Black girls' education fundamentally inequitable in U.S. Pennsylvania: study

NEW YORK, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Black girls are too often subjected to discriminatory dress and grooming codes in schools in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, and they often endure racial or sexist slurs and curricula that are not responsive to their life experiences, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday.

"Though they sometimes struggle socially and emotionally because of these conditions, adequate supports are not always available," noted the report, citing a study prepared by the nonprofit Education Law Center-PA.

"Inequities pervade every aspect of Black girls' education in Pennsylvania -- where they go to school, what resources their schools have, what the environment is like in their schools, and what opportunities they can access," the survey, which was based on focus groups and feedback sessions with more than 20 Philadelphia-area Black students, was quoted as saying.

"Due to the intersection of systemic anti-Black racism, sexism, and other forces of oppression, Black girls are subjected to especially daunting educational barriers," it said.

Research and investments pertaining to Black girls are scarce, insisted the report's authors, adding that fixes are in urgent need for schools to meet their legal and moral obligations to root out and eliminate racist and sexist practices.