His name is my name, too.

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt

His name is my name, too.

(You better believe it!)

Whenever we go out

the people always shout,

'There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt!'

Trayvon Martin, family vacation photo

This is Trayvon Martin.

His name is their name, too.

Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton.

Because her son was our son, too.

Mamie Till, picture with her slain son Emmitt.

And so was her son. (You better believe it.)

Just like Sybrina and Mamie, I love my children. And no matter who you are or what color you are, my guess is that you love yours, too. These mothers both lost their sons to senseless acts of violence triggered by racism followed by the authorities turning a blind eye. It's hard to decide which is more hurtful. The sad truth is that there are many, many Trayvons--and Trayvinas--all over the world.

And no, Mr. Rivera, it wasn't the hoodie that killed Trayvon. Just like it wasn't whistling that killed an innocent middle schooler named Emmitt Till over fifty years ago.  Uhhh, no.

You got that, Geraldo?

***

This evening in Atlanta, Georgia. . . .



. . .just a few blocks away from Grady Hospital at the State Capitol . . .

. . .people of all ages came together to rally for justice.

Black, white, old, and young. . . . 

. . .together and peaceful. . . .

. . .and all asking the same questions, "Where is the justice?" and "When will this end?"

. . .or worse--asking this question:  "Am I next?"

These kids were in middle and high school.

The energy was somber yet uplifting. . . . 

. . .solidarity under magnolia trees. . . .



. . .mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, families and just people there demanding justice. . .

. . . and hoping for ways to keep their sons safe.

We proved that wearing hoodies shouldn't be punishable by death.

But killing innocent people should be punishable by something.


We were there. Together.

Me and wise Jada, my fellow mom, med school classmate, and gross anatomy lab partner extraordinaire 

Students from Georgia Tech 

Jada and I even ran into some of our "little" Delta sorority sisters from Georgia Tech, too.

This man told me, "I am so sad about this." And I said, "It's okay for us to share the sad." 

We told Noah that he'd appreciate being here more when he was much older.  

He said, "I appreciate it now."

Damn. If only your name had been John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
Maybe then we could have protected you. Or at least got you some justice.

Then again, maybe not.

***