The Black Curriculum's statement on the abhorrent treatment of Child Q
The Black Curriculum was created in response to the failings of our education system. The Black Curriculum is dedicated to seeing an education system that works for all - where all students are empowered with a sense of identity and belonging. We envision a future where Black British history is taught 365 days of the year and not relegated to the month of October alone. The very problem of how we engage with all students starts with how we engage with Black History Month.
Black children are not simply Black for one month, and our history cannot be simplified. We stand against the horrific incident that occurred over a year ago to Child Q and frequently happens with other young people. Too often these events take place - in Hackney alone 23 out of 25 stop and searches were conducted on Black and Asian children. Yet time and time again ministers, and other senior politicians reduce it to a case of ‘one rotten apple’. The statistics however, say otherwise. Black children continue to be adultified, having to conform to different standards in comparison to their white and Asian peers, and continually failed by institutions that should protect and offer patience as they navigate the difficulties of childhood and teen years. Yet instead, these institutions only scrutinize their behaviour and serve harsh punitive consequences for minor offences.
The racism experienced frequently by Black children is often coupled with mass surveillance where innocence has no place. Black children are rarely afforded the privilege to exist in a ‘child-like state’. Innocence and Blackness are not seen as synonymous and therefore young Black children are seen as more ‘adult-like’ than their white peers. Adultification is a process that starts from young where punitive measures are used against Black children to make them ‘slot-in’ to the world.
Our education system is no different. Micro-aggressions invade classrooms, leaving young Black children questioning is this really happening to me? When you’re Black you’re more likely to be labelled as ‘naughty, disruptive’ even if that behaviour is typical for children. Black children are rarely afforded the privilege, or grace, to be what they are: children. Teachers place different expectations on young Black children, the pressure to just be more ‘mature’, just be ‘stronger’. Yet this only harms young Black children and so we must question what young children are informally and formally being taught. To be Black isn’t the issue, the issue is that racism is codified into every institution to maintain the standards and norms of white supremacy, this insidious racism is the problem.
There is of course, a gendered aspect to the horrific treatment of Child Q. The forgotten plight of Black women can be traced back to enslavement, where little is documented around Black women’s resistance, a journey historian Stella Dazie aims to trace in her ground-breaking book, A Kick In The Belly. State violence is inflicted on Black women when fleeing gendered violence. A recently launched Domestic Abuse Strategy Framework fails to adequately fund specialists led by and for services which are a crucial lifeline for Black women, considering Black women were 14% less likely to be referred to Refuge when reporting gendered violence. The gendered violence Black women face starts off in childhood and continues into adulthood, the mechanics of the misogynoir Child Q face are all too frequent stories. It is critical that we center Black girls in all aspects of education and create spaces for them to discuss their experiences and see the pain they face rather than centering them as strong and bold in Black History Month. Black women are multi-faceted and are allowed to be innocent, courageous, outgoing as well as showing weakness in the times we cannot be strong.
Our thoughts and solidarity are with Child Q and her family. No child should have to experience what Child Q experienced. At The Black Curriculum, we believe in the power of education centered on truth, belonging and understanding. Our work goes beyond being 'not racist' but understanding and addressing the intersections of race, structures & power. It’s ensuring that what happened to Child Q, and to so many others, never happens again.
By Paris Williams - Policy and Campaigns