Al Jazeera’s America Tonight introduced a special series, “Getting Schooled“, which explores the various obstacles communities face in securing a good education for youth.
Sarah Hoye reports on the developments of a story from last May, stemming from a harmless water balloon fight at Enloe High School–a socioeconomically diverse school in Wake County, North Carolina:
“Last May 16, a massive water balloon fight broke out at Enloe. After a 911 call about the senior-day prank, the Raleigh Police Department dispatched 24 officers to restore order. The heightened security stemmed, in part, from the rumors that the balloons would be filled with urine and bleach. (Police and school officials would later say that there was no evidence of the balloons being filled with any substance other than water.)
In the end, eight Enloe students, all 16 to 17 years old, along with a parent, were arrested following events related to the water balloon fight.”
North Carolina is one of two states that regard 16 year olds as adults when charged with a criminal offense. Concomitantly, they are not allowed to appeal to be tried in juvenile court. A 16-17 year old’s record is then tainted by a misdemeanor charge. The unwarranted action against these 8 people (one was a parent), was compounded by the harsh physical treatment they received upon their arrest:
“On the day of the arrests, Jahbriel Morris was waiting at the bus with friends. When the water balloon fight began, Morris said he was running away from the ones being thrown in his direction. Soon, a police officer ran up behind him — a ‘really big guy,’ Morris recalled.
‘He grabs me,’ Morris said. ‘I snatch away from him. And he turns me around and grabs me by my neck and slams me on my back.'”
Jahbriel was 15 at the time. The rest of the story can be read here. The statistics and facts in this article regarding suspensions and policing of schools in North Carolina are astounding.
Testimonials of youth coupled with documentation of similar incidents across the state help create a comprehensive picture of just how large scale the criminalization of minority youth is across the country. Take a look at stories straight from youth themselves who are most affected by policing and zero-tolerance policies in their schools.
