Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls In School

March 26, 2020

PUSHOUT: THE CRIMINALIZATION OF BLACK GIRLS IN SCHOOLS is a feature length documentary that takes a deep dive into the lives of Black girls and the practices, cultural beliefs and policies that disrupts one of the most important factors in girls’ lives – education.

The documentary underscores the challenges Black girls face with insight from experts across the country who have worked extensively in the field of social justice, gender equality and educational equity. These experts give context to the crisis and provide a roadmap for how our educational system and those who interact with Black girls can provide a positive rather than punitive response to behaviors that are often misunderstood or mis-represented.

While the challenges facing Black boys in this country have garnered national attention, absent from that conversation was how girls of color, particularly Black girls, are being impacted. PUSHOUT addresses that crisis.

The documentary focuses on challenges Black girls face, emphasizing first-person narratives from girls. We hear from them as young as the age of seven and as old as 19. They describe navigating a society that often marginalizes and dismisses them.

At the same time the documentary lays out how adults and policy makers can address the needs of these young girls and women with positive responses that can short circuit the pervasive over punishment of Black girls.

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls In School