The Atlantic

How Black Girls Aren’t Presumed to Be Innocent

A new study finds that adults view them as less child-like and less in need of protection than their white peers.
Source: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

A growing body of evidence has shown that the American education and criminal-justice systems dole out harsher and more frequent discipline to black youth compared with their non-black peers. But while most of that research has focused on black boys, a new study from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality specifically turned its attention to society’s perception of black girls.

Researchers built in part on a 2014 report that concluded black boys are than their actual age and are more likely to be viewed as guilty when they are suspected of a crime. The Georgetown study sought to determine whether there’s

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