“In America, Black Children Don’t Get To Be Children” Response

In her opinion article discussing the inequality of black and white children in the United States, Stacey Patton discusses how Zimmerman’s trial was not just about whether he was guilty or innocent – but about how black children are still viewed as different than white children to this day. Patton starts her comparison by mentioning how reactions to the Zimmerman prosecution (or lack thereof), were similar to those of 19th century lynchings. That’s a powerful comparison because it shows just how serious the situation is. There has always been a fixation on the size of the child in question, so Zimmerman’s defense referring to Martin as “a young man”, where his prosecutors kept referring to him as a “boy”, is nothing new. She then goes on to mention the Civil War era, and how amendments had to be created to ensure the safety of newly freed black children, and how by the time the Jim Crow Era came around, whites had to create a whole new way to oppress black people. The black life cycle is “inverted to that of the white life cycle, Patton says and protestors aren’t protesting the unjust rulings of these cases, but they’re protesting so that white children can have the same life as white children, so that black children can be children too.