As the marathon continues
Black girls have three additional
hurdles to jump.
As we began creating our customized curriculum, our research revealed three additional hurdles that are being placed in front of Black girls: The Adultification Bias, The Criminalization of Black Girls & The Strong Black Woman Schema. The exhaustion that comes from daily encounters of others implicit bias has a significantly negative impact on the development of Black girls and gender-expansive youth.
THE ADULTIFICATION BIAS
The Adultification bias is a form of racial prejudice where children of minority groups, such as African American girls, are treated as being more mature than they are by a reasonable social standard of development.
CRIMINALIZATION OF BLACK GIRLS
The Criminalization of Black Girls reveals that Black girls are often punished and criminalized for their communication styles, physical expressions, and the trauma they have experienced.
THE STRONG BLACK WOMAN SCHEMA
The Strong Black Woman Schema is an amalgamation of beliefs and cultural expectations of incessant resilience, independence, and strength that guide meaning-making, cognition, and behavior.