It's Not Black or White: Biracial Girls' Disciplinary Experiences, Adultification, and Punishment in School

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Examinations of Punitive Leadership, Policies, and Practices and Their Impact on Students of Color

Abstract

Despite a growing body of research that has illuminated the disciplinary experiences of Black girls they continue to receive higher rates of suspension than other female students. Black girls are educated within carceral spaces, are punished for minor infractions, and are confined to learning spaces that make the possibilities of public education unobtainable. Still, less is known about punishment, and adultification of multiracial girls who racially identify as Black. This study analyzes through phenomenology the racialized and gendered experiences of multiracial girls within a suburban context. Findings suggest the need for white educators to address racism outside of the Black/White binary, and the toxicity of racism for multiracial girls during the disciplinary process.

Author

• Dorothy E. Hines, University of Kansas