Shawn Vinson
Norfolk, VA
I am a Black woman and mother of four daughters. Honestly, I am grateful that I do not have a son. I am relieved that I do not have to sit my son down and explain to him why he must be careful when simply walking in certain areas, he must be careful not to walk a certain way, and how he must be careful not to appear to be a threat to others. While shamefully I exhale, internally the knot in my heart tightens and the ball of anguish in the pit of my stomach swells. It seems as though no matter how hard I try, I cannot escape the feeling of a mother’s greatest fear, the loss of a child.
