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Dr. Nsenga Burton on Empathy and Judge King's Story
Episode 166 • 29th August 2024 • TonyTidbit: A Black Executive Perspective • TonyTidbit ™
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Episode Audio Link: https://podcast.ablackexec.com/episode/Dr. Nsenga Burton on Empathy and Judge King's Story

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In this episode of 'Need to Know,' Dr. Nsenga Burton discusses the significant incident involving Judge Kenneth King in Detroit, where he ordered an at-risk teen to be shackled for falling asleep during a court talk. Dr. Burton delves into the root causes of the teen's behavior, revealing the child's homelessness and food insecurity, and emphasizing the importance of empathy and understanding when dealing with young people. The discussion highlights the detrimental effects of punitive measures on at-risk youth and advocates for more compassionate and educative responses from authority figures.

▶︎ In This Episode

  1. 00:00: Introduction and Welcome
  2. 00:20: Case Overview: Judge Kenneth King
  3. 01:24: Understanding the Teen's Situation
  4. 02:24: Empathy for Youth: A Broader Perspective
  5. 03:52: Lessons from the Incident
  6. 06:23: Final Thoughts and Conclusion

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Transcripts

BEP Narrator:

A black executive perspective now presents need to know

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with the award winning hyphenated Dr.

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Nsenga Burton.

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Dr.

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Burton, what do we need to know?

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Dr. Nsenga Burton: Good morning and

welcome to need to know with Dr.

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Nsenga Burton.

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I am Nsenga and I am

happy to be here today.

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So today I want to talk to you about

a case that's going on in Detroit

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involving judge Kenneth King.

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Judge Kenneth King was giving up

his time and was Talking to at risk

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youth about various issues going on

with the court system and things of

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that nature when one of the teens

Fell asleep when she fell asleep.

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He ordered her to be shackled and

put into an inmate's uniform and

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threatened her And he said he did

this because she had a bad attitude.

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All of this to say, um, things did not go

well for her that day, which was awful.

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And things did not go

well for him after that.

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Uh, he has been, his

docket has been suspended.

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And, uh, he was also a professor

at Wayne State University where

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he now has been, uh, suspended.

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Uh, he was an adjunct there.

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I've worked in education for 23 years.

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I doubt he'll be picked back up.

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And all of this happened because of Judge

King's unwillingness to understand the

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population with which he is serving.

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So, this young woman, it turns out,

young teenager, I'm sorry, she is

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a girl, turns out, is unhoused.

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So, she's had housing insecurity.

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So, she didn't fall asleep because she was

disinterested, or she wasn't, didn't want

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to be there, or anything of that nature.

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But she is, Unhoused

along with her family.

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So when you are housing insecure when

you're food insecure all of those

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things that affect large populations

of children in this country Um,

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then, you know things happen.

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They're indicators of that happening

whether it's an education gap Whether

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it's you falling asleep in class, whether

it's you Uh not attending school on a

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regular basis because you have other

things that you have to attend to When

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you are caring for yourself in this case,

she is not she lives with her mother

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Um But when you are facing those kinds

of adult trials and tribulations at a

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young age, sometimes you do behave in a

way that is not welcome by those who are

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around you, but it should be understood.

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So what you need to know is

that children deserve empathy.

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The first response to what

you would call inappropriate

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behavior should not necessarily

be one of punishment or attack.

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It's important to understand

where people are coming from.

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I hear people talk a lot about students

and young people being worthless.

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These are, this is a language that

people use when they're talking

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about our future generation.

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There's snowflakes, they're

soft, all of the things.

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They're not ready for anything.

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You know, they can't handle anything.

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They're mentally unstable,

all of the things and people

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in my particular generation.

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We had all of those things,

but they were either beat out

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of us or punished out of us.

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Or you were in jail as a teenager

or 21 year old, um, or in the system

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in some way, shape or form for many

people who were in my generation.

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So there wasn't empathy, you

know, it was black and white.

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Either you stayed awake and you fell

asleep, you paid attention or you didn't.

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You did well in school.

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You didn't.

