title:  Virginia School Has Black Kid Arrested For Drinking Milk
text: Seriously. This actually happened in America.Milk costs 65 cents at Graham Park Middle School in Prince William County, Virginia. But like millions of other children across the country, Ryan Turk is enrolled in the free lunch program because his family can t afford his meals.One day after going through the lunch line, Turk sat down and realized that he had forgotten to grab a milk so he went back and grabbed one like any other kid would do.Except that Ryan Turk is black, so the school security guard automatically assumed he stole it. He confronted Ryan, accused him of a crime, and demanded that he go to the principal s office. Ryan refused because he did nothing wrong.Rather than check out Ryan s story, which would have been as simple as looking at his tray and realizing that he only had one milk (which he would have known was free for Ryan if he had bothered to check if he is enrolled to get free school lunches), the security officer arrested him and charged him with disorderly conduct and petty larceny, charges that will now be on Ryan s record.The school gave Turk a choice, enroll in a diversion program by admitting to a crime he didn t commit, or face a trial in a courtroom.Again, this is all because Ryan went back for the milk he forgot as part of his lunch. It s a 65-cent milk for crying out loud, not the Mona Lisa.Rightfully so, Ryan s mother rejected the first choice.  My son is not going to admit to something he did not do,  she told the Washington Post.Turk and his mother also contend that race has something to do with the incident because Ryan has seen many other students do the exact same thing he did without being confronted by school security.The school has dismissed the accusation that racism had anything to do with the situation because the security guard and the principal are both black. But Turk s attorney Emmett Robinson begs to differ. It s not the players, it s not the people who discriminate; it s the whole system,  Robinson said,  The system is set up now so that school resource officers get to determine the impact on a person s life. Indeed, treating black kids like criminals has ended up creating a vicious cycle that has resulted in the disproportionate imprisonment of blacks in this country.There is little doubt that if Ryan had been white he would have never been approached by the security officer.The fact is that Ryan Turk was entitled to have a milk with his lunch, which is FREE. He just forgot it and merely did what he has seen other students do. Security did not have a problem with those other kids going back for their forgotten milk. So why did the security officer treat Ryan differently? Race must have played a role. And even if it didn t, having a child arrested over a 65-cent carton of milk is absolutely ridiculous. It s a waste of resources and a waste of the court s time.Surely, the school and the judiciary must have more important things to deal with.Featured image via Wikimedia