An uneven playing field

We often think of play as an inherent characteristic of childhood that lies far from the social inequalities of the "adult" world, but recently I've been thinking about racial dynamics and how they exclude many children from innocent play. This idea surfaced for me when I read about the power relations that may prevent people from benefiting from transgressive play in industrial ruins in Edensor and his colleague's article. The authors primarily acknowledged how age and ability can prevent people from engaging with the type of play for which they are advocating, but they failed to acknowledge the repercussions of playing in perceived illegal spaces and how those too are "implicated in broader power relations." If law enforcement or the owners of the space were to come, history has told us that the color of skin matters. Kids of color are more likely to be penalized if caught playing in derelict areas. The adventurous play described in the article is really only possible when you have privilege to protect you when or if the low-surveillance areas are suddenly monitored. Even in perfectly public play environments, black children are shot by police for simply playing with toys. Racism permeates every facet of our society; not even child's play is unaffected.