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Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Dr. Monique W. Morris, Ed.D., education scholar, co-founder of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, and author of ‘PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.’

PUSHOUT: is a discussion about the experiences of African American girls across the country whose intricate lives are misunderstood, highly judged–by teachers, administrators, and the justice system–and degraded by the very institutions charged with helping them flourish.

Morris shows how, despite obstacles, stigmas, stereotypes, and despair, African American girls still find ways to breathe remarkable dignity into their lives in classrooms, juvenile facilities, and beyond.

Each year, millions of U.S. students face expulsion or suspension. According to research from the Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection, 7 million of the almost 50 million U.S. students faced in-school or out-of-school suspension in 2011- thru 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. About 130,000 were expelled.  

John L. Hanson is the producer and host of the nationally syndicated radio series In Black America. It’s heard on home station KUT at 10 p.m. Tuesdays and 6:30 a.m. Sundays — and weekly on close to 20 stations across the country. The weekly podcast of IBA, the only nationally broadcast Black-oriented public affairs radio program, is one of KUT’s most popular podcasts.