Dear Mothers of Non-colored Sons...

For the past 2 weeks my kids and I have been looking forward to planning how we would celebrate the end of the school year. They worked so hard despite the pandemic, to earn citizenship awards and stay on the Principle’s Honor Roll.

My husband and I are raising our two Black boys and daughter to not only work hard in school, but also to love God, be kind, generous, empathetic towards others and respectful to their elders. We want their hard work to give them a bright future, full of hopes and dreams. 

Our kids are loving, smart, kind and helpful to their neighbors. They make us proud in so many ways.  But this feeling is dampened by the terrifying thought of how the world will view them. When my son innocently asks me, "what is going on with the George Floyd situation", it becomes clear to me that I can no longer protect them from the evil in this world. I am heartbroken to tell him the truth and consider what they may experience when they are out of our sight. When others see them they may not care about their kind words or helping hands, they may never appreciate their sense of humor, their ability to speak passionately about saving the earth or their curiosity for how things work. Instead they may be seen as a "threat", "thug", "criminal", "suspect" or simply unworthy.

If this happens my sons may end up hurt or worse... they may never make it home one day while jogging, watching birds in the park, or simply walking home from the store with snacks just because of the color of their skin. Their white father can't save them from this reality. 

No mom should ever face this terror!  I can only pray that when you see my sons or my daughter,  you will remember that they have a mother, who like you is waiting for her child to return home where they are loved. When you see my sons, I pray you are not a bystander.

#NOTABYSTANDER #BlackLivesMatter

- Joy Gibson, Founder of MomNiche