Pasadena NAACP Leads Nationwide Push to End Adultification Bias Against Black Girls

The NAACP Pasadena Branch is spearheading a national campaign to eliminate adultification bias against Black girls in K–12 schools and the juvenile justice system. The initiative is anchored in a resolution first presented at the California-Hawaii State NAACP Convention and recently endorsed at the NAACP National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, which carried the theme “The Fierce Urgency of Now.”

Adultification refers to a form of bias in which Black children—especially Black girls—are systematically perceived and treated by adults as older, less innocent, and more mature than their actual age would suggest.

In this light, police, teachers and community members blame Black youth and hold them accountable as adults for behaviors that would be excused and considered childish in non-Black children.

The resolution aims to affirm the humanity, childhood, and dignity of Black girls while demanding institutional accountability.

“This resolution is not just symbolic—it is an urgent call to action that now carries the support of the Pasadena NAACP, the California-Hawaii NAACP State Conference, and the National NAACP,” said Brandon Lamar, president of the NAACP Pasadena Branch. “It’s time to show Black girls that we are listening, and that we are ready to act.”

The resolution calls on all city of Pasadena departments — specifically the Pasadena Police Department — as well as the Pasadena Unified School District and other local organizations to train educators and law enforcement to recognize and prevent adultification bias, along with data collection and accountability measures to evaluate compliance.

Jouslynn Griffin, first vice president and chair of the Women in NAACP (WIN) Pasadena Committee, has led public forums, school board meetings, and community trainings across the San Gabriel Valley.

“Our community cannot afford to wait,” Griffin said. “Both Pasadena Unified and Pasadena Police must take this matter seriously and address it with urgency. Formulating policy to protect Black girls must happen immediately. Our children deserve better—and they deserve it now.”

Lamar also praised the leadership of the WIN Pasadena Committee.

“I wholeheartedly support the Women in NAACP for their tireless advocacy and courage to shine a light on this issue,” Lamar said. “Their work has inspired local, state, and now national change.”