Women’s History Month often honors women after they have achieved something measurable. Yet many women’s histories, particularly Black women’s, begin much earlier, in girlhoods that required resilience long before recognition.
Research from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality found Black girls are perceived as older, less innocent, and more responsible for their actions than their peers, starting as young as age 5. This phenomenon, known as adultification bias, has shaped how Black girls are disciplined in schools, protected from harm, and believed when abuse occurs.
In Washington state classrooms, Black girls are disproportionately disciplined and pushed out, according to OSPI data. A girl in South Seattle recalls being suspended repeatedly for “attitude,” while a white peer exhibiting the same behavior was labeled “emotional.” These early experiences often teach Black girls that safety is conditional.
This bias is especially dangerous when it intersects with grooming. Black girls are more likely to be targeted by older men who exploit gaps in protection, emotional neglect or financial need. A 2022 National Black Women’s Justice Institute report highlights Black girls experience higher rates of sexual exploitation, yet are less likely to see perpetrators prosecuted.
One girl in Tacoma was 13 when a man nearly twice her age began offering rides home, food and attention. When the relationship became sexual, adults whispered she was “fast.” Years later, she learned the word for what happened: grooming. Her story never made news, but she broke the cycle by naming it and seeking healing.
Teen pregnancy is discussed without this context. Washington State Department of Health data shows Black teens experience higher pregnancy rates than peers, reflecting gaps in protection, health care advocacy and accountability. Many of these girls stayed in school anyway, balancing motherhood and coursework with little institutional support.
Poet and educator Nikkita Oliver (Seattle) has spoken publicly about how Black girls are forced into adulthood prematurely, yet are expected to perform excellence without error. Their survival, she argues, is political.
Women’s history must include these beginnings, the girls who endured quietly and became women anyway.
To Black women reading this: Your resilience did not start with success. It started with survival. And that strength is not invisible, it is foundational.