By: Michael Watts II
As America continues to grieve over the loss of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and the five police officers that were killed in a recent shooting at a protest in Dallas, Texas, a Missouri mom shares her concern about her child when he grows up to be a young black male.
Monica Johnson, a resident of St. Louis, Missouri made a controversy post on Facebook on July 7 with a picture of her two- year- old son Kai, in which she was questioning what would happen to him when he becomes a grown black man.
Now her post has made a statement across the U.S and the world.
According to an interview on ABC, Johnson talks about her reason behind the post.
“The reason why I made the post was to shift the public’s thinking and perception of black individuals in this country.” said Johnson.
Johnson also talks about why she made the post and published it.
“My reason for sharing it is more so that for parents of white children this would become real.” Johnson mentioned to ABC. “White or black moms can relate. We have the same love for our kids. I hope somehow this can help them look inward, seeing that we have people being prejudice and it’s easy to project it on adults, but when you look at it through the perspective as a mother, it made me think, this was someone’s child. This was someone’s baby at some point. This could’ve been my baby.”
It seems as the recent killings of innocent young black males has really taken a toll on this mother of four.
Johnson expresses a concern as if it was said by her two – year- old son.
“I’m so cute now, everyone comments on my beautiful skin and my adorable curls.” Said Johnson “ But I ask you this, what about when I’m 25 and my skin gets darker my curls get tighter, I’m wearing baggy pants, maybe a hoodie or a baseball cap.” “Will you lock your car doors when I cross the streets? Will you embrace and welcome me when I’m a full grown black man? Will you value my life like the same way you value my white mom’s? or my like my dad’s, my black daddy who gets pulled over for “ Following too closely” at a stop light or for doing three miles over the speed limit?” Johnson reports to ABC.
We need to stop violence toward all races, and tell ourselves that’s someone’s child that we are mistreating.
