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How D.C. has criminalized black teen entrepreneurship

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Published July 17, 2017 4:01am ET
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How D.C. has criminalized black teen entrepreneurship
As the mercury climbs in Washington, D.C, during the summer, the need for water on the National Mall is palpable and real. The teenagers who rose to meet the challenge did the right thing, but handcuffing them, as the police would do to drug dealers, sends the message that they did something wrong. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) | Jacquelyn Martin

On a hot and humid 88-degree summer day in Washington, D.C. in June, three teenagers were handcuffed and detained for selling water.

Yes, water. The teens were not selling drugs, stolen merchandise or bootleg cigarettes. They were selling water on the National Mall.

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