The article by the WashingtonPost, “In America, black children don’t get to be children.” the author recounts historically that black children were treated as dangerous and often more than not, were denied the same sense of innocence and careful consideration given to white children.
The recollection begin with a more recent case – the case of Michael Brown whom the police officer described as “aggressive”, “demon.” and was provoked by Brown. The article tells us that the officer is 6 feet 4 in height and 210 pounds in weight and that Michael Brown was much smaller than him. Michael Brown was not armed and the court describes the police officer as an “innocent white children” threatened.
The author reminds us that this scenario is not new. Throughout history, similar defenses were used to create an enemy or demon out of a child. Children were lynched for accusations probably untrue, for looking like an adult or being too tall for their age. The pattern was the same, according to the author, “This was not a child. He was a threat.” After perceiving the child as a threat, the reverse is true; given children are not as cognitively capable as adults when making decisions he is essentially helpless, he is the one being threatened.
The author recounts that the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment gave black children in America the opportunities to be adults with equal rights. Yet racism would find it’s way to prevail and prevent equal rights. Pediatric literature, Jim Crow laws would continue to impede on the purposes of those amendment. The point is, the demonizing of the children, creating a monster of them is the modality for the continued efforts to infringe on equal rights.
You do a good job of walking us through what the author does. I think in the last couple sentences you start to add a little more of your own argument and editorializing then maybe is called for for this assignment.