Osceola County, FL School Police Knock A Black Girl Unconscious, Miami Black Girls Matter Coalition Demands Police Free Schools

Miami Black Girls Matter Coalition stands with organizers following the #AssaultAtLiberty in Osceola County, Florida and reaffirms demands for #PoliceFreeSchools in Florida and nationally

Media Contact: Wakumi Douglas, 305–985–2725, wakumi@soulsistersleadership.org

On January 26th, 2021, video footage of an Osceola County Sheriff body slamming a Black girl while at school went viral. This School Resource Officer (SRO) proceeded to handcuff her even after she lost consciousness. This gross display of power and violence proves again that our Black girls and Transgender and Gender Non-Confirming (TGNC) youth are under constant attack, even in places that are meant to act as refuge.

The Miami Black Girls Matter Coalition and our allies are outraged and extremely concerned about the safety of BIPOC girls in Osceola County and schools across the state of Florida. While interventions to address gross police misconduct and violence often focus on men and boys, this brutal incident demonstrates what we have always known to be true, that in order to have true racial and gender justice we must widen our scope to include girls and TGNC youth.

According to recent research, we know that adults perceive Black girls as needing less protection, support, comfort and nurturing. This adultification leads to the horrifying violence we saw in Osceola County this week.

The 2020 Florida Statutes (Title XLVIII) mandate that there must be an SRO at every Florida public school. Not only do mandated SROs have the ability to carry weapons while making arrests, they are also meant to facilitate mental health crisis intervention. This incident demonstrates that these SROs are not equipped to keep our most vulnerable youth safe.

We uplift the demands of the Advancement Project & Alliance for Educational Justice and additionally demand:

• Divestment from school policing in Osceola County and across Florida and an investment in restorative justice, culturally-affirming social-emotional learning and gender-responsive supports for students.
• Deeper investment in trust counselors and social workers in schools, who are solely focused on this role to allow students to seek support when they experience violence.

Black Girls Matter (BGM) youth organizers have developed a comprehensive list of demands to support our overall safety & well being located on our website.

BIPOC girls & TGNC youth have been taking critical steps to end school and community violence locally and across the state of Florida. Last year, BGM youth organizers highlighted issues of violence and inequity facing BIPOC girls & TGNC youth in Tallahassee at Black Girls Day at the Capitol. We will be bringing our voices to the capitol again this year to demand justice, safety & resources for Florida BIPOC girls and TGNC youth.

We are in deep prayer for the young survivor, her family and the students at Liberty High School as they navigate how to heal, feel safe and make their communities whole. We are also available to support the youth involved and their families as well as Osceola County Public Schools as they begin the important work to make sure no student is ever again subject to serious bodily harm committed by an adult in authority on school property.

Miami Black Girls Matter Coalition is led by an intergenerational group of Black women, girls, and gender nonconforming youth to support the leadership of Black girls and TGNC young people to heal, be heard, transform communities and join the movement for Black liberation.