Part 4: Black Girl Adolescence

Part 3, focused on providing practical strategies to create spaces for discussions on race and racism. As we create spaces for honest discussions about racial and social injustice we must also prepare to challenge adultification bias, which refers to the perception of Black children, particularly Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than white girls of the same age. Please take a moment to watch the video, End Adultification Bias (Full Version), which highlights focus-group research conducted by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty's Initiative on Gender Justice and Opportunity to explain adultification bias through the narratives of Black girls and women.

Now, that you understand what adultification is and how it impacts the lives of Black girls let's explore the forms of adultification. One form occurs through the process of socialization in which Black girls are raised to function at a more mature developmental stage because of situational context and necessity. For example, a Black girl with younger siblings may have additional responsibilities to care for her siblings. She maybe responsible for not only preparing herself for school or work, but also for helping her siblings get ready for school; ensuring they make it safely to the bus stop; preparing meals; and helping with homework. Another form of adultification occurs through a social or cultural stereotype that is based on how adults perceive children. Scholars have observed that adults perceive Black girls as young as 5 years old as fully developed adults who:

? need less nurturing;

? need less protection;

? need to be supported less;

? need to be comforted less;

? are more independent;

? know more about adult topics; and

? know more about sex.

These perceptions lead to stereotypes that eradicate childhood for Black girls and contribute to the disproportionate rates of punitive treatment of Black girls in the education and juvenile justice systems. Adultification also impacts the lives of Black boys and is rooted in the legacy of racism in our country:

Beginning in slavery, Black boys and girls were imagined as chattel and were often put to work as young as two and three years old. Subjected to much of the same dehumanization suffered by Black adults, Black children were rarely perceived as being worthy of playtime and were severely punished for exhibiting normal child-like behaviors (Epstein et al 2019).

It is critical that we work to acknowledge and understand the unique experiences of Black girls and boys as we work to create change in our society. To learn more about adultification and our local efforts to improve the quality of life for Black girls and women check out my recent interview, Black Girl Adolescence, on WOSU Public Media, All Sides with Ann Fisher.