The Anti-Blackness at School

Before we start, we’re gonna break this topic down into four parts. School-to-prison pipeline, labels, experiences, and a conclusion. The topic will be ¨Being Black in School”. I thought I would bring this out because I know a few schools are opening up again during the pandemic and students are attending. So let's get on to the article. 

Part 1: School-to-prison pipeline 

So what is the school-to-prison pipeline? To summarize, the school-to-prison pipeline is where students can go through the process from school to prison and their own situations aren’t being handled within the principal's office anymore but rather by law enforcement. This criminalization can affect these students to drop out early or to be held back. 

and just to add - students with disabilities and of color including Black students are more likely to be dealt with SRO’s and law enforcement. From what I’ve learned from this video called “American Kids & The School-to-Prison Pipeline” Black students are to be 3x expelled than their white peers and students with disabilities are 2x likely to be suspended. It’s definitely important to learn and research what the school-to-prison pipeline is and how it affects students, especially those who are Black, Brown, and more. 

Part 2: Labels & Issues 

So how does this relate? I feel as though at a young age when we walk through those school doors, I feel as if those labels and roles are already arranged for us. Whenever a parent is discussing with their kid not to become those disrespectful kids at school who do they think they’re talking about? What kind of student or students are they describing? A Black kid. We are seen as the “disrespectful” group. We always get in trouble with teachers, staff, and authorities at schools. From my experience at school, teachers and staff always called out the Black students often. We can also be seen as “uneducated” and I feel like some teachers still have that mindset that we are. I feel like teachers would act like saviors towards us instead of teaching us like normal students. I feel like they would even get surprised if we excel. Now I wanted to move on forward about the effects of dealing with these issues, especially our hair. Our hair is often seen as unprofessional and we are able to be banned because of it. If we straighten our hair, we are deemed attractive and our hair is socially acceptable. I´ve even noticed how when we wear our wraps, scarves, and bonnets - It´s ¨ghetto¨ or presents ourselves as ¨lazy¨ when really… We are protecting our hair. 

Part 3: Experiences

To this day, I am still embarrassed. I remember in middle school, we had lunch after doing STEM projects. I was standing in the lunch line but left mid-line to return back to my friends at our table. I don't why but I had a feeling that I felt something and I turned back to see the mesh that had fallen out of my hair. I look and all I see is pointing fingers and laughter. Boys who thought my meshed-out braid was funny. I remember turning back to the table and crying my eyes out. I remember one of my friends comforted me by writing a note about how beautiful my hair was. Besides the embarrassment, being appreciated is the best thing. Another story of mine, I was called Medusa because of my braids by a group of kids (Just wanted to say something real quick, you know how gym teachers, especially male would often try to hang around with popular kids? Despite their age, they have no reason to hang around them.) I had a gym teacher, he was white, and he would often hang around the popular kids. One time, we were all sitting down, getting ready for the teachers to explain what we will be doing today, and I think I was messing around while standing up and all I heard was him saying ¨Medusa sit down¨ and they were laughing a little. He was copying after what they said and he probably didn´t understand why I was called that and compared to Medusa. 

Part 4: Conclusion 

We need to educate not only non-black students about the ignorance of racism at school but also our hair that adds to it. We aren't being taught enough about the history of our hair and why it's important. We need to educate our teachers and staff as well. These uneducated teachers and staff can teach us the wrong things too. I hope teachers and staff can listen up and hear how it can affect us and the education system too.