Washington | Black parents worried about federal police deployment

When Donald Trump ordered the sending of federal agents to Washington, Charlene Golphin announced to his 17 -year -old son that he was now going to return two hours earlier each evening.

M^me Golphin fears that being black and young sufficient for his son to be arrested by the agents charged by the president of repressing the “unleashed young bands” which he accuses of terrorizing the city.

His son, Atrayu Lee, finds that his mother exaggerates. He doesn’t do anything that can get him into trouble with the police, he said. His free time is devoted to volunteer work and he avoids carrying sports tracks and black kangaroos.

M^me Golphin put the points on the I: “I said what I said!” She thundered.

The very visible presence of federal agents, the patrols of the National Guard and the Tirades of Mr. Trump, who accuses young people of threatening public security, put black parents in Cran. Many of them tighten the screw on the outings and engage with their sons in difficult conversations on racial profiling and the police.

The Talk

For decades, black American parents have had what they call The Talk (“The discussion”), a kind of explanation of things in life to young blacks. These are guidelines that explain – especially in boys – how to interact with the police and encourage them to avoid contact with the police as much as possible.

The Talk became particularly topical after the deaths of Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012 and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, who drew national attention to the problem of black young people killed by police.

After the major demonstrations which followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and which led to police reforms, some parents were reassured and insisted less on these recommendations.

This is the case of Keith Flemons, father of four children living in the district 6 of Washington: he wanted to let his children live their life without overwhelming them too much with this issue: “What does that do except to increase their anxiety?” He explains.

But the deployment of federal forces changes the situation: many families now impose strict rules on their children.

However, it is a complicated discussion, because their children, in particular those who live in neighborhoods 7 and 8, where crime is high, are among the potential victims of crimes that Trump claims to want to prevent.

Shaquita Miles, 35, says he fears “all the time” that her teenage son was challenged by a federal agent or the victim of a crime.

She gave him strict instructions: if he meets a police officer, be respectful and comply; Pay attention to what it is wearing, avoiding clothing that can attract the attention of the police or thieves. And if he is with a group of friends, he must avoid places like Navy Yard, the very moved district where the Nationals of Washington, the baseball team play.

Some families fear that federal agents and the national guard troops include the culture of their neighborhoods less than the local police.

Mourning

The Federal Tour disturbs these citizens, but it also leads to a kind of mourning, the feeling that a short period of hope derives in its end, during which the United States seemed ready to question the negative perceptions of blacks in general.

When Mr. Trump described Washington as a city of “blood, chaos and misery”, some black parents have perceived in these words a veiled racial insinuation.

Despite everything, many parents say never wanting to come back at the time when black children were encouraged to blend into the mass or deny their identity.

“My son is a first class that carries braids. Yes, I am worried, ”explains Ronald Moten, a very involved citizen in his neighborhood and co-founder of Go-Go Museum, a site devoted to this musical genre mixing funk and soul from Washington. But, he adds, “I will never let my son deny his black identity. Hair, appearance, clothing is part of what we are ”.

Mayada Mannan-Brake, 45, mother of two, agrees. “It’s not time to blend into the mass,” she said. My son has an Afro cut. I’m not going to ask him to cut her hair to be less targeted. »»

M^me Mannan-Brake is a naturalized American citizen. His parents, political refugees, fled Sudan at war. She is worried about her children, in particular her 15 -year -old son, Mazin, but is also afraid of being illegally expelled as other immigrants were in roundups.

“What will happen if they take me?” She asks. This week, she recorded the number of a lawyer in her son’s phone and told her to keep himself away from the demonstrations, even if she herself is an activist.

Through Washington, an informal network of parents mobilized in response to repression. They learn each other in a forum of discussion on immigration roundups in the city and organized a secure transport system for some students.

A public school in the northwest of Washington offers students, families and staff a shuttle to the neighboring metro station and various campuses. The school has also set up a security initiative where support staff and teachers volunteer to ensure a kind of neighborhood surveillance during arrival and exit hours.

This article was published in the New York Times.

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