We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom

by Bettina L. Love

Dark communities are ill-equipped to protect girls of color. I was fortunate because I had a community and basketball. Black girls, as I stated in chapter 2, are also expelled and suspended from school at high rates because teachers do not understand Black girls’ struggles to live with dignity and stand up for themselves despite mental health issues, learning disabilities, and sexual and physical abuse. There is no amount of grit that can fight off the intersections of living in poverty, being pushed out of school, facing a world full of patriarchy and racism, and suffering toxic stress. It is not that dark children do not have grit and zest, but they need educators and their communities to protect it, not measure it. Sadly, this is easier said than done in an environment of injustice, profit from oppression, and quick fixes.