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No one was really thinking about

the causes, the root causes, and

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we had all of the root causes.

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Our parents had all the root causes,

so forth and so on, particularly

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people, uh, who come from historically

disenfranchised backgrounds.

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So when you fast forward to 2024,

and you have young people who are in

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your care, and that is what she was.

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She was in his care.

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And you see that they are going,

uh, in the, which you would say

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maybe the wrong direction, falling

asleep, which is not acceptable.

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It isn't.

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Um, and even have an attitude,

which is not acceptable.

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It isn't.

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I think you need to know that that is

a teachable moment, a teachable moment,

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meaning that you can demonstrate empathy.

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At that time, you don't have to always,

you know, throw down the gavel, uh, pun

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intended, uh, you don't always have to

make a sacrificial lamb out of somebody

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so that other people don't do it.

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You don't have to embarrass

or humiliate people.

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That was a common practice,

um, in our communities and it

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still is in many instances.

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Um, it's not really necessary.

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It is not helpful.

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You know, this young girl now has PTSD and

she's afraid of the court system, which

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should be of service and a benefit to her.

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That's the exact opposite

of why she went there.

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Um, and now, you know, her, her mother

and others are seeking legal remedies

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against this judge whose life has

been turned upside down over this

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one that we know of bad decision.

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So, I think there are lots of lessons

here, but the biggest one, I think,

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is that children deserve empathy.

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They are imperfect because

they are imperfect, and this is

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someone who taught for 23 years.

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Because they are imperfect because

their brains are still forming.

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You have to think about them in that

way, because they are young, because

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you cannot assume that they all have

the same level of guidance that you had.

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You can't assume that they have the

same upbringing as you, you know,

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when the covert hit, and I was a

professor at Emory University, I

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learned that some of my students

in my class were housing insecure.

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And some of them had to

drive to restaurants to get

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wifi to take their classes.

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You wouldn't have known that prior to

this, because they just blended in.

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So you just never know what's

going on in someone's life.

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Um, so you should choose kindness and

when you have the opportunity to have a

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teachable moment, and I think that's what

Judge King forgot, you know, um, I don't

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want to demonize him by this one issue.

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I'm sure he's done great things in life.

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There's a reason why he was chosen

to speak to the kids, all of those

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things, but choosing empathy.

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Will not bring harm to you.

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Um, but when you decide to go

overboard or, you know, line step or

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just really, um, humiliate someone,

especially a young person, um, then

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you need to know there probably will be

consequences cause it is a different day.

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So, you can say what you will, you

can talk down about our students

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and about, um, our young people,

but ultimately they are here.

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They are who they are.

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They have had significant challenges.

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I mean, Covid alone is a major challenge.

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Um, so I just say that you need to know.

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To lead with empathy, particularly

when it comes to our young people.

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I'm not saying be a pushover.

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I'm not saying, you know, don't have

boundaries or rules or integrity.

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I'm not saying any of that.

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I'm saying teach, but use

that as a teachable moment.

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A moment to say, listen, I

understand you're really tired.

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Why don't you go and

take a walk and wake up?

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If you don't think you can

wake up, you might want to sit

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outside because it's disruptive.

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That's a different type

of response, right?

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So that you're still putting your

boundaries in place, letting them know

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that the action is wrong, but also giving

them an alternative to what they can do.

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And making the choice, there's then

they have to make the decision if they

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make the decision to leave this on them.

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If they make the decision to stay,

they know what the requirements are.

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They fall asleep again.

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And then you go off and they'll

understand why, but, um, I just think

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you need to know to leave with empathy.

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And I think that people in

my generation need to know.

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That you will be judged

and punished harshly.

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Cancel culture is real.

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You could spend your entire

life doing wonderful things.

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And it only takes one incident to

change the trajectory of your career

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and of your life, and to diminish the

wonderful legacy that you have built.

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So be mindful of that as well.

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So without further ado, this is Dr.

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Nsenga Burton for the need to know,

please join us next week for a

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black executive perspective podcast.

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I'll see you next week,

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BEP Narrator: a black

executive perspective.

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