Black Mother Creates Support Group For Women Parenting Black Kids

“If you’re a mother of a Black son, whether it’s a boy or a man, you live with never-ending, daily fear of what might happen to them when they go out into society,” The worried mother said.

Being a mother to a Black kid in our society couldn’t be more difficult at the moment, caused by the increased racial tension after the recent shootings of Black men and boys by police officers. The deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling came as a shock to a mother of two Black kids, which was the reason for the creation of a group for women like her, who are also living with the fear that their kids would grow up, be deemed a threat to the society and targeted by the police.

Depelsha Thomas McGruder, a native of Atlanta, but resides in New York, created the Facebook group “Moms of Black Boys United” with the aim of giving support to other women who were raising Black kids. As stated on her organization’s website, Moms of Black Boys (MOBB) “is a group of concerned mothers who aim to make a difference in policy and perception impacting how Black boys and men are treated by law enforcement. We represent every race, age, socioeconomic background, marital status and education level. What we share in common is that we all have Black sons whom we love dearly, which fills us with both pride and fear.”

McGruder had thoughts about creating a platform for mothers like her for a while before its launch in July. The recent cases of high-profile police shootings served as a catalyst in making her decision to start the group as soon as she could. McGruder said, “My sons are only seven and four, and right now I still hold their hands everywhere we go,” she said. “But I’m looking as they’re growing up and my son is turning eight next weekend. How much longer can I walk down the street holding this child’s hand? He’s tall you know. So it’s just this great fear that the bigger they get, the more they’ll be perceived as a threat to society and that’s an awful feeling.”

McGruder pointed out that her organization is against police brutality, but not anti-police as she hopes she can work together with law enforcement for the greater good of the society. The organization, at the moment is run under a five-point approach to creating such solutions: Influence policy, change perception, demonstrate our power, partner strategically and promote self-care.

We applaud Depelsha Thomas McGruder for making this decision to create this group with the aim of making the society a better place for our kids to grow up and not be seen as a threat to society. It is an amazing effort from a mother, who understands the importance of a better environment for Black boys and men.

Read BM interview with Depelsha Thomas McGruder here.

Source: Atlanta Black Star

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