Kendra Henning and John Bunn | The Rage of Innocence | The Impact of Mass Incarceration

Kristin Henning and John Bunn | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
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Kristin Henning and John Bunn share the impact of the criminalization of Black youth in America.
Drawing upon twenty-five years of experience representing young people in Washington, D.C.’s juvenile courts, Kristin Henning confronts America’s irrational and manufactured fears of Black youth and makes a compelling case that the nation’s obsession with policing and incarcerating Black America begins with Black children. Unlike White youth, who are afforded the freedom to test boundaries and figure out who they are and who they want to be, Black youth are seen as a threat to White America and denied the privilege of healthy adolescent development. Weaving together powerful narratives and persuasive data, Henning examines the criminalization of Black adolescent play and sexuality, the demonization of Black fashion, hair, and music, and the discriminatory impact of police in schools. The Rage of Innocence lays bare the long-term consequences of racism and trauma that Black children experience at the hands of police and their vigilante surrogates and explains how discriminatory and aggressive policing has socialized a generation of Black teenagers to fear and resent the police.
Kristin Henning is a nationally recognized advocate, author, trainer, and consultant on the intersection of race, adolescence, and the “policing” of Black youth. She is the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown Law and was previously the Lead Attorney of the Juvenile Unit at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Kris has been representing children accused of crime for more than twenty-six years and is the co-founder of a number of initiatives to combat racial injustice in the juvenile and criminal legal systems, including the Ambassadors for Racial Justice program and a Racial Justice Toolkit for youth defenders. Kris also trains state actors across the country on the impact of racial bias on youth in the courts and the traumatic effects of over-policing and hyper-surveillance. She has received several awards, including the 2021 Leadership Prize from the Juvenile Law Center and the 2022 Women of Distinction Award from the American Association of University Women. Kris has written many articles and other publications advocating for reform in the juvenile legal system. Her recent book, The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth (Penguin Random House), was featured on the front page of the New York Times Book Review and received rave reviews in the Washington Post. The book was awarded a 2022 Media for a Just Society Award by Evident Change and the 2022 Social Justice Advocacy Award from the In the Margins Book Awards Committee.
John Bunn was wrongfully convicted of a murder committed in 1991, when he was 14. He spent over 16 years in prison and nearly 12 years on parole before he was exonerated in 2018. After his release, Bunn founded a nonprofit, A Voice 4 the Unheard, that aims to educate incarcerated youth and provide access to books to promote literacy. Bunn has been featured on many major media channels including CNN, The Breakfast Club Power 105.1, New York times, and many others.