Launched in 2019, the Innocence Initiative has become an award-winning collaboration of five organizations, committed to addressing adultification bias in Austin, TX. Over three years, Measure and its partners have worked tirelessly to leverage national research and translate it into actionable steps that could be implemented at the local level. One of the key strategies used to empower the community and disrupt adultification bias has been the participatory action research model. By providing opportunities for community mobilization and engaging in collaborative thinking, the initiative has been able to make significant strides toward achieving equity for Black girls.

WAYS TO PROTECT BLACK GIRLS NOW

INFOGRAPHIC
2023 Policy Brief
2020 Policy Brief
Press release
Disrupting The Jezebel Stereotype
Texas CROWN Act Advisory Letter
Black girls are seen as less innocent
as early as age

5

Source: Girlhood Interrupted: The erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood. Rebecca Epstein Jamilia J Blake Thalia Gonzalez Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.
Source: Girlhood Interrupted: The erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood. Rebecca Epstein Jamilia J Blake Thalia Gonzalez Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.

ADULTIFICATION BIAS

Adultification bias is defined as a “social or cultural stereotype that is based on how adults perceive children in the absence of knowledge of children’s behavior and verbalization.” When society embraces harmful stereotypes for people of the global majority (replaces people of color) — Black women are promiscuous”; Black people are violent and criminal” — these stereotypes are also applied to children..
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IN THE CLASS ROOM

Black girls are 6 times more likely to receive out of school suspensions than their White counterparts. As early as age 5, Black girls are viewed by adults as more knowledgeable about sex and adult topics, less in need of nurture and support, and significantly older than white girls of the same age. Source: Center for American Progress, 2013.

Measure Bill

IN THE STATE

Measure is committed to promoting equitable policies that improve outcomes for Black girls. Whether it’s through investments in education, healthcare, or juvenile justice reform, we believe that targeted policies have the potential to create a more just and equitable society for Black girls to thrive.

Crown Act

SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE

15X

Black female students are 15 times more likely than white female students to be subjected to a school-related arrest

10X

Black girls are 10 times more likely than their white counterparts to be expelled under zero-tolerance policies

5YO

As early as age 5, Black girls are viewed by adults as more knowledgeable about sex and adult topics, less in need of nurture and support and significantly older than white girls of the same age

Source: Edward W. Morris & Brea L. Perry, Girl Behaving Badly? Race, Gender & Subjective Evaluation in the Discipline of Af. Am. Girls.

#OURGIRLSNEEDUS

The Innocence Initiative is a collaboration that will elevate the data, listen to the real-life stories of Black girls, and address disparities that perpetuate adultification through advocacy, training, and a public awareness campaign.