America has long denied Black children the right to be children. During slavery, they were treated not as sons and daughters but as property, their worth calculated in the labor they could eventually produce or the price they could fetch at auction. Today, they are no longer bought and sold, but they are still too often viewed through suspicion—perceived as older, more dangerous, and more deserving of punishment than their white peers.
Racism robs Black children of their childhood.
_____
I look back on my childhood with nostalgia.
I am one of seven children, and my mom is one of sixteen, so my childhood is filled with memories of fun and family—cookouts, birthdays, trips to Disney World, Sunday dinners, and endless games of hide-and-seek with my cousins.
That is not to say things were easy. My mom struggled at times as a single mother. She took on a second job at one point, we struggled with reliable transportation, sometimes the lights or water were turned off, and we even went through a period without hot water.
But for some Black Americans, that is the magic of growing up Black. What some may see as struggle, we see as survival. In that survival, we create love, preserve culture, and strengthen community.
I do not remember experiencing overt racism in my earliest years, though that may say more about childhood innocence than reality. Racism often operates like a shadow. Children may not always recognize it, but it is always there, waiting to reveal itself.
And too often, when that shadow reveals itself to Black children, the consequences are deadly.
_____
That shadow revealed itself to one-year-old Kohen Wiley on June 14, 2026, when he was shot and killed by a police officer in Senatobia, Mississippi.
I want you to sit with that for a moment.
A one-year-old Black child was shot and killed by police.
Officers were responding to an alleged shoplifting incident at a Walmart when they fired on a vehicle they claimed was fleeing the scene. Police said the driver steered toward officers, forcing them to shoot. Kohen's mother disputes that account. Vellesiya Wiley says she held her baby up to show officers that a child was in the vehicle before they fired.
One of those bullets struck Kohen in the ribcage and killed him.
The item allegedly stolen: diapers.
_____
A few weeks later, roughly 300 miles away on Horn Island, Mississippi, 18-year-old Nolan Wells encountered that same shadow.
Wells went missing and was later found dead on the island. His friends told investigators they left him behind because he wanted to stay and would find his own way back. At this point, many questions surrounding his death remain unanswered.
Because Wells was Black and his friends were white, race has undeniably shaped the public reaction to the case. Some have been quick to dismiss suspicions of foul play, while others argue the circumstances deserve much closer scrutiny. Whether you believe this was a tragic accident or something more sinister, race has influenced how many people interpret what happened.
_____
America's treatment of Black children is evident not only in the headlines, but in the data.
Black infants die at more than twice the rate of white infants.
Black students are significantly more likely than their white peers to be suspended or expelled before reaching adolescence.
Research consistently shows that Black children are perceived as older, less innocent, and more threatening than white children of the same age.
Black youth are five times more likely to be arrested or committed to juvenile detention than their white peers.
Instead of being allowed to grow, make mistakes, and simply be children, Black youth are too often viewed as problems to be managed, punished, or feared.
That is how fourteen-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton could be chased down and killed by a convenience store owner.
His killer, who claimed fear, was later acquitted.
It is why the killing of Trayvon Martin continues to resonate more than a decade later.
It is why the deaths of Black children so often become debates before they become tragedies.
It is why we know the names George Stinney, Emmett Till, Latasha Harlins, Jordan Davis, and Tamir Rice—not because they lived long lives, but because the shadow of racism robbed them of the chance to grow up.
_____
Childhood should be a season of discovery, birthday parties, cartoons, and believing the world is fundamentally safe.
Black children are often denied that innocence.
From one to eighteen, Black children deserve the same thing every child deserves—the chance to simply be children.
Racism robs Black children of their childhood.
_____
I look back on my childhood with nostalgia.
I am one of seven children, and my mom is one of sixteen, so my childhood is filled with memories of fun and family—cookouts, birthdays, trips to Disney World, Sunday dinners, and endless games of hide-and-seek with my cousins.
That is not to say things were easy. My mom struggled at times as a single mother. She took on a second job at one point, we struggled with reliable transportation, sometimes the lights or water were turned off, and we even went through a period without hot water.
But for some Black Americans, that is the magic of growing up Black. What some may see as struggle, we see as survival. In that survival, we create love, preserve culture, and strengthen community.
I do not remember experiencing overt racism in my earliest years, though that may say more about childhood innocence than reality. Racism often operates like a shadow. Children may not always recognize it, but it is always there, waiting to reveal itself.
And too often, when that shadow reveals itself to Black children, the consequences are deadly.
_____
That shadow revealed itself to one-year-old Kohen Wiley on June 14, 2026, when he was shot and killed by a police officer in Senatobia, Mississippi.
I want you to sit with that for a moment.
A one-year-old Black child was shot and killed by police.
Officers were responding to an alleged shoplifting incident at a Walmart when they fired on a vehicle they claimed was fleeing the scene. Police said the driver steered toward officers, forcing them to shoot. Kohen's mother disputes that account. Vellesiya Wiley says she held her baby up to show officers that a child was in the vehicle before they fired.
One of those bullets struck Kohen in the ribcage and killed him.
The item allegedly stolen: diapers.
_____
A few weeks later, roughly 300 miles away on Horn Island, Mississippi, 18-year-old Nolan Wells encountered that same shadow.
Wells went missing and was later found dead on the island. His friends told investigators they left him behind because he wanted to stay and would find his own way back. At this point, many questions surrounding his death remain unanswered.
Because Wells was Black and his friends were white, race has undeniably shaped the public reaction to the case. Some have been quick to dismiss suspicions of foul play, while others argue the circumstances deserve much closer scrutiny. Whether you believe this was a tragic accident or something more sinister, race has influenced how many people interpret what happened.
_____
America's treatment of Black children is evident not only in the headlines, but in the data.
Black infants die at more than twice the rate of white infants.
Black students are significantly more likely than their white peers to be suspended or expelled before reaching adolescence.
Research consistently shows that Black children are perceived as older, less innocent, and more threatening than white children of the same age.
Black youth are five times more likely to be arrested or committed to juvenile detention than their white peers.
Instead of being allowed to grow, make mistakes, and simply be children, Black youth are too often viewed as problems to be managed, punished, or feared.
That is how fourteen-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton could be chased down and killed by a convenience store owner.
His killer, who claimed fear, was later acquitted.
It is why the killing of Trayvon Martin continues to resonate more than a decade later.
It is why the deaths of Black children so often become debates before they become tragedies.
It is why we know the names George Stinney, Emmett Till, Latasha Harlins, Jordan Davis, and Tamir Rice—not because they lived long lives, but because the shadow of racism robbed them of the chance to grow up.
_____
Childhood should be a season of discovery, birthday parties, cartoons, and believing the world is fundamentally safe.
Black children are often denied that innocence.
From one to eighteen, Black children deserve the same thing every child deserves—the chance to simply be children.
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