 The use of children proved very controversial . Incoming mayor Albert Boutwell and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy condemned the decision to use children in the protests . Kennedy was reported in The New York Times as saying , " an injured , maimed , or dead child is a price that none of us can afford to pay " , although adding , " I believe that everyone understands their just grievances must be resolved . " Malcolm X criticized the decision , saying , " Real men don 't put their children on the firing line . " 
