Book review of The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth by Kristin Henning

And each a part of their lives is policed — if not formally, then socially. The style they could select to put on, like hoodies and sagging pants, is related to violence. The music they could select to take heed to, like rap and hip-hop, is related to violence, although many well-known nation songs additionally relate violent encounters. The hairstyles they could select to put on, like braids, Afros or locs, are prohibited by college and group gown codes. Adolescence, the time in life that needs to be capacious sufficient to permit youth to discover and discover themselves, is as a substitute a minefield through which Black expression turns into threatening. “When folks see a Black individual on the road, they give thought to crime,” Henning writes. In our society, Black youngsters are Black first, children second.