CNN hosted a panel discussion on the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a teen who was shot after an incident of mistaken address when seeking to pick up his younger siblings. The perpetrator argued that they perceived a threat when the teen approached the house. CPE’s Senior Vice President of Policy and Community Engagement, Eric Cumberbatch, joined the discussion.
In the below-linked video, Cumberbatch says: “This reflects Emmitt Till and the adultification of Black boys and girls in America. Ultimately there are systems, there are policies, and there are people […] when they see Black children, they see them as adults. They want to treat them as adults. They see them as being inherently violent. They see them as lacking innocence, and these are children. These are our most precious gifts as parents. I have a 17-year-old son, and I feel for him every day when he leaves the house. Ultimately, there has been a lot of evidence and research done around adultification, but folks are scared to call that out. Folks are scared to have the crucial and critical conversations on multiple levels about race and our children.”
Watch the clip at CNN.com.