In the News | “Let Black Kids Just Be Kids”
by Robin Bernstein
New York Times, July 26, 2017
George Zimmerman admitted at his 2012 bail hearing that he misjudged Trayvon Martin’s age when he killed him. “I thought he was a little bit younger than I am,” he said, meaning just under 28. But Trayvon was only 17.
What may be most tragic about Mr. Zimmerman’s miscalculation is that it’s widespread. To many people, black boys seem older than they are: In one study, people overestimated their ages by 4.5 years. This contributes to a false perception that black boys are less childlike than white boys.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/opinion/black-kids-discrimination.html