Blog Post #4: Argument

    Hey fellow bloggers! I hope you are all enjoying either this book or the different book you are reading! We are getting closer to the last section of the book Pushout. It is crazy to think that I am almost done with this book, it has been very enjoyable. While reading this book, I have learned a lot about the past and the present discrimination against Black Girls in schools.

    In this blog post, I will be focusing on the argument that Monique Morris is making throughout her book. I am almost all the way through, more than ¾ I would say, so I thought this was a good time to make an argument post. If you are returning to my blog, you already have a sense of what is happening in the book, and if you are new, I suggest looking back at my older blog posts to get a better understanding! Monique Morris started the book out by talking about a younger 14-year-old girl who had suffered from police brutality. That was when I started to get hooked on the book and wonder about all the other stories Monique was going to talk about. In the 3rd section that I read, she really emphasizes the sex trafficking that black girls get into and have to suffer the different emotional and physical stress. In the fourth section, Monique goes into talking more about black girls learning in juvenile centers, with the chapter titled "Learning on Lockdown".

(Schwiegershausen)

    Although Monique Morris has not fully bluntly explained what her argument is in this book, I think that she can clue in many different ways what she is arguing. She explains the stories behind girls who have been abused and sexually taken advantage of rather than being protected by others around them. These girls are getting strict punishments for acting out and throwing fits. Then there comes the fact of police officers who are using unnecessary force when patrolling the schools and going to the extent of arresting these kids, and some who are in kindergarten. One of the beginning arguments she makes is that we need to start learning more about how these girls are entering the criminal system. When these girls go out and talk about why they are in the justice system, the people wonder what they did and how they are now. They do not ask too much about their past, especially in the education system. Monique Morris uses stories from these young girls in the school system to show why our society's school punishment system is so messed up. She tries to show the world that these young black girls need to start being protected over getting consequences. Many kids struggle with mental health issues, and different forms of abuse, and many times they tend to lash out and have tantrums. I believe that she argues to the world throughout the book that we are not showing them enough protection and counseling. Schools have different interventions and assemblies in different ways the school is there for you and how they are a safe place for your problems, however, how does one go talk to someone in the school when the teachers are all against them and create irrational punishments for simple mistakes? That is the main argument I think Monique Morris is trying to make in her book, that people need to be able to make these girls feel safe in an educational setting, and that way they can boost their confidence in staying in school.

(Ezekiel)

    Another argument that Morris makes is that the people in this country, and in the world need to listen to these black girls and take them seriously. The section I just read brought up the girls in the facilities and how poorly they were treated after being in the centers for a certain amount of time. Many of these stories are sickening to the stomach when reading, a girl named Mia was talking about the different ways you can get kicked out of class and what can get taken away from you at the center. She talks about the time a teacher kicked her out of class for finishing her work early saying "'You're always getting done before the whole class. You know what, get out. Give me your pencil and get out"' (148). I found this so surprising, it is not her fault she is able is to get a topic faster than the other students. For her to be kicked out of the class just because she is excelling in a topic is beyond terrible. America has started to expose the wrongs in our society: Racism, sexism, etc. We stand up with the girls who have stood up for themselves and have been able to speak out about their, and call girls who have had experiences with all forms of abuse. In schools, these black girls are called out in class and in the hallways about what they act like or look like. No one is taking them and their traumatic stories seriously. The girls who try and speak out are “uncalled for” because they want help from people who may be able to help them without being called sassy, impolite, disrespectful, etc. Monique Morris makes the argument in her book that these girls are not getting enough of the attention that they need, and that the attention that might be given needs to increase.

    Black girls' lives DO matter. That is the argument that Monique Morris makes throughout her book. She uses stories, statistics, and reasoning to expose the world of the wrongs we have been doing for these girls and how it needs to be stopped. To feel powerful, girls need to feel as if people care about them. They need to be valued in the world. I hope you enjoyed my blog post on the arguments that Monique Morris makes throughout the book Pushout. 

    I cannot wait to finish the book and share my final thoughts in the next blog post! Thank you for reading :)

Works Cited

Ezekiel, Judith. "Black Women's Lives Matter." Peoples World, 21 July 2020, peoplesworld.org/article/black-womens-lives-matter/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2021.

Morris, Monique W., et al. Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. Paperback edition ed., New York, New Press, 2018.

Schwiegershausen, Erica. "How Biased Policies Push Black Girls Out of School." The Cut, 30 Mar. 2016, www.thecut.com/2016/03/pushout-monique-morris-black-girls-school-discipline.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2021.