just a mid-week reminder of things we do as a country
when a 6-year old is dragged to court for picking a tulip
read the North Carolina story: journalnow.com/north-carolina…
7,300 complaints were filed against children YOUNGER THAN 11 in North Carolina, between 2015 & 2018.
47% of the complaints were against Black children. (22% of the state's population is Black.)
journalnow.com/north-carolina…
(There is a problem when 6- or 9-year old children being arrested & brought in a courtroom get a ***tiny*** fraction of the national attention that parents get who're annoyed their children are being told too much about race & racism in school & who contact media about it.)
Thread has more attention in recent days, so here’s more info: how young do children have to be for states to consider them too young for court? CA & MA set the highest (at 12); NC sets it at the lowest (at 6), but many states have no set minimum. njdc.info/practice-polic…
And remember: this thread is discussing *very young children brought into juvenile court*
There’s a separate issue of minors being dragged into even more punitive adult court. That, too, is disproportionately used against black youth.
This is Pittsburgh: theappeal.org/in-pennsylvani…
UPDATE: New bills are now moving in North Carolina legislature that'd make it so no child under the age of 10 can face criminal proceedings & be brought to court (as in the case above).
Some state actors (incl. Gov's office) want to see it raise further. newsobserver.com/news/local/cri…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.