February 2, 2019
WASHINGTON - It
is reported a school nurse and vice principal at Binghamton East Middle
School in New York State strip searched four African-American girls
because they were acting “giddy” and authorities concluded they might be
using drugs.
News
flash—12-year-old girls act silly sometimes. That’s not a problem for
white children, but for children of color, this normal behavior can be
used to justify racist and sexist stereotypes and the most horrific
invasions of privacy. Black girls are disciplined because of their hair,
their clothes and the way they talk to their friends. These
discriminatory steps often lead to the school-to-prison pipeline that
victimizes so many African-American girls.
NOW condemns the
Binghamton East Middle School’s actions, and calls on the
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Tonia Thompson, to fire the nurse,
assistant principal, and principal of the school, along with any other
school personnel who oversaw the strip searches. Additionally, a policy
that ends all school strip searches must go into effect immediately, and
district employees must be required to participate in cultural
competency training.
The criminalization of Black girls must stop, now!
|
