Since its earliest beginnings, the United States has billed itself as a land of opportunity, Unfortunately, as the author learned for herself, educational opportunities are sorely lacking for many African American children.
In general, Black children are not given the same chance to flourish as white children.
Twelve percent of African American girls are suspended from school at least once during their education, in contrast with just 2 percent of their white counterparts. In other words, Black children are punished more harshly than white children because of racial discrimination. The author also learned from her own experiences that schools in Black neighborhoods had far more of a police presence than those in white areas. After attending mostly white middle school, the author was shocked when she went to a summer school that was located in her own neighborhood. In stark contrast to her middle school, the Black-majority summer school was filled with metal detectors and police sniffer dogs. In fact, it resembled prison.
The differences between Black schools and white ones were further highlighted when the author made the mistake of smoking weed in her summer-school bathroom. White kids often smoked weed at her middle school, even showing up to class high, without any repercussions. However, in the Black school, it was a different story. Someone reported her for smoking, and two days later a police officer put her in handcuffs in front of her whole class and arrested her. The author was just 12 years old when this happened.
Throughout her life, the author has continually witnessed the discriminatory ways in which the public school system treat Black children. For example, although high-school shootings typically takes place in white schools, it is only in Black schools that the halls are patrolled by police in full bullet-proof armor. It is only Black children who are roughly thrown from their seats by school safety officers for the "crime" of having their mobile phones out in the classroom. In one shocking example of the harsh treatment of Black pupils, a 12-year-old girl from Detroit was nearly expelled and criminally prosecuted simple for writing "Hi" on her school locker. Even in school, there is no safe place for Black children.
