willing to take her own life at just seven years old. Her parents had

no idea how much she was suffering (Morris, 2019, 9:00; 17:00).

Samaya and Terriana are both Black girls who have proven that your past story does not

define you. Teachers and schools are not able to see that some of their Black students are just

hurt and have built up trauma because they cannot see past the girls' attitudes, anger, and

sexuality. Trauma, anxiety, and depression can lead to rage, and instead of caring for the

students, many educators turn to punitive measures and recreate the bias that Black girls are

aggressive. These girls need to be seen and recognized to feel supported and become more

confident in their abilities. Both girls transformed their negative experiences into positive ones,

helping themselves and others redefine what it means to be a Black girl and learn to love the skin

they were born with. Samaya continues with her education and is working towards a D1

Basketball scholarship. Terrain continues to work with the non-profit association to help girls

whose stories mirror hers (Morris, 2019).

​ The film consistently uses the language “pushout” and not “dropout” to redefine the

nature of the criminalization of Black girls in schools. These girls want to learn and attend

school, but they feel trapped in surveillance. They cannot escape the path that has been defined

for them by institutions in society. “You push a girl out of school and you push her into the

street,” (Morris, 2019, 53:10). You (the schools) push her into violence and trauma and adverse

experiences; many times, they will end up in the criminal justice system, even if it is with the

desire to be needed and loved. These girls are not choosing to be disciplined, and they are not

choosing incarceration over education; the schools are. These girls are not dropping out; they are

being forced out. Black girls in schools are not given the same opportunities, they are judged
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before their teachers know anything about them, and they are punished for situations that would

be looked past if they were white.

​ Many Black girls, however, are fighting for change and redefining their Blackness,

finding ways to come together as a community and help each other create inclusive learning

environments. Resources, like E.M.E.R.G.E., help Black girls understand their past does not

define them, systemic racism does not define them, their trauma does not define them, and

stereotypes do not define them. These resources empower Black girls to reclaim what was taken

from them, demonstrating their ability to shape their educational experiences. They were not

dropouts; they were pushed out by a system that benefits from their incarceration and continues

to segregate them after slavery. “The prison industrial complex is a self-perpetuating machine

where the vast profits and perceived political benefits to policies that are additionally designed to

ensure an endless supply of 'clients' for the criminal justice system,” (Heitzeg, 2009, p. 7). The

criminal justice system benefits from its inmates by using them for cheap labor, providing jobs

for criminal justice professionals, and using exaggerated crime stories to grab the attention of

viewers and increase their media profits. The language “pushout” expresses that Black girls’

educational disparities are not their fault. “Pushout” reflects that Black girls are not the

aggressive ones who need to change; it is the American education system, the teachers,

administrators, authorities, the criminal justice system, and the media.

White teachers feel threatened by their Black students and as a result, they are being

pushed into the prison pipeline due to media stereotyping and a punishment-orientated juvenile

justice system, “Some of the highest rates of racially disproportionate discipline are found in

states with the lowest minority populations, where the disconnect between white teachers and

Black students is potentially the greatest,” (Heitzeg, 2009, p. 12). The systemic racism Black
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girls in school face makes it nearly impossible to learn in an environment where education is

supposed to be the number one priority. For Black girls, it has become the least prioritized by

administrative and authoritative figures.

​ Due to trauma, negative home life experiences, and lack of resources, these girls feel like

nobody loves or supports them. It is important to understand that these girls are not bad people;

they are the products of what has come before them and what their schools have made them out

to be. So, how do we find ways to stop unnecessary and forceful punishments and, instead, find

ways to support Black girls in school, dealing with trauma? The authors and filmmakers suggest

that schools start analyzing how they are treating the same behaviors amongst all races, and that

the replacement of law enforcement with the correct resources is crucial in curbing the pushout

and criminalization of Black girls in schools.

Schools must redefine and become places of healing before they can become places of

learning. “Healing facilitates safety. Safety facilitates joy. When students feel safe, their brain is

more receptive to learning new material, as well as processing and developing ideas” (Morris,

2022, p. 4). Schools have become prison pipelines for Black girls, prioritizing incarceration over

education. However, by highlighting the term “pushout,” Monique Morris changes the narrative

to frame the power of education on Black girls, educators, and the community to express the

need for change in the unjust education system that is the result of no one’s fault but their own.
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Bibliography

Heitzeg, N. (2009). ―Education Or Incarceration: Zero Tolerance Policies And The School
To Prison Pipeline. Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table. 9.

Morris, M. W. (2019). Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (79 min).

Morris, M. W. (2022). The Framework: Schools as Locations for Healing. In Cultivating Joyful
Learning Spaces for Black Girls: Insights Into Interrupting School Pushout (pp. 1–13).

Perez, M.R. (2024, January 22). Competing Goals of American Education [slide 10]. EDU
310/610: The American School, School of Education, Syracuse University.

Perez, M.R. (2024, January 29). Politicization & De/Colonization of Education [slide 9] EDU
310/610: The American School, School of Education, Syracuse University.

Wun, C. (2021). Schools as Sites of Antiblack Violence: Black Girls and Policing in the Afterlife
of Slavery. In M.-K. JUNG & J. H. C. VARGAS (Eds.), Antiblackness (pp. 224–243).
Duke University Press.