Pushout The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

Pushout exposes the unique and daunting challenges black girls face in our schools. They’re singled out. They’re belittled. They’re hypersexualized. And they’re pushed into our juvenile justice system at an alarming rate. In her urgent, compassionate book, Morris shares their stories and compels readers to take action. Recommended By Renee P., Powells.com

A groundbreaking look at the lives of African American girls by a powerful advocate who has been featured on MSNBC, Ebony.com, the Brian Lehrer Show, and in Essence magazine

"Monique Morris is a fearless and brilliant intellectual. Her groundbreaking work illuminates the pernicious challenges at the intersection of race and gender for African American girls in our education and criminal justice systems, and speaks directly and powerfully into the current moment." — Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and author of On the Courthouse Lawn

Fifteen-year-old Diamond stopped going to school the day she was expelled for lashing out at peers who constantly harassed and teased her for something everyone on the staff had missed: she was being trafficked for sex. After months on the run, she was arrested and sent to a detention center for violating a court order to attend school.

Just 16 percent of female students, Black girls make up more than one-third of all girls with a school-related arrest. The first trade book to tell these untold stories, Pushout exposes a world of confined potential and supports the growing movement to address the policies, practices, and cultural illiteracy that push countless students out of school and into unhealthy, unstable, and often unsafe futures.

For four years Monique W. Morris, author of Black Stats, chronicled the experiences of Black 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, black girls still find ways to breathe remarkable dignity into their lives in classrooms, juvenile facilities, and beyond.

"This book is imperative reading, not only for educators and those in the justice system but — perhaps especially — for anyone who loves and sleeps down the hall from a young, developing African American woman." Lisa Delpit, author of “Multiplication Is for White People” and Other People’s Children

"Despite increased attention to the mass and over-incarceration of Black men, the plight of criminalized Black women and girls is overlooked, underreported, and underanalyzed. Finally, a compelling narrative that tells us the heartrending story of how schools are culpable in re-victimizing some of our most vulnerable citizens. This is a must-read for educators, juvenile justice officials, parents, and the entire community." Gloria Ladson-Billings, Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education, University of Wisconsin–Madison

"A dynamic call to action. Black girls’ exposure to being pushed out of school and set on paths to incarceration, physical and economic insecurity, and social marginality is so movingly set forth by Morris that it can no longer be ignored. Pushout is essential reading for all who believe that Black lives matter." Kimberlé Crenshaw, co-editor of Critical Race Theory and co-author of the reports "Say Her Name" and "Black Girls Matter"

"A powerful indictment of the cultural beliefs, policies, and practices that criminalize and dehumanize Black girls in America, coupled with thoughtful analysis and critique of the justice work that must be done at the intersection of race and gender." Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

Fifteen-year-old Diamond stopped going to school the day she was expelled for lashing out at peers who constantly harassed and teased her for something everyone on the staff had missed: she was being trafficked for sex. After months on the run, she was arrested and sent to a detention center for violating a court order to attend school.
Just 16 percent of female students, Black girls make up more than one-third of all girls with a school-related arrest. The first trade book to tell these untold stories, Pushout exposes a world of confined potential and supports the growing movement to address the policies, practices, and cultural illiteracy that push countless students out of school and into unhealthy, unstable, and often unsafe futures.
For four years Monique W. Morris, author of Black Stats, chronicled the experiences of black 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, black girls still find ways to breathe remarkable dignity into their lives in classrooms, juvenile facilities, and beyond.

Monique W. Morris is the co-founder of the National Black Womens Justice Institute and writes a monthly column on black women and girls for Ebony.com. She is the author of Black Stats (The New Press) and lives in Oakland, CA with her husband and two daughters.