We treat black kids differently because we see them as older than they are

Black girls are also ‘adultified’ in this manner. Recently, Rebecca Epstein and Jamilia J. Blake of the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown Law released a report describing how black girls as young as 5 are perceived as older and less innocent than white girls. Beliefs that black girls are older and less innocent likely contribute to the fact that Black girls are referred to the juvenile justice system at thrice the rate of white girls.