Group B, Summary Blog: In America, black children don’t get to be children

In the Washington Post opinion article “In America, black children don’t get to be children,” Stacey Patton states that black boys and girls in America are not seen as children, but as menacing threats to white lives. According to Patton, Black children are not afforded the same presumption of innocence as white children, especially in life-or-death situations. Furthermore, Patton goes on to say black childhood is considered innately inferior, dangerous, and indistinguishable from black adulthood. To illustrate her point, Patton mentions the cases following the deaths of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till, and Tamir Rice. In each case Patton illustrates how each victim was seen as a threat. Patton recalls how each child was stripped of their childhood by being referred to as “young man, demon, aggressive, and etc.” Additionally, Patton uses each case to point out that the dangers black children face from being profiled and targeted for arrest and incarceration are firmly rooted in history. According to Patton, during the Jim Crow era psychologists tested and compared the behaviors of white and black infants and concluded that black babies were born innately inferior and animalistic. Furthermore, as objects of experimentation by doctors or abuse by the state, babies and other children were exposed to the dehumanizing and violent logic of racial classification and domination. Patton shows the paradox of black children being cast as adults while black adults are stuck in a limbo of childhood by being viewed as uncivil, irresponsible, and criminal. In the end, Patton points out words of caution by black parents to their children about the police and white people aren’t enough to overcome the history of racist studies and negative perceptions of black children.