When a policeman killed twelve-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland I was still grieving Michael Brown … John Crawford … Eric Garner … Trayvon Martin…. I didn't have any grief left for Tamir; I feel like I owe his mother an apology for that.
Jakobi––a young black man, nineteen or so––waited on us at Steak 'n Shake last week. He called me ma'am and recommended the salad. I prayed he'd make it home safely after work, but I already saw him as a corpse. So many things could go wrong. I imagined the whole scene––maybe he'd get stopped for a broken taillight and maybe the officer would mistake Jakobi's wallet for a gun.
The other day at the gym, we were talking with an African-American trainer. I saw him as a corpse, too. And also the kid who joined church last Sunday. And I'm worried for my brothers, cousins, and nephews.
A parade of corpses, real and imagined, woke me at 2:00 AM. Ben and I gave up on sleep. We passed the time with a DVD, Wall-E. It was kind of a sad movie, but at least it had a happy ending. Sometimes all you can do is hold hands and watch cartoons.
(Read more about Ferguson)
Jakobi––a young black man, nineteen or so––waited on us at Steak 'n Shake last week. He called me ma'am and recommended the salad. I prayed he'd make it home safely after work, but I already saw him as a corpse. So many things could go wrong. I imagined the whole scene––maybe he'd get stopped for a broken taillight and maybe the officer would mistake Jakobi's wallet for a gun.
The other day at the gym, we were talking with an African-American trainer. I saw him as a corpse, too. And also the kid who joined church last Sunday. And I'm worried for my brothers, cousins, and nephews.
A parade of corpses, real and imagined, woke me at 2:00 AM. Ben and I gave up on sleep. We passed the time with a DVD, Wall-E. It was kind of a sad movie, but at least it had a happy ending. Sometimes all you can do is hold hands and watch cartoons.
(Read more about Ferguson)