Seventeen-year-old African-American boy, Antwon Rose Jr, was gunned down on June 19 as he fled a traffic stop. He was unarmed.
The incident put Rose Jr on a long list of black boys and men killed by police in America, something that he was quite aware of.
In a poem, I am not What You think, which he wrote in 2016, Rose Jr indicated that he was well aware of the treatment of black males in America by the police. He not only revealed his fear and confusion about what was going on at the time but also the narrow options that he had in life.
The poem was written some months after the death of Jamar Clark, Jeremy McDole, William Chapman II, Walter Scott, Eric Harris, Freddie Gray and Sam Dubose, the black men who were shot dead by police officers.
It was at this moment that Rose Jr expressed his one wish: that his mother never feels the pain of burying a son.
Unfortunately, his mother is feeling this pain, just like many others who have taken to the streets of Pittsburgh to protest police brutality.
Here is the poem that Woodland Hills School District released.
I AM NOT WHAT YOU THINK!
I am confused and afraid
I wonder what path I will take
I hear that there’s only two ways out
I see mothers bury their sons
I want my mom to never feel that pain
I am confused and afraid
I pretend all is fine
I feel like I’m suffocating
I touch nothing so I believe all is fine
I worry that it isn’t though
I cry no more
I am confused and afraid
I understand people believe I’m just a statistic
I say to them I’m different
I dream of life getting easier
I try my best to make my dream true
I hope that it does
I am confused and afraid
