Events
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On Thursday, October 10, our Initiative hosted a screening of PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, which based on the critically acclaimed book by our long-time partner, Dr. Monique W. Morris. The screening was followed by a conversation with the Center’s Executive Director, Rebecca Epstein, and a robust Q&A with the audience.
On Sunday, September 8, 2019, the Initiative co-hosted Girlhood Interrupted, a Cultural Capital event, with the National Museum of Women in the Arts. In the beautiful space of this landmark museum, activists, researchers, and artists presented their perspectives on our research highlighting Black girls’ lived experiences and the bias that can influence adults’ perception of their innocence.
Speakers included:
Rebecca Epstein, Executive Director, Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality
Jamilia Blake, Senior Scholar, Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality
Paiden Williams, Community Advocate
Ashley Joi, Artist
Sancha McBurnie, Artist
Naomi Wadler, Youth Adviser, Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality
Rebecca Epstein, executive director of the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, opened the event, noting: “We face a crisis in this country that’s rarely recognized in mainstream conversations — that black girls are placed in the juvenile justice system and taken out of the learning spaces of our schools in wildly disproportionate numbers to their white peers.”
Building on the Center’s 2017 quantitative study, “Girlhood Interrupted” — which showed that adults view black girls as more adult and less innocent than white girls (a stereotype called “adultification bias”) — a 2019 report, “Listening to Black Women and Girls: Lived Experiences of Adultification Bias,” reveals findings from focus groups across the country that examined whether the results of the original study align with the real lives of black girls and women, and what should be done to address adultification bias.
Jamilia Blake, an associate professor at Texas A & M University and a senior scholar at the Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Initiative on Gender Justice and Opportunity, explained to an audience comprised largely of women that the disparity in how black and white children are treated may result from the black girls’ being “not seen as girls; they’re being seen as women.” Blake, who co-authored the report, said their research showed that after age 4, black and white girls are perceived differently.
“What really surprised us was that as early as 5, black girls weren’t seen as being innocent, weren’t seen as needing to be comforted, were seen as more knowledgeable about sex,” Blake said. She added that not only are black girls overdisciplined nationally, but they’re disciplined for subjective infractions — such as dress code violations or disobedience — allowing biases to creep in. “If you’re sensitive to the stereotype that black girls are angry, you’re likely to see benign behaviors as being more aggressive and problematic than they actually are.”
Girlhood Interrupted reception and exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on September 8, 2019.
Left to Right: Becca Shopiro, Rebecca Epstein, Jamilia Blake, Naomi Wadler, Sancha McBurnie, Paiden Williams, Ashley Joi, and Melani Douglass.
Series of photographs, taken by Sancha McBurnie, commissioned by the Initiative on Gender Justice & Opportunity to respond to adultification bias.
In creating photos in response to the erasure of black girls’ childhood, photographer Sancha McBurnie invited girls to come to the studio and simply be themselves.
"Dreaming of Love" - a commissioned piece by Ashley Whitley, which depicts characters from Ancient African Yoruba storytelling and incorporates Adinkra symbolism.
The mission of the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality is to empower and uplift our girls, which spoke directly to Ashley Joi's mission as an Artist.
Ashley's commissioned piece on the left, "Empower Her", is illustrative of that effort. The commissioned piece on the top right, "Tears," was an image that came to be in direct response to a quote from the study, reflecting that society values a white girls' tears more than a Black girl's tears. Ashley also found inspiration in one classic work of art by one of her favorite Artists, Gustav Klimt.
In October, the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality's Initiative on Gender Justice and Opportunity released I Am the Voice: Girls' Reflections from Inside the Justice System in partnership with Rights4Girls. This publication, a co-edited compilation of artwork and written pieces by girls from across the country, reflects our philosophy that to truly support girls, we must let them lead by centering their voices.
At our launch event, girls performed original works and works from the booklet that they had selected, and discussed why the pieces resonated with them. You can read the I Am the Voice art book here and view videos from the event below: Carolina, reciting “Headed in the Right Direction” by Sarah Schroeter; Kyla, reciting "Do You Remember" by Markayla; and Tatiana, sharing her original poem "In Too Deep."
Tatiana sharing her original poem "In Too Deep" at the I Am the Voice launch event, October 2018.
Carolina reciting “Headed in the Right Direction” by Sarah Schroeter at the I Am the Voice launch event, October 2018.
On May 15, 2018, Center launched its Gender Justice and Opportunity Initiative. During this event, renowned activists and scholars, such as Naomi Wadler, Monique Morris, and Melissa Harris-Perry, joined the Center in a discussion about improving public systems’ approaches to low-income girls and girls of color.
On International Women's Day, March 8, 2019, The Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and the United State of Women proudly hosted a book party to celebrate the release of YES SHE CAN. Support for this event was generously provided by 4Girls Foundation, Inc. and West Wing Writers LLC.
The co-authors, including the Center's Research Assistant Kalisha Dessources Figures, created this book in an effort to inspire young women from diverse communities to raise their hand to public service. More than just a career choice, public service needs them—government needs their voices, ideas, unique perspectives. Policy and programs are better when they are in the room and at the table.
The goal of YES SHE CAN is to increase awareness of pathways to public service, and access to getting there for all girls.
Rebecca Epstein and Jamilia Blake presented findings from their research on Adultification to the Education Law Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 9, 2018.
On January 29, 2018, Nadine Burke-Harris visited the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality to discuss her research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and her new book, The Deepest Well.
On September 19, 2016, The Georgetown Center on Poverty hosted a conference at the White House on Trauma-Informed Approaches in School: Supporting Girls of Color and Rethinking School Discipline.