experiences

black girls are suspended for being “loud”

“why do all you black girls act like this?”  my friends and i stared at our substitute teacher with looks of confusion on our faces. “you know…every school i go to y’all are all the same.  mean and loud.”

lbwthis was my experience as a high school student in a majority white accelerated academic program.  my friends and i were throwing shade and making jokes at each other’s expense, all from a place of love of course.  this was the way we related to one another, anything else would have been deemed inauthentic; however, for our white teacher, our behavior was problematic and  pathological.

black women being labeled as loud and angry is embodied in moments like the one i experienced as a teenager.  for some, this may have been harmless, but for us it was a person with power and privilege misunderstanding and condemning our behavior — he quickly used a negative stereotype to explain actions that he didn’t understand.  i had forgotten about this experience until reading pushed out of school, black girls lose huge ground,” an article published yesterday by WeNews.

the article cites research by monique morris that “black girls are getting into trouble at school just for being who they have to be.”  monique’s research discovered that the majority of black girls who have been suspended were kicked out of school for being “loud” and engaging in behaviors that are prompted by a need to defend themselves or that have cultural roots.  WeNews also cites a 2007 study by edward morris that black girls were most likely to be punished by schools for being more “unlady-like” than white girls and were seen by teachers as “loud, defiant and precocious.”

while much attention has been given to black males and the barriers to their safety, achievement and well-being, we must not forget that black women are also suffering at the hands of racist and sexist systems.  we too need interventions that speak to our poor educational outcomes and address the insidious practices that work to condemn our identities.

 

solange knowles opens up to harper’s bazaar

hbz-april-2014-solange-knowles-smone of the many reasons i love solange is her effervescent-i-don’t-give-a-eff attitude that exudes a realness you don’t get from most celebrities. this is most certainly not what’s expected when your last name ends with “knowles.” in an interview with harper’s bazaar solange was as open as ever as she talks about her teenage pregnancy, marriage and divorce by age 21.

“in a lot of ways, emotionally and mentally, i feel far older than 27… just going through a marriage and a divorce—which i essentially did by 21—will give you an insane amount of perspective on life.”

recently relocated to new orleans, the musician, record label owner and art director for puma is trying to de-clutter her life while she finishes her forthcoming album.   i’m amazed by how place has had what appears to be a profound affect on her trajectory.  in a previous interview with NPR, solange talks about being influenced by cash money records artists and chopped and screwed music while growing up in houston, texas. fast forward 10 plus years and harper’s bazaar captures her evolution into a tastemaker while submersed into brooklyn’s artist scene.  thanks solange for the reminder about the role culture and locale can play in igniting personal growth.   

solange 3 solange 4images by julia noni for harper’s bazaar