Children in superhero capes protest with Black Lives Matter outside U.S. Consulate

Children sporting superhero capes held signs in support of the group Black Lives Matter at a demonstration calling for social justice outside the U.S.Consulate in Toronto Saturday.

The demonstration marked the graduation of approximately 20 students from the program, the Black Lives Matter Freedom School, a three-week program for children ages 4-10 to learn about black history both in Canada and around the world.

"Our youth know exactly what is happening in our communities and we have to start explaining to them what is going on," Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Alexandria Williams said.

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The curriculum for the program was largely arts-based and designed by black parents and youth to give children a chance to talk about what they're hearing in the news, Leroi Newbolb, an organizer with the group and one the program's teachers, said.

"Parents in the community felt that it was necessary to create another kind of educational environment for our children We felt it necessary to begin with political education from a young age and to have children know that they are a part of our movements," she said.

But are children under 10 too young to have conversations about political violence and racism?

"They might be abstract experiences for you but for us they are a reality, so it was really an opportunity for children to talk about the realities that they experience and not have to internalize the oppression that's going on around them," Newbolb said.

The group, which says "fighting against anti-black racism and state-sanctioned violence" are among its key aims, did not reach out to police to participate in the the program, saying normalizing relations with lawenforcement was not the aim.

"That's not a priority for us," Newbolb said. "The priority is the children, their needs their understanding of blackness and black pride."