Kimberly Jennings, the white apartment manager who violently two Black children, has been hit with multiple charges.
The Greensboro, North Carolina woman made headlines days ago when a video showed her assaulting a Black boy by pouring a soda on his head and then hitting him with the bottle. The child, identified as 11-year-old Jace Eury, was in the pool area of the Sedgefield Gardens Apartments with his younger sister Jayla. Jennings told the children to leave at one point and then proceeded to yank Jayla’s hair. In response, Jace threw a bottle at her. That is when the 62-year-old woman proceeded to assault the boy. The police were called to the scene, where they spoke with the victims and the parents, who’d arrived at the complex.
It appears that Jennings wanted the children to leave the complex since they were not residents and were unattended at the time, which is prohibited. Still, Jennings had no authority to attack either child, which is why she is facing two counts of simple assault on a child under 12. The parents are now demanding justice.
“You hit my child; you hit both of my children. You’ve been harassing my children all summer long, and all they wanted to do was just swim in the heat. Just swim, enjoy themselves as children should,” said their mother, Jae Eury.
The Gate City Coalition organized a demonstration last Friday at the complex, one day after the children were battered. There, pleaded for an end to racism, especially involving innocent children. The family is thankful for such an outpouring of community support but hopes that Jennings is appropriately punished. Additionally, they are planning to sue the apartment management company and Jennings, who was hauled off to Guilford County Jail, Yahoo News reports.
While I agree the woman in question should be charged for assault, the parents also need to be charged with neglect. A pool on private property, they have been told to stay out of, is not your free babysitting. These children weren’t even being supervised for their safety. If one had drowned, she’d have blamed them for that too. You want your darling children to swim, get them a kiddie pool and watch them yourself, you are not entitled to private facilities.