Black Girls Seeing Urban Schools: Visual, Affective, and Discursive (Re)Conceptualizations of Safety.

This article examines how affect and visuality shape Black girls’ perceptions of safety in urban schools, focusing on five young Black women at a Philadelphia magnet high school. Using participatory visual ethnography, the study highlights that safety for these students is not solely the absence of physical violence but an affective experience influenced by the school’s visual culture, including its design, material artifacts, and spatial arrangements. The research contrasts traditional punitive, carceral disciplinary frameworks—such as metal detectors and strict surveillance—with an affirming school environment that fosters trust, freedom, and emotional readiness to learn. The findings suggest that addressing safety for Black girls in urban schools requires attention to the interplay of race, gender, affect, and visual school culture to counteract physical, emotional, and spiritual harm.