“He told me, ‘I started seeing the counselor when dad was being really mean to me about football.’ The more time Ethan spent with his father, the more my role became to be there to pick up the pieces. He confessed, ‘I thought about killing myself.’”
‘The phone rang. ‘Hello, Police Service. We’re on the side of the Broadway Bridge. I’m sorry. We answered because it said ‘Mom.’: Mom loses 15-year-old to suicide; ‘I choose to honor Ethan’
‘If I don’t survive this, I want you to know I lived more in my 36 years than most do in 80.’ It was time to let go.’: Woman shares love story after losing husband to pancreatic cancer
“He complained about stomach pains for 8 months. I remember sitting on our bathroom floor. He was so sick he could barely get up. ‘We feel he should stop treatment.’ On the way home, I asked Kyle what he wanted to do. Second opinion? Alternative medicine? He looked at me and said, ‘I’m tired.’ That was when I knew it was time to stop. It was time to let go.”
‘Are YOU okay, ma’am?’ The officer was staring at my passenger, my 15-year-old son. Her hand shot right back on her gun.’: Mom speaks out about racism against son, ‘My skin protected him’
“I was pulled over for driving over the speed limit. I BROKE THE LAW! Each officer got out, slowly approached my car with their hands on their guns. That had never happened to me before, so I thought it strange. One cautiously approached my window and asked, ‘Are YOU okay, Ma’am?’ She stared at my son with a look I had never seen in an officer before.”
‘I was sleeping 16 hours a day. I felt someone squeezing my lungs every time I took a breath. ‘You’re fine, just go home and rest.’: Woman battling Lupus urges ‘you’re capable of crushing every obstacle in your path’
“A group of doctors huddled at the end of my bed. I overheard them say, ‘She’s so incredibly sick, we just can’t figure out what’s wrong. She isn’t going to make it.’ I spiked a 104 fever. I was writhing in pain, grunting, moaning, begging for it to stop.”
Reflections from a Token Black Friend
“There is no escape. There is no level of success that will spare you. We are black men, and that is all that matters to some. Many white people do not understand their level of ignorance — especially the good ones.”
‘In my rearview mirror I saw a small, dark SUV turn around and follow me. ‘What’s going on?’ The police jumped out and drew their guns.’: Military veteran details experiences with racism in and out of uniform
“I was told, ‘Your vehicle matches the description of a robbery.’ He cuffed me as two more squad cars pulled in front of my house. I explained to them I wasn’t the man they were looking for and to please check the security cameras. They handcuffed me in front of my kids. Not in my military uniform, I was no longer one of the ‘good ones.'”
‘He gets to come home every night and take off his badge, his vest, his weapons. That choice is a PRIVILEGE.’: Cop’s daughter powerfully explains why ‘black lives matter’
“He can walk outside and nobody has to know he’s a cop. But black mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, and children? When the hate becomes too much or too hard, they don’t get to change their skin tone. They shouldn’t have to want to, but they are feared for simply existing.”
‘Sometimes people think I look like a criminal, so I must smile more often.’ That’s what I had to tell my daughter.’: Dad says ‘I must build a better world for our girls, and better girls for our world’
“We had The Race Talk. I explained, ‘I don’t look like a criminal to everybody. Just some people. I wish this was a world where people didn’t judge us by the color of our skin. But right now, it isn’t…'”
‘He whispered, ‘You are not alone,’ and cradled this stranger in his arms as she took her last breath. Chad, too, was dying.’: Widow details police officer’s kindness during final weeks of life
“He was dying. He knew he was. The cancer was slowly eating at every part of his body, yet when he arrived on scene that day, it was not the first thing on his mind. He put it all aside to comfort a woman he did not know.”
‘A police officer pulled up. ‘Is everything okay?’ He wanted to talk. We stood outside for an hour, discussing the issues our nation is facing.’: Man urges ‘moments like this need to be shared’
“He didn’t pull out his gun. He didn’t mace or tase me. Instead, he took the time to ask me, a minority, about the issues we are facing and my thoughts on how we can fix them.”
