“Not everything that is face can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin recently was I interviewed by Dave Price of WHO our 45-minute conversation was condensed to approximately 8-10 minutes. During our conversation we talked about events that have taken place in Minnesota from the George Floyd murder trial to Dontae Wright being shot by a police officer. I rarely open up to people. I’m very guarded when it comes to my children, family, and friends. I have so much to say, but I keep much to myself. When I speak, the ones I love the most will have to endure the critiques and rude comments that others make. When Dave reached out to me, I knew having that conversation was the way to go. I do believe in the art of conversation; it’s something we rarely take the time to do because we have social media and many find it best to share feelings, thoughts, opinions, calling people out, etc. through various social media platforms. I believe in the moments when we have conversations, change will take place. You get to look into my eyes and I look into yours, with the hope that you will open your heart to see the reality of life I’m living and what I endure on a daily basis. In the conversation with Dave, I voiced the concerns that many Black Mothers of Black Sons have. I stated. “When my son leaves my home, I’m concerned something could happen to him; it could be his last moment.” This is something I’ve never shared with my family, friends, let alone my own son. I know it’s not safe for Black males and here is some data to support my thought. Between 2010 and 2014 Black males aged 10 years and older were nearly three times more likely to die because of police violence than their white counterparts https:// journals.sagepub.com/ People of color face a higher likelihood of being killed by police than do white men and women, that risk peaks in young adulthood and that men of color face a nontrivial lifetime risk of being killed by police https://www.pnas.org/ content/116/34/16793 The URBAN EXPERIENCE | 2021 7
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