Join the Springfield NOW Chapter
on May 21 to Watch and Discuss:
PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
Directed by Jacoba Atlas
PUSHOUT, drawn from Dr. Monique W. Morris’ 2016 book of the same name, explores how Black girls are disciplined and punished disproportionately in the education system. This documentary film highlights the stories of Black girls from Columbus, Oakland, and Miami, and examines how mental/behavioral health, lack of representation in teachers, traumatic events, and body image affect their school experiences.
1. WATCH PUSHOUT for free now on PBS.org! (Plan to watch the film BEFORE the event.)
https://www.pbs.org/video/pushout-the-criminalization-of-black-girls-in-school-eaxs3q/
2. THEN, join Springfield NOW and community members to discuss the film on Thursday, May 21st at 7:00 PM (central).
We’ll be joined by panelists (in alphabetical order):
• Dr. Venus Evans-Winters is a Professor of Education at Illinois State University. She is the author of Teaching Black Girls: Resiliency in Urban Classrooms, among a variety of books, chapters, articles, and other publications. Dr. Evans-Winters is a featured commentator in the film PUSHOUT.
• Kelly Wickham Hurst is the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Being Black at School. Hurst is a former public school teacher and administrator, whose voice has been featured on NPR Illinois. She is based in Springfield.
We’ll hear your reflections, take your questions, and discuss how to take action!
Photo credit: “Student Life” by USF SLE is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.