An Old Man by Eric M. Black

Some of the mothers, wishing they could have protected their children from such cruelty, wondered if their sons, too, called out for them with their last breaths. The survivors bear the burden for a lifetime. When the tragedy is not our own, we can turn the television off, log out of Twitter and Instagram, and walk away, perhaps shaking our heads in disgust.

He made the longing appeal a child invokes for all the things “mama,” and only “mama,” could provide.Ī year later, 15 mothers from across America who lost their Black sons at the hands of police speak out about life after tragedy-about what happens when the demonstrations, cameras, hashtags, and viral moments fade.

She had died two years earlier, but as he lay on the pavement, a white police officer’s knee compressing his airways for over nine minutes, his oxygen-deprived brain reached for a symbol of safety and compassion.

Fifteen days after Mother’s Day last year, George Floyd lay facedown, arms bound, calling for his mother with his final breaths.