Son just "Being"

How would anyone consider him a threat? Likely the most approachable, genuinely caring, kind, authentic and dynamic person you will ever meet. Why is my second son a threat just for “being”?

I would be disingenuous if I said that it boggles my mind why he today is deemed a threat without even knowing him. After all, he is a Black man in the United States. I probably incrementally arrived at this realization starting with Trayvon who was just “being” too. I suspect, my second son, my Second Love (as I affectionately call him), quietly arrived much earlier.

I noted a change in my Second Love about five years ago. Previously, he appeared to navigate adulthood with a robust optimism for a great personal and professional life. Our private mother-son conversations were filled with what I thought was sage advice on how to achieve both in the “Land of Opportunities”. However, I could not fully speak to the apparent injustices he was experiencing daily and the deluge of Black & Brown men being slaughter in broad daylight by police, oftentimes for just “being” as well.

As a mother, you tend to reflect on moments in your child’s life where you could have done things differently and/or better. This is my moment with my Second Love who today is choosing to not just “be”. I am so proud that he is choosing to use his voice in peaceful protest and not acquiesce to often disproportionate policing policies. I support my Black son’s passion and platform because I am a MOM(S) of BOTH.