Why are the kids guilty until proven innocent? Why are so many people so desperate to rationalize intolerance toward children? They probably got their first dose of hostile, overt racism and, presumably having never been taught how to handle such a situation) thought this Native American guy was trying to antagonize them as well, and they responded in kind. Not the best way to handle it, but not the worst considering their age and the circumstances.
A charitable and likely interpretation is that Phillips and the kids mistook each other’s intentions. Neither the children nor the adult handled it perfectly.
They jumped around in mock tribal dance, doing mock chants, while laughing and jeering. They were quite obviously mocking his heritage, his culture and his religion, adding to a long history of oppression that includes literal genocide.
No matter what these kids heard from the black Hebrew israelites, there is no excuse for their behavior.
Add to this the videos that have surfaced of these kids (including many of the same kids from the first video) unprovokedly jeering at young women that "rape doesn't count if you like it" and similar misogynistic statements, it is abundantly clear that these kids are indeed bigots and should be strongly reprimanded for their behavior, not given speaking time on national TV.
A charitable and likely interpretation is that Phillips and the kids mistook each other’s intentions. Neither the children nor the adult handled it perfectly.