The Rage of Innocence

July 15, 2021
A sobering assessment of the separate and decidedly unequal legal regimes that govern the juvenile justice system. "Our nation's obsession with policing and incarcerating Black America begins with Black children." So writes Henning, a law professor who served as lead attorney with the District of Columbia public defender's office, specializing in youth crime. Rarely did any of the cases put before her involve White defendants. As she writes, where one young Black student was accused of bringing a Molotov cocktail to school and went through a hellish legal ordeal, a White student who confessed to the same crime was barely punished. "Black children are accosted all over the nation for the most ordinary adolescent activities," she writes, whether hanging out in a park or shopping at the mall. When those children do commit infractions, mostly involving underage drinking or minor acts of vandalism, they are punished far more severely than their White peers. Henning serves up numerous (and sometimes repetitive) cases from her legal files, documenting this unequal administration of justice with statistics and anecdotes alike. On the latter point, she gamely notes, "I could write this entire chapter in anecdotes, but then you wouldn't believe me when I say that White kids are treated differently than Black kids for committing the same kinds of crimes all over the country. So let's look at the history, the science, and the data." She does, and deeply. The author observes that White adolescents, particularly in groups, are far more likely than Black youth to use drugs, drink alcohol, and carry weapons to school. Yet arrest rates for Blacks are proportionally higher, as are bail and punishment. "Every state actor who does not take an active stance against racial inequities is at least complicit--and at worst active--in perpetuating the criminalization and overpolicing of Black youth," Henning concludes, insisting that all involved examine their biases and combat them in favor of equitable treatment. A powerful argument that the legal and social oppression of Black Americans begins at birth.

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Starred review from July 19, 2021
Black youth in the U.S. are subjected to unwarranted scrutiny by police and an overly punitive and biased justice system, according to this sobering and richly documented study. Georgetown law professor Henning draws on high-profile cases, sociological research, and her experiences representing defendants in D.C.’s juvenile courts to document the institutional mechanisms that criminalize the normal adolescent behavior of Black youth. She notes, for example, that some communities have banned sagging pants, a symbol of hip-hop culture; that Black adolescents meeting in groups are routinely branded as gang members, while white teenagers are not; and that Black youth are more likely to be prosecuted for drug crimes, despite evidence that white youth use illicit drugs at the same rates or higher. Henning also contrasts the case of an 18-year-old Black high school football player sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual sex with a 15-year-old classmate with that of Stanford University freshman Brock Turner, who received a six-month sentence for felony sexual assault. Henning’s suggested reforms include fostering resilience by teaching Black history, de-escalation training for police officers in schools, and “the elimination of unconstitutional and racially targeted stops, searches, and arrests.” Copiously documented and passionately argued, this is a powerful and persuasive call for change.

August 1, 2021
As the Black Lives Matter movement came to national prominence, some of the highest-profile shootings involved the deaths of Black children and teenagers: Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown. The Rage of Innocence argues that this is not a coincidence. Rather, Black youth are the subjects of constant surveillance and abuse by the carceral state, with consequences that derail their entire lives and have, all too often, ended in their deaths. Lawyer Henning brings to bear a wealth of scholarship as well as her decades of legal experience defending DC-area youth. Whereas white children are given the opportunity to make mistakes, take risks, and disobey, Black youth receive no such leeway. Black children are treated as suspects at play and in school, while the clothes, culture, and burgeoning sexuality of Black adolescents are viewed as inherently dangerous and transgressive, producing a generation of traumatized and alienated Black kids and adults. This timely and necessary book pairs exhaustively researched documentation with heartbreaking stories of Black youth caught up in the justice system for quotidian, non-dangerous mistakes.

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October 1, 2021

What will it take for U.S. courts, politicians, and overall policing culture to finally recognize the harm it routinely inflicts upon Black citizens? In this first book, lawyer Henning (Blume Prof. of Law, Georgetown Univ. Law Center) takes a focused look at the racist reality that underlines American cultural perceptions of Black youth and the systemic treatment of Black communities, by examining the lives of Black children primarily in the Washington, DC, area. Henning uses extensive primary resources, including firsthand interviews, and a blend of contemporary data and history to contextualize the stories of children she sometimes represents juvenile courts. The findings highlight the differences between experiences of white childhood and Black childhood in the United States to make the case that biases against Black youth are dangerous and normalized. Most of the narratives in this book are disturbing and have resulted in deeply rooted psychological damage that reflects the collective trauma inflicted upon Black communities. With this in mind, Henning makes her stance clear--this book is not meant to fulfill mere intellectual curiosity; rather, it is a "call to action." VERDICT Henning's incisive book is highly recommended for readers interested in sociology, African American studies, criminal justice reform, and activism.--Monique Martinez, Univ. of North Georgia Lib., Dahlonega

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