“Sister”
My Family, Part 4 | Shea Jones
Her Story:
I mean, it's crazy. I'm trying to think how to put this into words. Juneteenth, I went with Rhonda. We hung out with like 100 people, and it was amazing — seeing how many actual black businesses and stuff we have here and everyone coming together. That was amazing. And it felt really good to see all that.
With everything going on and even more people dying, it makes me scared and worried for Sean, Mara, Nisha, Roman, Aaron and all my older siblings at the same time. Because there's even more heat and spotlight on everybody. Even though the movements that are going on are doing people good, at the same time, you can just see the hatred that people are hiding.
And it scares me when Sean goes to play basketball and comes home late, and I'm like, “Ah, is he going to get stopped or is some shit going to happen?” Because just knowing how Sean is, it worries me. Or even my dad. Just knowing how he is, I never want something to happen to him.
Me and Sean talked about it, and he tries to play it off, but I know it worries him and stuff. Because his experience just from when he was 13. They got in that car crash, and it was just crazy.
They were driving their friend's car, and they had started coming back towards the house when a U of O cop swerved around and started chasing them. They got spooked. So they sped up, and they crashed, and they got flown into a ditch. And everyone ran, but Sean and his friend, who is also mixed. They stopped, and they got out and put their hands up. And even though he put his hands up, the U of O cop slammed Sean face-first on the ground and pulled a gun on him and called up for back up.
And then 10 police cars came. Sean wasn't even the driver, but none of the other kids got put in handcuffs, except for him and the other colored kid.
They got put in the cop car like they were going to take him, and they were just so disrespectful, just telling us we had to shut the fuck up and we had no rights or anything. It was scary.
He wasn't the one who did it. When they found out who the driver was, they didn't put them in handcuffs or nothing. Sean was sobbing. He was shaking. And that right there broke my heart. Because he should never have experienced that.
He was 13.
So that scares me because I was like, “If they could do that to just little boys, little kids who were doing the right thing...” They stopped, put their hands up and did everything. And the people who ran didn't even get treated that way.
And it scares me because of what could happen to him just riding his bike home. Especially with times like this and people coming out that you can just see their hatred and stuff so openly. And we've talked about it. He downplays it, but I don't know. I feel like he knows it's serious, but at the same time, he... I don't know how to put it into words.
I was like, "Bro, what if you're somewhere," and I can't get to you or no one can help you. And I don't want that to happen. When he's out late, and I hear sirens, I know it's most likely not even him, but I have to call or text him just to make sure he's okay because you never know nowadays.
I wish the world could be different. I wish people wouldn't have to be scared just to walk down the streets just because of the color of their skin and that difference. It's the littlest difference, compared to them and someone who is not colored.