The images of crying women remind me of my days working in the courthouse. It was indeed heartbreaking seeing so many heartbroken and distraught mothers, grandmothers, wives, aunts, sisters, etc. I’ve seen women faint and fall hard to the uncarpeted courtroom floor. I’ve seen women have nervous breakdowns. I’ve seen women dragged from courtrooms. Ive seen white judges admonish and rip Black mothers in open court and blame them for their childs involvement with crime. Some women would stand and take it while others would defend themselves and adamantly say, “I didnt raise him that way! I didnt raise my child to be a criminal! I brought him up in the church! I dont know where he got his bad ways!” I always thought it unfair when judges accused women of being poor parents, especially when the accusation was never launched at white mothers. I know many parents who have not failed their children. They have provided, guided, taught, preached, and exposed their kids to positive influences and positive forces BUT their kids still behave contradictory to how they were raised. Peer pressure is POWERFUL and artists, writers, producers, etc. should consider that before promoting certain images and narratives. We’ve got to keep our women out of court, out of graveyards, out of the principal’s office, and out of the doctor’s office. We’ve got to end the practice of snatching children out of the loving arms of our women. Byron Smith
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 20:17:01 +0000
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