Discrimination against Black Girls

The situation of girls in the US is worrying. There is evidence that they are treated unfairly compared to their white counterparts. The article Schools’ Discipline for Girls Differs by Race and Hue by Tanzina Vega highlights the situation of colored girls in regard to the disciplinary action in schools. In the article uses a variety of methods show how colored girls are treated unfairly compared to others. Vega goes further to highlight another feature of discrimination that would otherwise go unnoticed. According to her, girls are also treated discriminatively according to the intensity of their color.

Vega highlights the case of Mikia, a 12 year old black girl upon whom criminal charges have been leveled against. The situation of Mikia is a complicated one. In her version of the story, Mikia says that she only contributed to the graffiti that was written on a wall in the school by writing the word hi. To resolve the situation, the school determined that she, along with her friend would each pay a restitution fee of $100. Mikia’s family thought that the restitution fees were too high relative to her contribution to the case of indiscipline.

While both students were shortly suspended, mikia also had to face a disciplinary hearing and a visit from an officer from the sheriff’s officer. Both of these situations are not considerate at all. There is no reason to meet unequal treatment on different students. There was no reason for the child to have to face the disciplinary committee while they had both been accused of the same disciplinary issue.

Vega also notes that the disparity in treatment is not unique to Mikia’s case. Statistics show that black girls have a 12 % rate of probation compared to white girls who have a likelihood of only 2 %. They are also notably more likely to be suspended than any other group in the school system. What is to blame for this disparity? Vega points out that when black girls stand up against unfair treatment, this is translated to imply that they are too boyish and unlikely to transform into the universal women. However, this does not account for the case of Mikia. Mikia is a quiet and could be probably unlikely to offer a confrontation that would be translated to be boyish.

On the issue of hue, Vega notes that darker girls have up to three times a higher likelihood of being suspended than the lightest girls in the same group. This implies that a majority of girls who are suspended could in fact be the darker African American girls. This makes the situation rather tough among such girls. According to Vega, children translate expulsion to imply that they should not be in a school. It is a sign of rejection and could be traumatizing to the children.

How traumatizing it can get is explained by another case. Sakina White’s 17 year old daughter was expelled from school unfairly for allegedly hitting a white male student with a book. Eventually, criminal charges were later leveled against her. With time, the child became suicidal and started causing harm to herself. The charges were later dropped and the expulsion reversed. This situation shows that as soon as the girl was accused of indiscipline, the school felt that she was guilty. It is for this reason that she was expelled.

While black boys also have higher rates of being disciplined compared to their white counterparts, the situations are different. Girls are treated more subjectively. They are placed on disciplinary measures for the smallest of mistakes they make. Vega quotes mistakes such as being defiant and for having an attitude. For such small cases, black girls end up serving big and humiliating disciplinary measures.

The article is very effective in analyzing discrimination against black girls. Black girls are treated differently in their respective school systems. The two cases discussed show that the cases are simply discrimination rather than discipline. There is no justification for discrimination against black girls. There is a need to restore sanity to the discipline system in the US. There is also a likelihood that the entire system is wanting. Even the juvenile justice system does not see any problem placing Mikia under probation while he has been accused on the basis of discrimination.

Everyone involved in the school system should play their part in resolving the discrimination issue in school in the US. Better policies should be generated to guide the way justice should be met against those accused of discipline cases in US schools. There could also be a need to educate disciplinary committees on ways to deal with cases of indiscipline in school.

In conclusion, there is a need to take action against cases of discipline in the US. The cases of Mikia and Sakin’s daughter show how bad disciplinary committees can get in resolving matters of indiscipline in schools. Treating children from different ethnic groups differently is especially dangerous for the children. As noted from the case of Sakina’s daughter, such cases can be so bad as to lead to suicidal attempts. There is therefore a need for everyone involved to try and resolve the situation in their own way.