Date

2002

Document Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Department

Humanities & Communication

Abstract

Man that school shit is a joke. The same people who control the school system, control the prison system, and the whole social system, ever since slavery, you know what I'm saying?-Dead Prez, 2000. According to an article written by Revolutionary Worker, "The number of people under 18 arrested across the country has doubled since 1980. Estimates are that by 2010 the number of people under 18 who are in jail will be three times what it is now." According to a fact sheet on educational inequality put out by ERASE, Expose Racism & Advance School Excellence, "92% of whites, 86% of African Americans and only 61% of Latinos finish high school." These numbers combined, indicate that youth of color are dropping out of school and being thrown into prisons at an alarming rate. With such disturbing statistics, we must ask ourselves, what are the factors behind this phenomenon? This research will show the role in which American public schools play in pushing students of color out of school as a result of the way in which they criminalize their students. I will show how racially biased school policies and increased police presence in schools criminalize students of color, and that it is precisely these policies that push these youth out of school.

Comments

Capstone Project (B.A.) Institute for Human Communication

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