The Kids of Ridge Avenue: Are They All Right?

An interesting thing happened today that made us wonder where the parents are in our assigned community.

We were patrolling our beat looking for residents who seemed friendly enough to speak with us, which was much harder than it sounds. We passed abandoned house after abandoned house, with the smell of trash and urine urging us to turn around. The sun glared down upon us, cars drove by with their systems booming, residents gave us uncomfortable stares and we were losing faith.

Then someone spoke to us. Then someone else spoke to us. Then we picked up friends.

Four little kids, three boys and one girl, were very eager to find out what two Caucasians carrying cameras were doing walking through an African American community. We told the children, who said they weren’t even in school yet, that we were interested in their neighborhood.

"Take my picture, " one of them commanded, excited about the camera.

"Take mine, too!" another chimed in.

The only thing watching these kids was the police camera.

We obliged and showed them their photos. We were worried that some adult would approach us and find it strange that we were photographing their children. There were no adults around, however. We figured the kids would go back to playing in the street.

They didn’t.

As we continued perusing the area, the children followed. We now had an entourage. Two blocks later, one of the children explained to me how a building on the corner was knocked down. These little kids had ventured a great deal away from the area we found them in, yet it was as if it were a daily routine for them.

More troubling than that, no one said anything to us.

We walked blocks, unquestioned, with four little children that obviously weren’t ours. If we were people with bad intentions, those children could have been in serious danger. Eventually, we led the children back to the street where we found them. They asked if we would come back and we assured them we would.

If not for anything else, than to at least make sure they are okay.

By Dennis Bovell and Kelly White, Group 16