The Criminalization of Black Youth in the Classroom

Last year, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released a report that revealed shocking data about school discipline policies around the country. Nationally, black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than white students, often starting at an early age. For instance, black children only represent 18% of preschool enrollment, but they represent 48% of preschool children receiving more than one out-of-school. The uneven use of suspension and expulsion is mirrored across K-12.

What are the long-term effects of the overuse and misuse of disciplinary action? How much of a role does it play in the school-to-prison pipeline? Are there policy solutions at the local and federal level should be considered? Join New America in collaboration with Howard University for the third event in "From Moment to Movement," a conversation and essay series on race and policy in America.

Introduction:

Conor Williams
Senior Researcher, Education Policy Program, New America

Ja'Mesha Morgan
Student, Howard University

Participants:

Dr. Bahiyyah Muhammad
Assistant Professor of Criminology, Howard University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Arts & Sciences
Author, The Prison Alphabet: An Educational Coloring Book for Children of Incarcerated Parents

Ed N. Davies
Executive Director, DC Trust

Jose Vilson
Educator and Author, This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and the Future of Education

Thomas Mariadason
Staff Attorney, Ending the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track Program, Advancement Project

Moderator: 

Nikole Hannah-Jones
Journalist, The New York Times Magazine

Follow the discussion online using #Moment2Movement and by following @NewAmerica.

This is the third event in the "From Moment to Movement" Series: Conversations on Race in America in collaboration with Howard University.