Drawing upon 25 years of experience representing Black youth in Washington D.C.’s juvenile court, Kristin Henning confronts America’s irrational, manufactured fears of Black youth and makes a powerfully compelling case that the crisis in American policing begins with its relationship to Black children.
Henning is author of The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth and Blume Professor of Law and director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown Law.
Members of the campus community are invited to hear from Henning in a talk titled “The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth” Thursday, Nov. 11, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the School of Law (Room A59, Moot Courtroom).
Henning will detail the long-term consequences of racism and trauma Black youth experience at the hands of police and vigilante surrogates.
Through court cases, Henning will examine the criminalization of Black adolescent play and sexuality, and of Black fashion, hair and music. She will highlight the effects of police presence in schools, and the depth of policing-induced trauma in Black adolescents.
This event is free and open to the community. A brief book signing will follow. One hour of CLE credit is available, pending approval.
The Social Justice Law Center, Schubert Center for Child Studies and The Milton and Charlotte Kramer Law Clinic will host this talk.