The issue of adultification is deeply rooted in societal biases and stereotypes, manifesting in harsher disciplinary actions in schools and more severe judgments in the criminal justice system.
Most people familiar with singer Rhiannon Giddens know her scholarly side.
As our fellow Californians and Americans protest across our country, we must not lose sight of why they are protesting. It’s because of a deep pain that we recognize all too well. The pain of not confronting a dark history that has spanned the life of our country. The pain of recognizing our fathers, uncles, brothers, mothers, sisters, and aunts in the faces of so many Black men and women who were taken from us because of racism and violence.
Our nation’s racially-discriminatory cash bail system has left hundreds of non-violent misdemeanor suspects to die in jail while awaiting trial, simply because they are poor. A 2015 study identified more than 800 deaths in local jails and lockups; more than 75% of those in local jails have not been convicted, and 70% of those awaiting trial are detained for non-violent offenses.
Progressives and some Black activists have long complained about America’s bail system, which treats people with means differently from low-income people.
The six-part documentary that is riveting the nation, “Time: The Kalief Browder Story” tells the gut wrenching account of 22-year-old Kalief Browder who took his own life following a three-year stint in the infamous New York prison, Rikers Island without ever being convicted of a crime.