This past Saturday, in Ferguson, Missouri, ANOTHER unarmed Black teen was shot & killed … by the police. Mike Brown had recently graduated high school and was to start college this week-instead, his family is planning his funeral. Mike Brown was not armed, and had no prior criminal record. He was guilty, however, of being BLACK IN AMERICA.
A friend that was walking with him, said Mike Brown had his hands up in the air when he was shot. Hands In The Air! Unarmed!
In the photo below, Harvard Law students show their support of Mike Brown by raising their hands in the air #HandsUpDontShoot
(I’ve read reports stating Mike Brown was shot by an officer from inside the officer’s patrol car. The claim said he was shot twice in the chest-he had his hands up and was begging the officer not to kill him, the officer then shot him in the head-walked up to his lifeless body and fired more rounds into him. This was reported by someone that was looking out their apartment window from nearby.)
Since the killing, Ferguson has been in turmoil. People have taken to the streets to protest the execution of Mike Brown – and they’ve been met with SWAT teams, tear gas and military-style opposition. As a US citizen, I have the right to protest, we ALL do.
As I write this, I don’t even have the words to express how devastated I am. As the Mother of Brown sons, I am constantly concerned for their safety. Constantly worried that they will do something that a non-Black person will find threatening. Last summer, someone stole a car late one night, and ditched it in our neighborhood. The police showed up, it was close to midnight. They began scouring our subdivision, and made their way to our street-just as our 18 year old son was supposed to be getting off work. Our son walks to & from work. The police were searching under cars, behind shrubs and in trash cans-trying to find the suspect. As I looked out my window and stared at the clock, I knew my son would be rounding the corner very soon. The fear that overcame me was crippling.
I did not want my brown-skinned, afro-wearing son to turn that corner and startle the cops…I was afraid of what they might do. I wasn’t the only one that was afraid-so was my husband. He immediately told me he was going to find our son and hopped into the car-taking my brother who was visiting us with him. My brother is in law enforcement himself. As they drove off, I prayed, prayed that they would find our son, before the cops did.
Tragedies like the murders of Trayvon Martin & Oscar Grant were all I could think of. What if my son rounded the corner and spooked the cops? Would they reach for their guns? Would they fire first & ask questions later? The fear I felt that night was unlike anything I’d ever felt before-I thought I was going to pass out. When my husband drove up to the driveway & our son stepped out of the car- I was overjoyed.
Do ALL mothers experience what I did, when the cops show up in their neighborhood? Probably not, unless their sons are brown or black. I’ve learned that people (America as a whole) doesn’t care about our Brown & Black sons. If they did, they’d be outraged every time an unarmed black teenager/man is killed by the police. But they’re not, not like I am. Not like so many other mothers of brown & black sons are.
I’m here to speak up for ALL our brown & black sons! I will continue to speak up, to let you know that OUR SONS MATTER! You cant just kill them, leave their bodies out on the streets for hours and go about your business. STOP KILLING OUR SONS!
This will not be my only post about this-so if you find it uncomfortable or don’t want to read about this sort of thing, please unfollow me now. I have so much to say about this, but for now, these are all the words I can muster up. It’s been a devastating week, I’m heartbroken, because no one cares about our sons…
