For those of you who think we live in a world of equality let me explain why we must have “The Talk” with our African American youth.

 

Even though The Talk is a painstaking ordeal for us to explain the art and facts of survival to our children, especially our boys, we must teach them how they must conduct themselves at all times when they leave the confines of their homes.

The facts speak loudly and clearly about encounters with various elements of law enforcement. Therefore, the discussion must emphasize how they respond to the police could determine if they will return home safely.

When talking to family members, loved ones and friends, you should make it very clear that they should comply with the police and not give them any excuse to execute them for some frivolous asinine reason.

It is very important that you explain that not all of the police have ill intent, but they should not inflame or agitate the situation in any manner regardless of the reason for a stop by an officer.

It matters not what the reason is for their interaction with the police, what matters is whether you want to return home intact, not in a coroner’s van or an ambulance.

The Talk must also stress that things could go bad at any moment, especially if the stop is just a pretext for a more sinister reason, because boys must be counseled to not allow the police to get them to become emotional or caught up in a display of feelings.

The Talk must include the warning that “as right as you may be, it is of no importance,” because the most relevant fact is that you don’t lose your life and become yet another victim caught in the cross hairs of police criminality and abuse.

In light of the most recent nationally occurring events involving police officers’ use of force, The Talk should remind our youth that police departments are nervous, fearful, on a high alert and likely won’t hesitate to act without thought.

These acts of violence are tragic across the board, and we should not wish death upon anyone whether they be our men in blue or our people of color.

We have to be smart and not feed the negative public talk that leads to more death and pain.

The sooner that we talk to our God and pray and then have The Talk, then the sooner we can prevent our vulnerable youth, especially African-American boys, from becoming prey to those who misuse their authority.

So, have The Talk soon and be as explicit as possible.

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