Two years ago a case gained national attention.
A 17 year old young man, Trayvon Martin, was walking to his father’s house from the convenience store in the rain was shot and killed. This case gained national attention and evoked many emotions. With the help of social media, many joined the conversation. Giving opinions as well as seeing many opinions of peers. I witnessed many heated debates, and read many opinions that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Recently, another case has been in the news. The case of Jordan Davis, a teen who was killed in a carful of other teens and had gotten into an argument over loud music.
Although both cases had different circumstances, they also both resulted in the death of two young men with potentially bright futures. Both were killed as a result of causing a feeling of “threat”.
You may wonder why this subject resonates with me. As you can see from my photo to the right, I don’t bear resemblance to either of these young men. While that may be your first thought, these cases devastated me.
You see, I’m a mother of four boys.
In addition to having the job of raising four boys, I also have to share the reality of this world with my biracial brown and black boys.
My oldest son was the same age as Trayvon when he passed.
My boys actually have a lot in common with both of these young men. They dress the same, listen to the same music, and have the same potentially bright futures.
Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. We are seeing cases like these all the time. We need to open up the dialogue and tackle these issues. Often our boys are judged by their clothes, their music, their size or color before they are heard for their dreams and aspirations.
Our boys need to be heard.
I’ve teamed up with these three lovely ladies, also moms of young boys and men,in order to help spread this message.
Our goal?
To share our sons voices and allow them to be heard. We come from a variety of family structures and locations, but we have a common bond. On the first Wednesday of every month we’ll come together and discuss our thoughts and ideas, and most importantly we will be that voice for our sons.
Voices for Our Sons
Join us. Comment, discuss, or even add your own writings if they share the same themes. Let our voices be powerful!
Powerful post. Thank you so much for using your voice.
Thank you for the opportunity Val!
I greatly respect the fact that you use your online platform to share great recipes and life tips as well as make social commentary on the things going on in our society right now. I have the upmost respect for you and what you do.
Thank you Zain! Recent events, and even not so recent, have left me craving a space to really speak about everything. Thank you for reminding me how important it is to do so!