Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAtlanta Mayor Bottoms: The Police Report To Me But I Knew I Couldn't Protect My Son
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/police-protests-atlanta-keisha-bottoms.html
By Keisha Lance Bottoms
Ms. Bottoms is the mayor of Atlanta.
June 3, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
ATLANTA I frantically screamed into the phone to my teenage son: Lance, WHERE ARE YOU?!
Social media posts were swirling that protests were being planned in Atlanta in response to the death of George Floyd, a black Minnesotan, while a police officer knelt on his neck.
Although as mayor, the chief of police reports to me, in that moment, I knew what every other parent to a black child in America knows: I could not protect my son. To anyone who saw him, he was simply who he is, a black man-child in the promised land that we all know as America.
I know that as a mayor of one of the largest cities in our country, I should now be offering solutions. But the only comforting words I have to offer so far are those that I know to be most true: that we are better than this; that we as a country are better than the barbaric actions that we are forced to keep watching play out on our screens like a grotesque horror movie stuck on repeat. We are better than the hatred and anger that consumes so many of us. We are better than this deplorable disease called racism that remains so rampant.
With each passing second separating me from the peace of mind a mother feels having secured the safety of her children, I could not waste minutes articulating all of those things to my son. All I could say was, Baby, please come home now! Its not safe for black boys to be out today.
</snip>
By Keisha Lance Bottoms
Ms. Bottoms is the mayor of Atlanta.
June 3, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
ATLANTA I frantically screamed into the phone to my teenage son: Lance, WHERE ARE YOU?!
Social media posts were swirling that protests were being planned in Atlanta in response to the death of George Floyd, a black Minnesotan, while a police officer knelt on his neck.
Although as mayor, the chief of police reports to me, in that moment, I knew what every other parent to a black child in America knows: I could not protect my son. To anyone who saw him, he was simply who he is, a black man-child in the promised land that we all know as America.
I know that as a mayor of one of the largest cities in our country, I should now be offering solutions. But the only comforting words I have to offer so far are those that I know to be most true: that we are better than this; that we as a country are better than the barbaric actions that we are forced to keep watching play out on our screens like a grotesque horror movie stuck on repeat. We are better than the hatred and anger that consumes so many of us. We are better than this deplorable disease called racism that remains so rampant.
With each passing second separating me from the peace of mind a mother feels having secured the safety of her children, I could not waste minutes articulating all of those things to my son. All I could say was, Baby, please come home now! Its not safe for black boys to be out today.
</snip>
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
5 replies, 933 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (22)
ReplyReply to this post
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Atlanta Mayor Bottoms: The Police Report To Me But I Knew I Couldn't Protect My Son (Original Post)
Dennis Donovan
Jun 2020
OP
Solly Mack
(90,769 posts)1. K&R
Cha
(297,275 posts)2. KR..
stillcool
(32,626 posts)3. "it's not safe for black boys to be out today"...
and further down in the article..
The harsh reality is that if we examine the historical conditions of living while black in America, then well realize that there has never been a day when it was truly safe for black boys to be out, to be free, to just be.
uponit7771
(90,346 posts)4. Damn, I'll have to say this in a couple of years ... things were so easy when they were small
oasis
(49,388 posts)5. K and R