'We are seen as Black people who, to them, read as threats.' | Woke America News

"We are seen as Black people who, to them, read as threats." Black girls, researchers and advocates say, are often stripped of their innocence at a young age and perceived and treated like adults. The perception dehumanizes them and makes Black girls targets of harsh treatment by police and severe disciplinary action at school, research shows. A 2017 study conducted by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality found that Black girls as young as 5 years old are viewed as needing less protection and nurturing than White girls.

The Rochester case -- along with a string of other reports of police brutality against young Black girls in recent years -- illustrates these findings. "We're not even seen as children," said Monica Raye Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, an organization that advocates for reproductive justice for women of color. "We are seen as Black people who, to them, read as threats."