Thread by @rachelswarns

This is America. A prominent black jazz musician is staying in a boutique hotel in SoHo. And a white woman accuses his young son of stealing her phone. Watch! (Her phone was later found in an Uber.) nytimes.com/2020/12/27/nyr…

I am taking a deep breath.

I have a black son just like Keyon Harrold does. My son is 13, an honor roll student, an elite soccer player who is wickedly funny and the sweetest boy in the world. But he needs to know that some white people look at him and see "black criminal."

Think about that for a minute. I have to tell my 13-year-old son, an honor roll student, that he might be mistaken for a criminal. That he can never, ever question the police if they stop him. That he needs to keep his hands up at all times. That his life might depend on it.

How many white professionals have to do that? Ever have to even think about that? It breaks my heart. It makes me rage.

The boy's dad, the jazz musician, Keyon Harrold, said, "It’s a narrative of what shouldn’t happen in daily life in America." But it does. It keeps on happening.

Update: Police say the white woman who assaulted a black boy after falsely accusing him of stealing her phone will be arrested. "We’re now looking to charge this individual with assault and maybe even look at grand larceny or maybe even attempted robbery.” nbcnewyork.com/news/local/not…