This conversation matters:

I told my story about my son to have a conversation and just make people aware that this is still happening. A lady sent me an email. I asked her if I could share her story and she said yes. I won’t post her name or the email because it’s private. She told me in an email about her story. At first, I’m not gonna lie it made me mad because I could never do or get away with what she was saying. So let me tell you some of her story. This lady comes from wealth and she has never had an issue with the police or people of color. She states that her cleaning service is people of color. But then she goes on to tell me that one of her sons had started acting out in middle school. And she just felt like boys will be boys. So one day the police comes to her house because her son was caught smoking a joint. He was giving a good talking to brought home by the police. The police state that he’s a good kid just being a curious boy that’s all. The lady then states as her son got older the more trouble he got into. In college, he was arrested for domestic violence and was taken to jail. Of course, the matter was handled privately and the girl retracted her story. To make a long story short this lady and her husband have spent more money than necessary to keep their son out of jail. But in the end, you can only do so much as a parent. She goes on to state that she got tired of trying to protect the family imagine and not be embarrassed by her son. Her son is now in jail and after hearing my story about my son she realizes her privilege. My son has never been in trouble and now this incident happened. It hurt me to hear that even though her son did some things that my son would have been in jail for, for years. It made me realize that as a nation we have to do better. If you commit a crime it’s doesn’t matter how much money you have. You need to do time. We allow criminals of all races to roam the streets, but if I was wealthy this conversation would have never been had. I asked her what was she teaching her child at that moment? That no matter what you did mom and dad would bail you out? She told me she never thought about that until it was too late. It’s never too late to teach a child the differences between right and wrong. No matter your financial status. She told me that she has gone on to help others that have done no wrong and were convicted because of color. I told her I’m happy to hear that but we need more people to stand up for change. This world is not one color and we all need to do a better job of being fair across the board. I have heard so many stories like this that it has made me sick to my stomach. One day change will come but we have to start now.