be gentle with black girls: Addressing Adultification Bias and Protecting Black Childhood

Adultification bias is a form of racial prejudice where children of minority groups, typically black children, are treated by adults as being more mature than they actually are, causing their childish behavior to be viewed with malicious intent and ignoring the child’s needs.

Tania De’Shawn’s new collection of poetry, be gentle with black girls, is inspired by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty & Inequality’s 2017 study on adultification bias and addresses black femininity, body image, and the fragility of black girlhood through this lens. Join the Birmingham Public Library for a live poetry reading from the author, followed by a discussion led by a panel of experts talking about the poetry, the effects of adultification bias on black girlhood, and how this issue permeates major structures of society. Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones will be the moderator for the discussion, and panelists include: DeJuana Thompson, President and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; Lauren Whatley, University of Alabama Women’s Studies Professor; and Queen daPoetess, local poetess and co-owner of the Majesty Lounge.

Patrons will also enjoy an Oriki station (Praise Poems from a West African tradition of affirming oneself through relationships between kinship and destiny), a story station to contribute their own stories of black girlhood, and a raffle to win a copy of Tania De’Shawn’s poetry collection.

This event is intended for young adults and older.